Nu strică să ne privim puțin cu ochii celorlalți. Iată un rezumat al antiprotestantismului in istorie si in lume:

Anti-Protestantism

History

Anti-Protestantism originated in a reaction by the Roman Catholic Church against the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century. Christian Protestantism was denounced as heresy, and those supporting these doctrines excommunicated as heretics. Thus by canon law and the practice and policies of the Holy Roman Empire of the time, Protestants were subject to persecution in those territories, such as Spain, Italy and the Netherlands, in which the Catholic rulers were then the dominant power. This movement was started by the reigning Pope at that time and various political rulers with a more political stake in the controversy then a religious one. These princes instituted policies as part of the then extant Spanish Inquisition, these abuses of that crusade originally authorized for other reasons such as the Reconquista, and Morisco conversions, ultimately led to the Counter Reformation, and the edicts of the Council of Trent. Therefor the fallout from the political repercussions of various European rulers for their own political reasons supporting traditional Catholicism or the new Protestant groups, only subsequently branded as heretical, and after rejection by the adherents of these doctrines of the Edicts of the Council of Trent, resulted in religious wars and outbreaks of sectarian hatred, one example of which is the St Bartholomew’s Day Massacre.

By contrast, Eastern Orthodoxy initially viewed Protestantism as less of a threat.^{[citation needed]} They had comparatively little contact for geographic, linguistic and historical reasons. Protestant attempts to reconcile with Eastern Orthodoxy proved problematic. In general, many Orthodox had the initial impression that Protestantism was a new heresy that arose from a previous heresy, the previous heresy being Latin Catholicism itself.

In 1771 Charles Walmesley published his General History of the Christian Church from her birth to her Final Triumphant States in Heaven chiefly deduced from the Apocalypse of St. John the Apostle, written under the pseudonym of Signor Pastorini. The book forecast the end of Protestantism by 1825 and was published in at least 15 editions and several languages.^[1]

By the 19th century some^[who?] Eastern Orthodox thinkers believed that Northern Europe had become secular or virtually atheist due to its having been Protestant earlier. In recent eras Orthodox anti-Protestantism has grown due to increasing nationalism and Protestant proselytization in predominantly Orthodox countries.

[edit]Hostility to mainline Protestantism

In the United States, hostility to mainline Protestantism comes from stereotypes of “WASPs“. This is a mildly derogatory term describing people of “White Anglo-Saxon Protestant” background, but can be applied to all Protestants of Western European descent. It can describe upper middle class Protestant people and their values in teasing or disparaging terms. WASPs tended to be portrayed as rigid and emotionally reserved. This reference reflects the Early Puritanism of the New England area, and the struggle for acceptance in large population centers by non-Protestants throughout much of the 18th and 19th, and well into the 20th centuries. These political struggles used religious epithets to brand the adherents and power brokers of the then establishment and their opponents as being primarily of one or the opposite religious persuasion, resulting in terms such as Papists and WASPs becoming common usage as derogatory terms. However this reaction is primarily based on mutual bias and emotionalism, rather than actual proof of a con-comittant anti-religious bias, as the establishment policies were based more on economics and politics than any true religious beliefs, and anti-Protestant sentiment was more a reaction of disappointment to such exclusivism, than hatred. Pop-culture references to this occur in the discussions of the mayor’s background in Spin City, the Jim Dial character in Murphy Brown, and many characters in the film Mona Lisa Smile.

Among conservative Christians (including traditionalist Catholics and Eastern Orthodox as well as Evangelicals), mainline Protestant denominations are often characterized as being theologically liberal to the point where they are no longer true to the Bible or historical Christian tradition. These perceptions are often linked to highly publicized events, such as the decision to endorse same sex marriage by the United Church of Christ. While theological liberalism is clearly present within most mainline denominations, surveys show that many within the mainline denominations consider themselves moderate or conservative and holding traditional Christian theological views.^[2][3]

[edit]Hostility to Evangelicals

In the United States, critics of the policies adopted by the Religious Right, such as support of traditional one-man one-woman marriage and support of Right to Life for the unborn, often equate evangelicalism as a movement with the Religious Right. Many evangelicals belong to this political movement, although it is a diverse movement that draws support from other Protestants, Mormons, Catholics, and Eastern Orthodox, among other non-evangelical groups. A few critics have even suggested that evangelicals are a kind of “fifth column” aimed at turning the United States or other nations into Christian theocracies. Robert A. Heinlein‘s If This Goes On—, among other science fiction works, project this fear into the future. Liberal critics are alleged to devote disproportionate attention to fringe groups such as the Quiverfull sect or Bob Jones University, although these groups embrace beliefs that most evangelicals reject^{[citation needed]} and define themselves as fundamentalists rather than evangelicals. The Associated Press Style Guide notes that the term “evangelical” is not to be used as a synonym for “fundamentalist”, but the two terms are commonly conflated by many American journalists.

