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Originally Posted by VonDondu  It's interesting how Protestant groups now have a reputation for being as dogmatic as the Catholic church. It wasn't always like that. Traditional Protestant groups originated during the period in history known as the Reformation specifically as an alternative to the dogmatism and papal authority of the Catholic church. Their guiding principle was that people should put their faith in the Bible, not in the words of a human being like the Pope, but most Protestant groups do not believe that every word of the Bible is literally true. Pentecostal groups arose in a separate movement, but some of them consider themselves to be Protestants. Their guiding principle is that people have a direct personal relationship with God through baptism. In practice, many Pentecostal groups allow a great deal of individuality and independent thinking. But the fundamentalist/evangelical groups seem to get the most attention (probably because they demand the most attention)... |
There are three separate large evangelical groups in the US, though the media never discusses this fact: the black churches--politically liberal, socially activist--the moderate white evangelicals, and the very conservative white churches of predominantly (but not exclusively) Protestant and Pentecostal faith. It's this last that grabs the headlines in a nation where the media are ruled by very wealthy, aggressively conservative barons.
Roman Catholicism is definitely not liberal, but its authoritarian, top-down management has meant a certain kind of self-reinforcing leadership. Those evangelical/fundamentalist churches, on the other hand, appear to me, at least, woven into the fabric of small communities. They seem to fasten on the social elements most fearful of societal change, and give them both a degree of reassurance and a heaping dose of fear of the sinful hordes trying to capture their bodies and minds.
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Anyway, Fable, I don't dispute what you said, but I would have been more specific and singled out evangelicals and fundamentalists instead of "some Protestant groups". I grew up as a Lutheran (I'm not religious anymore), and I still get kind of touchy about the way that Protestants are portrayed sometimes. I wouldn't want people to think I grew up in a fundamentalist/evangelical church.  |
I didn't write "some Protestant groups." To be accurate, I wrote "some Pentacostal and Protestant groups," and it's an accurate statement. It's also consistent with the theological divide of this thread that looked first at Roman Catholicism and its approach to scientific matters. If we discussed evangelical/fundamentalist churches, instead, we'd have to completely ignore the theological division, since there are some Roman Catholic churches and organizations that are quite as rabid and backwards as the most vicious Southern Baptist televangelist. Not as many, true, but enough to wreck a discusion of the RCC and science. Not sure I'm making my point; let me know if I haven't.