For my own knowledge, what are the core differences between denominations like Lutheran, Methodist, Anglican, Pres etc??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Aren’t Anglican and Episcopal the same?

All Episcopalians are Anglican. Not all Anglicans are Episcopalian.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you want a dissertation or something? This is something for google, not for DCUM.

Op here. Just a simple this is the difference. I’m formerly Catholic but I can’t wrap my head around what the actual difference is. As mentioned, for years I’ve tried to understand via Google and reading but I’m not fully seeing it before my eyes if that makes sense.

Sort of how Pentecostal believes you are able to speak in tongues and must if you have been filled with the Holy Spiritvs. Charismatics who feel you can be filled with the Holy Spirit without speaking in tongues.

Is there anyone familiar with two or one that could just phrase it better for me?

Is there a simple way to think of these denominational differences?

OP, you’re barking up the wrong tree. Most Pentecostals do believe in speaking in tongues, yes, but that is not THE defining feature of Pentecostalism, it is not what separates Pentecostals from other denominations.

This. OP is basically asking for stereotypes

I can say "Catholics are the ones with a Pope" but that doesn't provide any helpful information about the historical, religious, or cultural experience of being Catholic.
In addition, most Protestant denominations have multiple internal divisions, eg there are two flavors of Presbyterian and they believe different things.

OP, your question does have Google-able answers but you'll have to read multiple sources or at least multiple Wikipedia articles. We can't give you a mnemonic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I took a course on this in college and I’m still not sure I could explain it. Basically each Protestant group is another step removed from the Catholic Church and go from strict interpretations of communion (it IS the body and blood of Christ) to more loose interpretations (it is a symbol of the body and blood of Christ) (transubstantiation vs. consubstantiation). I believe Lutheran (Missouri Synod) is closest to Catholic theology but can’t recall for sure. Methodist is one of the further ones from Catholicism.

Liturgical vs non-liturgical is a relevant difference here. I think of Orthodox as the most liturgical, and the charismatic movement as the least liturgical. Also read up on the doctrine of sola scriptura in protestantism.

[Anonymous]

Agree you need to read up on this. The Eastern European church and the Western European church and the different Protestant sects.

The different sects can be very different because they were started at different times in history, reflecting new ways of thinking and interpreting the Bible and faith: Lutheranism is centuries older than Methodism, for instance. Then there are schisms that evolve out of sects and then become a new faith, and some are more prevalent in some countries than others (Lutheranism in Scandinavia, Anglican in England) and you can read about how those developed too.

Wikipedia has a pretty comprehensive take on it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you want a dissertation or something? This is something for google, not for DCUM.

Op here. Just a simple this is the difference. I’m formerly Catholic but I can’t wrap my head around what the actual difference is. As mentioned, for years I’ve tried to understand via Google and reading but I’m not fully seeing it before my eyes if that makes sense.

Sort of how Pentecostal believes you are able to speak in tongues and must if you have been filled with the Holy Spiritvs. Charismatics who feel you can be filled with the Holy Spirit without speaking in tongues.

Is there anyone familiar with two or one that could just phrase it better for me?

Is there a simple way to think of these denominational differences?

No, as other posters have said, there isn’t a simple two-sentence answer because the Protestant tenants are basically the same, but with a million nuances in how the church bodies are structured and styles of how they choose to worship.
Some (Baptist and evangelical non-denominational) take a more literal approach to reading the Bible and tend to view it as the inerrant sacred word of God.
Other denominations tend to read scripture as allegory or storytelling with the moral and lesson being the point.
The way each denomination is organized is different. Done have laypeople in pastoral positions, some allow women to be ordained. Others do not. Still others allow women to be ordained but believe that the Bible is specific about women not being in a position of spiritual leadership where she is in charge of spiritually leading a man.
Some denominations believe in infant baptism with a “confirmation” of belief once the person is old enough to learn the faith and profess belief herself. And others believe the Bible does not condone this and that one can only be baptized when one is old enough to understand the commitment that is being made (usually minimum of 8, 9, 10)
There are many differences like this and you basically need to read each church’s doctrine and agreements to understand what they profess to believe or how they are structured.