In Central and Eastern Europe the fall of Communism led to evangelization projects that have incited some resentment. The reaction has been perhaps the most intense in Belarus. Programs in Belarus imply that Pentecostalism is a destructive cult or cults that can be compared to Aum Shinrikyo. There are disputed claims that Baptists are also maligned in Belarusian textbooks.^[4]

In the Muslim world, hostility to evangelical Christians is widespread. This hostility focuses on evangelicals for a variety of reasons. In much of the Middle East and North Africa, Catholics and Orthodox Christians have lived in the region for centuries and have been successfully established trust and cooperation with Muslims in their societies. Evangelicals are seen as a destabilizing factor in these societies, in part owing to the close association of the evangelical religious agenda with the economic and political outlooks of the United States. Also, in nations governed by some form of Sharia Law, efforts to convert Muslims to Christianity would most certainly be deemed as encouraging apostasy and could have legal repercussions. The punishment can vary from censorship to death. Still it is more common in the Islamic world for anti-Christian feelings to be generalized. Hence Christianity in general is viewed unfavorably in Turkey and Pakistan according to a recent Pew Survey.^{[citation needed]}

Some evangelical groups that hold to a Dispensationalist interpretation of Biblical prophecy have been accused to supporting Zionism and providing material support for Jewish settlers who build communities within Palestinian territories. Critics contend that these evangelicals support Israel in order to expedite the building of the Third Temple in Jerusalem, which Dispensationalists see as a requirement for the return of Jesus Christ.^[5] Many evangelicals reject Dispensationalism and support peace efforts in the Middle East, however.^{[citation needed]}

Some evangelical groups take the Bible as literal and exact truth, and so have been derided as “Bible thumpers“. Negative depictions of evangelicals as uneducated rubes or hypocrites are common in Hollywood movies and television shows, such as Saved!, Shawshank Redemption, andTalladega Nights.

[edit]Catholic and Protestant disagreement

Woodcut showing Luther and the reformers as the Antichrist

In several countries with a majority of the population identifying themselves as Catholic, there is a hostility to Protestantism as a whole.^{[citation needed]} This distaste with Protestantism is often religious in nature, but in some areas, such as Northern Ireland, it is the unfortunate result of a battle of the European religious wars having been fought there, which polarised the people on religious, ethnic, and political grounds.

In more modern times, with the growth in ecumenism among Protestants in the mid-20th century and with the advent of Vatican II, Catholic-Protestant relations have grown calmer. Nevertheless, in general the further a Protestant sect is from Catholicism in its doctrine, the more discomfort may arise among Catholic people.^{[citation needed]} Anglicans and Lutherans are only sporadically viewed in a negative light in modern Catholic countries. However, a Zogby poll of American Catholics showed Catholics having a more hostile attitude toward Fundamentalist Evangelical Protestants than to any non-Christian religion.^{[citation needed]} It is also the official teaching of the Roman Catholic Church that Protestant faiths are not truly ‘churches’, do not contain the fullness of truth, and are, in fact, heresy.^{[citation needed]} There are Catholics, especially Traditionalist Catholics who deem Protestantism to be a rejection of “the one true faith” and thus in a state of mortal sin. Although many Catholics in the United States and other developed nations are secularized (see Cultural Catholic), some still retain resentment toward Protestants due to past historical conflicts. For example Irish American and Irish still resent the Battle of the Boyneand The Troubles involving the British.^{[citation needed]}

In 1999, the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification,^[6] a document created by and agreed to by clerical representatives of the Roman Catholic Church and the Lutheran World Federation as a result of extensive ecumenical dialogue, substantially resolved the conflict over the nature of justification (dealing colloquially with the issue of faith and works) which was a major issue at the root of the Protestant Reformation. The churches acknowledged that the excommunications relating to the doctrine of justification set forth by the Roman Catholic Council of Trent do not apply to the teachings of the Lutheran churches set forth in the text; likewise, the churches acknowledged that the condemnations set forth in the Lutheran Confessionsdo not apply to the Catholic teachings on justification set forth in the document.

Categories: Teologice