# Catholic and Protestant: a Diptych comparison Schema version 1.0. The Diptych displays; it does not score, rank, or adjudicate. ## 1. In its own words ### Catholic The Catholic Church is the largest single body in Christianity. It understands itself as the continuing church of the apostles, governed by bishops in communion with the Pope, and it carries the Latin Church and the Eastern Catholic Churches within one communion. - [Catholic](/tree/catholic) ### Protestant Protestant names the family of churches that separated from Rome in the Reformation, or descend from those that did. It is a branch, not a single church: Lutheran, Reformed, Anglican, Baptist, Anabaptist, Methodist, and independent bodies share the Reformation's founding claims while differing on sacraments, ministry, and the church itself. - [Protestant](/tree/protestant) ## 2. Scale and spread ### Catholic The Catholic Church counts about 1.38 billion baptized members, close to half of all Christians, organized in more than 3,000 dioceses. The largest populations stand in Latin America, Europe, and Africa, and the church is the largest single Christian body in the world. - [Catholic](/tree/catholic) ### Protestant Protestantism counts roughly 800 to 900 million adherents when Pentecostal and independent churches are gathered with the historic Protestant bodies. Its largest populations stand in the United States, Brazil, Nigeria, China, and across northern Europe. - [Protestant](/tree/protestant) ## 3. Historical timeline ### Catholic - [The christian timeline](/history/christian) - [Council of Jerusalem](/history/events/council-of-jerusalem) - [First Council of Nicaea](/history/events/first-council-of-nicaea) - [Athanasius' 39th Festal Letter](/history/events/athanasius-39th-festal-letter) - [First Council of Constantinople](/history/events/first-council-of-constantinople) - [Council of Ephesus](/history/events/council-of-ephesus) - [Council of Chalcedon](/history/events/council-of-chalcedon) ### Protestant - [The christian timeline](/history/christian) - [First Council of Nicaea](/history/events/first-council-of-nicaea) - [First Council of Constantinople](/history/events/first-council-of-constantinople) - [Luther's Ninety-Five Theses](/history/events/luthers-ninety-five-theses) - [Diet of Worms](/history/events/diet-of-worms) - [First Adult Baptisms at Zürich](/history/events/first-adult-baptisms-at-z-rich) - [The Schleitheim Confession](/history/events/the-schleitheim-confession) ## 4. Sources of authority ### Catholic - [New Catholic Dictionary (1910)](/dictionaries/new-catholic-dictionary) - [The Catholic Encyclopedia (1914)](/dictionaries/catholic-encyclopedia) - [CatholicCulture.org Library](/dictionaries/catholic-culture) - [Hail Mary](/prayers-and-creeds/hail-mary) - [Glory Be (Gloria Patri)](/prayers-and-creeds/glory-be) - [Prayers of the Rosary](/prayers-and-creeds/rosary-prayers) ### Protestant - [Augsburg Confession](/prayers-and-creeds/augsburg-confession) - [Belgic Confession](/prayers-and-creeds/belgic-confession) - [Heidelberg Catechism](/prayers-and-creeds/heidelberg-catechism) ## 5. Ultimate reality ### Catholic - [The Catholic World View](/world-views/the-catholic-world-view) ### Protestant Coverage: not documented. Coverage record created at intake; content not yet documented. ## 6. The human person ### Catholic - [The Catholic World View](/world-views/the-catholic-world-view) ### Protestant Coverage: not documented. Coverage record created at intake; content not yet documented. ## 7. Problem and solution ### Catholic - [The Catholic World View](/world-views/the-catholic-world-view) ### Protestant Coverage: not documented. Coverage record created at intake; content not yet documented. ## 8. Ethics and hard cases ### Catholic - [The Catholic World View](/world-views/the-catholic-world-view) ### Protestant Coverage: not documented. Coverage record created at intake; content not yet documented. ## 9. Practice and devotion ### Catholic - [The Rosary](/devotion/the-rosary) - [Stations of the Cross](/devotion/stations-of-the-cross) - [Novena](/devotion/novena) - [Hail Mary](/prayers-and-creeds/hail-mary) - [Glory Be (Gloria Patri)](/prayers-and-creeds/glory-be) - [Prayers of the Rosary](/prayers-and-creeds/rosary-prayers) ### Protestant - [Augsburg Confession](/prayers-and-creeds/augsburg-confession) - [Belgic Confession](/prayers-and-creeds/belgic-confession) - [Heidelberg Catechism](/prayers-and-creeds/heidelberg-catechism) ## 10. Community and governance ### Catholic - [Catholic](/church/catholic) ### Protestant Coverage: not documented. Coverage record created at intake; content not yet documented. ## 11. Art and material culture ### Catholic - [The Good Shepherd of the Catacombs](/art/entries/catacomb-good-shepherd) - [Hagia