But essentially Protestant Christians believe in the triune God (Father, Son, Holy Spirit), they do not believe in prayer to saints or to Mary or by going through the Pope or any other entity that has a special line or connection to Jesus. Protestants believe that we are called to have a direct and personal relationship with Jesus Christ through prayer, that we are all sinners, and we believe that Christ took on the punishment of our sin for the whole world so that we can be free from punishment and forgiven of our sins.
Protestants believe in salvation through faith alone. And that we often respond to this gift and show gratitude for it by doing good works as a reflection of Gods love….but our good works do not earn us points toward salvation.

See?…too much to post. Google is your friend.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Methodism is very focused on good works. Anglicans are catholic light. Presbyterians are focused on local control

I grew up in the Methodist church and “good works” is not a tenet of salvation belief doctrine. As the PP above stated, good works are not frowned upon and are even encouraged because it’s something we do as Christ followers to show and share His love with others, but it’s not a requirement of salvation. Methodists believe that faith in Christ as savior is the requirement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have tried for years to find a simple way of understanding the differences with Google and reading and I am honestly still confused.

How do the denominations differ:

Presbyterian
Lutheran
Anglican
Methodist
Episcopalian


Please feel free to break down any others too.

You should learn this information for yourself. Each religion you listed has information detailing their beliefs online. You say you can’t understand what google says; what makes you think other people can understand what google says? Or that people reading google grasp the differences correctly? You should be able to interpret information you read and not depend on anonymous strangers to educate you. You may get information that is inaccurate and incorrect.

Coming to an anonymous forum is not a good way to learn about religion. You don’t know who is posting and what their education and credentials are. If you are looking for a church or trying to connect with others and learn about a religion you are interested in or how people personally practice their religious beliefs, that’s one thing.

Even scholars and academics would need volumes of space and hours of time to answer your question- if they felt qualified to answer it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you want a dissertation or something? This is something for google, not for DCUM.

Op here. Just a simple this is the difference. I’m formerly Catholic but I can’t wrap my head around what the actual difference is. As mentioned, for years I’ve tried to understand via Google and reading but I’m not fully seeing it before my eyes if that makes sense.

Sort of how Pentecostal believes you are able to speak in tongues and must if you have been filled with the Holy Spiritvs. Charismatics who feel you can be filled with the Holy Spirit without speaking in tongues.

Is there anyone familiar with two or one that could just phrase it better for me?

Is there a simple way to think of these denominational differences?

OP, you’re barking up the wrong tree. Most Pentecostals do believe in speaking in tongues, yes, but that is not THE defining feature of Pentecostalism, it is not what separates Pentecostals from other denominations.

This. OP is basically asking for stereotypes

I can say "Catholics are the ones with a Pope" but that doesn't provide any helpful information about the historical, religious, or cultural experience of being Catholic.
In addition, most Protestant denominations have multiple internal divisions, eg there are two flavors of Presbyterian and they believe different things.

OP, your question does have Google-able answers but you'll have to read multiple sources or at least multiple Wikipedia articles. We can't give you a mnemonic.

op wants a research assistant for free, and wants hours of research typed here and it’s impossible.

[Anonymous]

Predestination was an original core belief for one/some

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Aren’t Anglican and Episcopal the same?

No. The Anglican Communion refers to all churches affiliated with The Church of England — the branch of Protestantism that broke away from the Catholic Church under Henry VIII. They all use The Book of Common Prayer for worship. There are churches of the Anglican Communion all over the world. The Episcopal church in America is part of the Anglican tradition. But it gets a little complicated in that some Episcopal congregations have now split from the Episcopal Church due to differences—and call themselves Anglican (see the incredibly dramatic fight over the historic Falls Church in NOVA that I think went all the way up to the Supreme Court).

