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The Protestant Movement



Martin Luther was a 16th century German monk  who grew disillusioned with the authority of the Roman Catholic Church and insisted that salvation was entirely a gift of God’s grace. He began a process of Christian reform that eventually moved beyond Catholicism and became known as the Protestant Reformation. And that process of reform would continue in Protestant churches themselves, generating new practices, theologies, movements, and denominations. 

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Birth of the Church



After Jesus’ resurrection, his followers traveled to spread his teachings. One prominent leader in the early church, The apostle Paul, made the radical shift to evangelize the Gentiles (non-Jews), which advanced the global spread of Christianity as more people joined the community of Christ-followers that is the church.


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Baptism by Water and Spirit

Modeled on Christ’s baptism by John the Baptist in the River Jordan, the rite of baptism involves the partial or full immersion of a person into water as a sign of their rebirth into Christianity. Some denominations baptize infants, while others require that the person has voluntarily chosen to follow Jesus first. 

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Devotion to the Virgin Mary

Global devotion to Jesus’s mother, the Virgin Mary, includes shrines across the world. For American and particularly Hispanic Catholics, special reverence is often afforded to the Virgin of Guadalupe, Mary’s manifestation as an indigenous Madonna in Mexico, who is now considered Patroness of all the Americas.

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Festival of St. Anthony



Every August, more than 100,000 people go to the North End of Boston to participate in the Festival of St. Anthony, which, like other festas in the United States, is organized by an Italian American mutual aid society. The festival is a celebration of cultural and religious heritage.

 

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Issues for Christians in America

Fighting for the Bible

The Bible is often used by Christians with different theological and political beliefs as textual support for their positions. Questions of interpretation have high stakes and include whether to take the Bible as literally true and eternally relevant; as a product of a particular historical context; or as a text that should be read allegorically.

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Women’s Ministry in the Church

Protestant women across many denominations fought for, and slowly gained, a share of ministerial authority over the course of the 19th and 20th centuries. In Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches, proponents of women’s ordination still fight opposition from church authorities.

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Race and Ethnicity



Many Christian churches in America carry violent legacies of settler colonialism and slavery, and yet many are filled with remarkable diversity and prophetic voices for justice. Across denominations, Christians create communities and traditions informed by their racial and ethnic identities, and many see their faith as an imperative to reckon with racism in the country today.

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Interfaith Dialogue



 The ever-increasing religious diversity of the United States necessitates that Christians across the country relate to and interact with people of other faith backgrounds. Though some Christians maintain that evangelization is the most urgent way to engage with non-Christians, many others seek to find common ground across religious lines, creating organizations and spaces designed to facilitate open dialogue.... Read more about Interfaith Dialogue

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