Mapping the world's opinions

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What do Christians believe? Show more Show less

Of the world’s population of 7.8 billion, Christianity is the most widely practised religion in the world, with more than 2 billion followers. Next in popularity are 1.5 billion followers of Islam and 900 million Hindu. There are many beliefs that Christians have in common. There are however, not unsurprisingly, also many differences in the more than 21,000 Christian denominations.

Protestants - points of difference Show more Show less

There are approximately 1 billion Protestant adherents worldwide or about 37% of all Christians. A Protestant is an adherent of any Christian bodies that separated from the Church of Rome during the Reformation, or of any group descended from them.
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Politics and attitudes to equality

Protestant churches tend to be more liberal than others.
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The Argument

Protestantism was more involved in societal improvements including education, the humanities and science. The Protestants’ rejection of the belief that the priest as an intermediary standing between God and humans and the belief that each job was a calling from God led to a new conception of work; it was now understood to be part of one's religious life, and part of God's plan for humans.[1] This ‘Protestant work ethic’ came from the idea of importance of good deeds such as working hard to please God as well as worshiping him in church. Many Protestant churches ‘allow’ women to be ordained. United Church of Christ (whose members were once called Congregationalists) and the Universalists (who eventually merged with the Unitarians) started ordaining women in the 19th century.[2] In some places this is limited. For instance, some priests but can’t be promoted to bishop and beyond.[2] These churches use the explanation of complementarianism: women have different roles in the church – separate but equal. Protestant churches tend to be a lot more liberal than older churches on issues of equality, but this is not universal and often tends to depend on the incumbent bishop or priest.

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Rejecting the premises


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This page was last edited on Monday, 6 Apr 2020 at 13:57 UTC