OP, there is no DCUM post that can answer your question. I’ve studied theology and even the posts here that people seem to think are good are so woefully inadequate as to be misleading.

Wikipedia isn’t perfect, but you can start there—read the entry for each denomination and go from there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Methodism is very focused on good works. Anglicans are catholic light. Presbyterians are focused on local control

I grew up in the Methodist church and “good works” is not a tenet of salvation belief doctrine. As the PP above stated, good works are not frowned upon and are even encouraged because it’s something we do as Christ followers to show and share His love with others, but it’s not a requirement of salvation. Methodists believe that faith in Christ as savior is the requirement.

I grew up Methodist too and I don't remember anything about good works. I do remember that communion was only once a month and it was with oyster crackers and grape juice!

[Anonymous]

LOL, Lutherans eat corned beef and cabbage.

[Anonymous]

Presbyterian
Lutheran
Anglican
Methodist
Episcopalian


Some of the cheapest people I have ever met have been members of the aforementioned denominations. Frugality in hyperdrive

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you want a dissertation or something? This is something for google, not for DCUM.

Op here. Just a simple this is the difference. I’m formerly Catholic but I can’t wrap my head around what the actual difference is. As mentioned, for years I’ve tried to understand via Google and reading but I’m not fully seeing it before my eyes if that makes sense.

Sort of how Pentecostal believes you are able to speak in tongues and must if you have been filled with the Holy Spiritvs. Charismatics who feel you can be filled with the Holy Spirit without speaking in tongues.

Is there anyone familiar with two or one that could just phrase it better for me?

Is there a simple way to think of these denominational differences?

OP, you’re barking up the wrong tree. Most Pentecostals do believe in speaking in tongues, yes, but that is not THE defining feature of Pentecostalism, it is not what separates Pentecostals from other denominations.

This. OP is basically asking for stereotypes

I can say "Catholics are the ones with a Pope" but that doesn't provide any helpful information about the historical, religious, or cultural experience of being Catholic.
In addition, most Protestant denominations have multiple internal divisions, eg there are two flavors of Presbyterian and they believe different things.

OP, your question does have Google-able answers but you'll have to read multiple sources or at least multiple Wikipedia articles. We can't give you a mnemonic.

op wants a research assistant for free, and wants hours of research typed here and it’s impossible.

ChatGPT could do it better than a researcher in about 1 minute.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Methodism is very focused on good works. Anglicans are catholic light. Presbyterians are focused on local control

I grew up in the Methodist church and “good works” is not a tenet of salvation belief doctrine. As the PP above stated, good works are not frowned upon and are even encouraged because it’s something we do as Christ followers to show and share His love with others, but it’s not a requirement of salvation. Methodists believe that faith in Christ as savior is the requirement.

I grew up Methodist too and I don't remember anything about good works. I do remember that communion was only once a month and it was with oyster crackers and grape juice!

I grew up Methodist and good works were how we spread God's word. There was a belief that we shouldn't knock on doors and proselytize (for instance like Mormon missionaries) but that we should do good works in the community and that would inspire others to be interested in our faith and to want to become a part of it.

There are also stories in the Bible about the washing of feet and communing with lepers and prostitutes that are used to suggest we should act in a Christ-like way by reaching out to marginalized communities.

Methodist missionaries, for instance, spend 6 days a week running schools and working on projects to help the community without any specific tie to religion, like digging a well for clean water, but then invite the community to join them at church on Sunday. Missionaries for other religions often spend the majority of their time preaching or proselytizing. You don't get saved through good works, but it's how you spread the word of God and follow the example of Christ.

Methodists are big on having your faith be between you and God without the church acting as an intermediary. If you have a question of faith, you're told to pray and aren't handed an answer. As one example, we had a church service one Sunday where the pastor invited three PhD scientists to explain how they'd personally reconciled evolution and the Big bang with the creation story. Each scientist had a different perspective, some more literal and some more allegory based, and then the pastor encouraged us to read the Bible and pray about it. He didn't give us an official answer from the Methodist Church.