Sophia](/art/entries/hagia-sophia) ### Protestant - [The Wittenberg Altarpiece](/art/entries/wittenberg-altarpiece) - [The Beeldenstorm and Reformed Iconoclasm](/art/entries/reformed-iconoclasm) ## 12. Science and technology posture ### Catholic - [Patristic](/science/eras/patristic) - [Medieval European](/science/eras/medieval-european) - [Renaissance and Reformation](/science/eras/renaissance-and-reformation) - [Catholic](/science/traditions/catholic) - [Heliocentric astronomy](/science/technologies/heliocentric-astronomy) - [The telescope](/science/technologies/telescope) - [Evolution by natural selection](/science/technologies/evolution-by-natural-selection) - [Artificial intelligence and human dignity](/science/flashpoints/ai-and-human-dignity) ### Protestant - [Anabaptist, Mennonite, and Amish](/science/traditions/anabaptist-mennonite-and-amish) - [Vaccination](/science/technologies/vaccination) - [The automobile](/science/technologies/automobile) - [Connection to the electrical grid](/science/technologies/electrical-grid-connection) - [Digital technology and community](/science/flashpoints/digital-technology-and-community) ## 13. Internal diversity ### Catholic - [Pentecostal and Charismatic Christianity](/tree/pentecostal-and-charismatic) - [The Latin Church](/tree/the-latin-church) - [The Eastern Catholic Churches](/tree/the-eastern-catholic-churches) ### Protestant - [Anglican](/tree/anglican) - [Pentecostal and Charismatic Christianity](/tree/pentecostal-and-charismatic) - [Lutheran](/tree/lutheran) - [Reformed and Presbyterian](/tree/reformed-and-presbyterian) - [Baptist](/tree/baptist) - [Anabaptist](/tree/anabaptist) - [Independent and Non-denominational](/tree/independent-and-non-denominational) ## 14. Contributions ### Catholic Coverage: not documented. Evaluative coverage is scheduled; this slot populates through sourced, reviewed records. ### Protestant Coverage: not documented. Evaluative coverage is scheduled; this slot populates through sourced, reviewed records. ## 15. Internal critique ### Catholic Coverage: not documented. Evaluative coverage is scheduled; this slot populates through sourced, reviewed records. ### Protestant Coverage: not documented. Evaluative coverage is scheduled; this slot populates through sourced, reviewed records. ## 16. External critique and reply ### Catholic Coverage: not documented. Evaluative coverage is scheduled; this slot populates through sourced, reviewed records. ### Protestant Coverage: not documented. Evaluative coverage is scheduled; this slot populates through sourced, reviewed records. ## 17. Contested history ### Catholic - [East-West Schism](/tree/schisms/east-west-schism) - [Protestant Reformation](/tree/schisms/protestant-reformation) - [English Reformation](/tree/schisms/english-reformation) ### Protestant - [Protestant Reformation](/tree/schisms/protestant-reformation) - [The Restoration Movement](/tree/schisms/restoration-movement) ## 18. What each says about the other ### Catholic Coverage: not documented. This slot renders only when both directions stand populated and reviewed. ### Protestant Coverage: not documented. This slot renders only when both directions stand populated and reviewed. ## 19. What this comparison cannot settle ### Catholic This comparison sets two self-descriptions side by side; it does not decide between them. A tradition is a living range of positions, and each panel renders the range this site has documented, which is not the whole of the tradition. Where a cell is marked not yet documented, the gap belongs to this site's documentation, not to the tradition. Questions of truth between the panels turn on premises the reader brings: what counts as evidence, what authority is recognized, and what a human life is for. The instrument does not score, rank, or adjudicate. ### Protestant This comparison sets two self-descriptions side by side; it does not decide between them. A tradition is a living range of positions, and each panel renders the range this site has documented, which is not the whole of the tradition. Where a cell is marked not yet documented, the gap belongs to this site's documentation, not to the tradition. Questions of truth between the panels turn on premises the reader brings: what counts as evidence, what authority is recognized, and what a human life is for. The instrument does not score, rank, or adjudicate. ## 20. Sources ### Catholic - [Catholic](/tree/catholic) ### Protestant - [Protestant](/tree/protestant) ## Sources - Catholic: The Catechism of the Catholic Church (1992). - Catholic: Thomas P. Rausch, Towards a Truly Catholic Church (2005). - Protestant: The Augsburg Confession (1530). - Protestant: Alister E. McGrath, Reformation Thought (2012).