Protestant

American  

[prot-uh-stuhnt, pruh-tes-tuhnt] / ˈprɒt ə stənt, prəˈtɛs tənt /

noun

1. any Western Christian who is not an adherent of a Catholic, Anglican, or Eastern Church.

2. an adherent of any of those Christian bodies that separated from the Church of Rome during the Reformation, or of any group descended from them, usually excluding the Anabaptists.

3. (originally) any of the German princes who protested against the decision of the Diet of Speyer in 1529, which had denounced the Reformation.

4. protestant, a person who protests.

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adjective

1. belonging or relating to Protestants or their religion.

2. protestant. protesting.

Protestant British  

/ ˈprɒtɪstənt /

noun

1. 1. an adherent of Protestantism

   2. ( as modifier )

      the Protestant Church

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Protestant Cultural  

1. A Christian belonging to one of the three great divisions of Christianity (the other two are the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church). Protestantism began during the Renaissance as a protest against the established (Roman Catholic) church (see also established church). That protest, led by Martin Luther, was called the Reformation, because it sprang from a desire to reform the church and cleanse it of corruption, such as the selling of indulgences.

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Protestants hold a great variety of beliefs, but they are united in rejecting the authority of the pope. Protestant groups include the Amish, the Anglican Communion, the Assemblies of God, the Baptists, Christian Science, the Congregationalists, the Lutheran Church, the Mennonites, the Methodists, the Presbyterian Church, and the Quakers.

Other Word Forms

• anti-Protestant adjective
• non-Protestant adjective
• pro-Protestant adjective
• unprotestant adjective

Etymology

Origin of Protestant

First recorded in 1530–40; from French or German, from Latin prōtestantēs “bearing public witness,” plural of present participle of prōtestārī “to bear public witness”; protest

Example Sentences

The sacrifice of Jesus and its commemoration in the Mass became a major theological and sometimes military contest between 16th-century Protestants and Roman Catholics.

From The Wall Street Journal

“I just saw an advertisement posted in a shop window about a new home for hopeless children—the Protestant Orphan Asylum, I believe it’s called. But I’ve had no time to pay a visit.”

From Literature

Overseas religious rights groups said the crackdown on the Protestant church in the town of Yayang began in mid-December, with reportedly around 100 members initially detained, and two dozen still in custody.

From Barron's

An influential Protestant church in China says prominent leaders were arrested in what appears to be a growing crackdown on the underground church movement.

From BBC

China is home to tens of millions of Christians, including both Protestants and Catholics, and counts many faithful among its urban middle class.

From The Wall Street Journal