Protestantism

Protestantism is an Umbrella term used to describe Numerous Christian Sects and beliefs that are mostly united under being against papal authority. It was founded by Martin Luther in the Protestant Reformation because of the corruption of the Catholic Church. A main idea of the sect is of denying the universal authority of the Pope and affirming the Reformation principles of justification by faith alone, the priesthood of all believers, and the primacy of the Bible as the only source of revealed truth. It is the most practiced religion in the United States and the second most in the world, so accordingly it has a lot of influence in politics and general life.

History

The Protestant movement was founded by Martin Luther due to theological differences in the Catholic Church. however, early Protestantism could be attributed to Henry the 8th and the Hussite movement. Protectants could be attributed to the owning of personal Bibles due to their usage of textile mills to print Bibles in German, when before then, Bibles in the west were mostly in medieval Latin and mostly held by priests. Around the late 15th century the Puritan Movement kicked off, Puritans were numerous groups united under one belief, that The Church of England was too Catholic. Notable Puritan groups being, The Separatists, The Diggers, The Levellers, many Roundheads, and Quakers. These groups, despite a mutual opposition to papal authority, did not agree on everything, Separatists were known for their disliking of Quakers, Diggers were a split from The Levellers, and The Roundheads had many prominent Levellers imprisoned. The puritan movement mostly died out besides some remaining sects such as Calvinists and Quakers.

In the 1700s Protestantism took hold in North America, in which WASPs used political power to oppress groups of people, The KKK is notably a Protestant anti-Catholic Organization, Anti-Catholic sentiment was used, and still is used to oppress minorities who are largely catholic, such as Hispanics.

Within the 1930s, a new group of Protestants emerged, known as Evangelicals and Televangelists, and they have gained prominence in America, known for their support of Israel and conservative policies, becoming essentially snake oil salesmen. In a poll, 34% of Americans polled considered themselves an Evangelical or Born-Again Christian, though it can be considered tough to truly estimate how many Americans are Evangelical, as varying criteria excludes some.