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Origin

Criteria / Beliefs

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Diffusion of Protestants

Unique Aspects

Conflicts

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Conflicts Within the Religion/ Conflicts With Other Religions

Splits in Protestantism:

There have been many reasons why Protestant denominations split, and re-split. Some are:

Theological differences: e.g. disputes over baptism, salvation, the nature of Jesus, etc. The Bible contains a great deal of ambiguous text which can be interpreted in very different ways. 

 

Church organization: e.g. the role of the laity vs. the church leadership; components of the religious service; whether power should be concentrated in one individual or spread democratically; the degree of spiritual autonomy of the individual, and of each  congregation, etc.

 

Other factors: Some have split over moral issues. A few large American denominations split over the abolition of slavery in the middle of the 19th century. Some split today over whether females can be considered for ordination. Some observers believe that the United Methodist Church and/or the Presbyterian Church USA may be unable to reach a compromise position over equal rights for gays and lesbians, including church membership, ordination and the recognition of same-sex committed relationships. Both denominations may be headed towards a schism.

 

Conservative and liberal denominations take opposite positions on just about every ethical question: abortion, homosexuality, pre-marital sex, school prayer, women's roles, etc.

 

Conflicts between Protestants and Catholics in Ireland

The most troublesome religious boundary in Western Europe is on the island of Eire.  Ireland, which is 5/6 of the island, is 93% Roman Catholic.  The island's northern 1/6, which is part of the U.K., is about 58% Protestant and 42% Roman Catholic. 

When most of Ireland became independant, a majority in six northern counties voted to remain in the United Kingdom.  Protestants, who made up the majority in Northern Ireland, preferred to be part of the current Protestant United Kingdom rather than join the current Roman Catholic Republic of Ireland.

Roman Catholics in Northern Ireland have been victimized by discriminatory practices, such as exclusion from higher paying jobs and better schools.  Demonstrations by Roman Catholics protesting discrimination began in 1968.  Since then, more than 3,000 have been killed in Northern Ireland - both Protestants and Roman Catholics - in a never-ending cycle of demonstrations and protests. 

While a majority of Northern Ireland's Roman Catholics and Protestants are willing to live peacefully with the other religious group, extremists disrupt daily life for everyone.  As long as most Protestants are firmly committed to union with the Republic of Ireland, peaceful settlement appears difficult.  Peace agreements negotiated in 1998 may permit more links between Roman Catholics in the two parts of Ireland, while protecting the political power of Northern Ireland's Protestants.