# Christianity and Protestant: a Diptych comparison Schema version 1.0. The Diptych displays; it does not score, rank, or adjudicate. ## 1. In its own words ### Christianity Christianity began as a Jewish movement proclaiming Jesus as the Messiah and grew, through the early councils, the great schisms, and the Reformations, into the largest of the world religions. Its internal divisions are not decorations on a single body; they are the substance of its history, and this tree models them as first-class entities, from the ancient branches to the denominations and movements of today. - [Christianity](/tree/christian) ### 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 ### Christianity Christianity counts about 2.3 billion adherents, roughly a third of the world's people, and stands in every country. The largest populations are in the Americas, Europe, and sub-Saharan Africa, and Christians form the majority in about 157 countries. - [Christianity](/tree/christian) ### 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 ### Christianity - [The christian timeline](/history/christian) - [Birth of Jesus](/history/events/birth-of-jesus) - [Crucifixion and Resurrection](/history/events/crucifixion-and-resurrection) - [Paul's Missionary Journeys](/history/events/pauls-missionary-journeys) - [Council of Jerusalem](/history/events/council-of-jerusalem) - [Nero's Persecution](/history/events/neros-persecution) - [Destruction of the Jerusalem Temple](/history/events/destruction-of-the-jerusalem-temple) ### 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 ### Christianity - [Easton's Bible Dictionary](/dictionaries/eastons-bible-dictionary) - [Smith's Bible Dictionary](/dictionaries/smiths-bible-dictionary) - [Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary](/dictionaries/hitchcocks-bible-names) - [Apostles' Creed](/prayers-and-creeds/apostles-creed) - [Nicene Creed](/prayers-and-creeds/nicene-creed) - [Athanasian Creed](/prayers-and-creeds/athanasian-creed) ### 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 ### Christianity - [Protestantism](/world-views/protestantism) ### Protestant Coverage: not documented. Coverage record created at intake; content not yet documented. ## 6. The human person ### Christianity - [Protestantism](/world-views/protestantism) ### Protestant Coverage: not documented. Coverage record created at intake; content not yet documented. ## 7. Problem and solution ### Christianity - [Protestantism](/world-views/protestantism) ### Protestant Coverage: not documented. Coverage record created at intake; content not yet documented. ## 8. Ethics and hard cases ### Christianity - [Protestantism](/world-views/protestantism) ### Protestant Coverage: not documented. Coverage record created at intake; content not yet documented. ## 9. Practice and devotion ### Christianity - [The Rosary](/devotion/the-rosary) - [Stations of the Cross](/devotion/stations-of-the-cross) - [Novena](/devotion/novena) - [Baptism](/traditions/baptism) - [The Eucharist](/traditions/the-eucharist) - [Lent](/traditions/lent) - [Apostles' Creed](/prayers-and-creeds/apostles-creed) - [Nicene Creed](/prayers-and-creeds/nicene-creed) ### 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 ### Christianity - [Christian](/church/christian) ### Protestant Coverage: not documented. Coverage record created at intake; content not yet documented. ## 11. Art and material culture ### Christianity - [The Good Shepherd of the Catacombs](/art/entries/catacomb-good-shepherd) - [Hagia Sophia](/art/entries/hagia-sophia) - [Rublev's Trinity](/art/entries/rublev-trinity) - [Christianity](/art/profiles/christianity) ### Protestant - [The Wittenberg Altarpiece](/art/entries/wittenberg-altarpiece) - [The Beeldenstorm and Reformed Iconoclasm](/art/entries/reformed-iconoclasm) ## 12. Science and technology posture ### Christianity - [Patristic](/science/eras/patristic) - [Medieval European](/science/eras/medieval-european) - [Renaissance and Reformation](/science/eras/renaissance-and-reformation) - [Catholic](/science/traditions/catholic) - [Orthodox](/science/traditions/orthodox) - [Mainline Protestant](/science/traditions/mainline-protestant) - [Heliocentric astronomy](/science/technologies/heliocentric-astronomy) - [The telescope](/science/technologies/telescope) ### 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 ### Christianity - [Catholic](/tree/catholic) - [Eastern Orthodox](/tree/eastern-orthodox) - [Oriental Orthodox](/tree/oriental-orthodox) - [Protestant](/tree/protestant) - [Restorationist](/tree/restorationist) - [Anglican](/tree/anglican) ### 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 ### Christianity 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 ### Christianity 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 ### Christianity 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 ### Christianity - [Chalcedonian Schism](/tree/schisms/chalcedonian-schism) - [East-West Schism](/tree/schisms/east-west-schism) ### Protestant - [Protestant Reformation](/tree/schisms/protestant-reformation) - [The Restoration Movement](/tree/schisms/restoration-movement) ## 18. What each says about the other ### Christianity 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 ### Christianity 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 ### Christianity - [Christianity](/tree/christian) ### Protestant - [Protestant](/tree/protestant) ## Sources - Christianity: The New Testament. - Christianity: Justo L. Gonzalez, The Story of Christianity (2010). - Protestant: The Augsburg Confession (1530). - Protestant: Alister E. McGrath, Reformation Thought (2012).