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Protestantism

American  
[prot-uh-stuhn-tiz-uhm] / ˈprɒt ə stənˌtɪz əm /

noun

  1. the religion of Protestants.

  2. the Protestant churches collectively.

  3. adherence to Protestant principles.


Protestantism British  
/ ˈprɒtɪstənˌtɪzəm /

noun

  1. the religion or religious system of any of the Churches of Western Christendom that are separated from the Roman Catholic Church and adhere substantially to principles established by Luther, Calvin, etc, in the Reformation

  2. the Protestant Churches collectively

  3. adherence to the principles of the Reformation

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of Protestantism

First recorded in 1640–50; Protestant + -ism

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

It recognises Protestantism and Catholicism as official religions, but practising organisations must register with the government -- something many Christians feel yields an unacceptable amount of control over church affairs and teachings.

From Barron's Aug. 25, 2026

Norwegian priest and missionary Hans Egede set out to reconnect with Greenland and convert whoever was there to Protestantism and found an Inuit community.

From The Wall Street Journal Jan. 20, 2026

This duality of the natural and spiritual world is not wholly unique to radical Protestantism, but it has certainly showed up in a variety of deleterious ways.

From Salon May 26, 2025

He says there is an "inherited fault line" on Irish immigration, Irish Catholicism and Scottish Protestantism in the west coast, which goes back to the 19th Century.

From BBC Aug. 10, 2024

Doubting that Christianity or Protestantism was a precondition for the Scientific Revolution leaves plenty of scope for studying the interaction between faith and science: e.g.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

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