Welcome to I Am Your Target Demographic. On this channel, I try to explain things that
might be confusing or tricky to navigate. I’ve found success with covering religions
such as Catholicism, Mormonism, and even Scientology. Today we’re going to cover Christianity
but specifically how the different denominations of the religion are different. I’m going to dive deepest into Protestant
sects, so we’re not covering Catholic or Orthodox groups. While these denominations are mostly Protestant, some
wouldn’t self-identity as Protestant. Now, as a heads up, this is going to be a superficial look at these denominations. Look at how long this video is. It’ll be surface-level but hopefully a decent
look at what separates (and unites) these groups. I also want to say quickly that this list
won’t cover every single sect of Christianity, it’s a massive list. There are many many different beliefs sets,
but I’m going to do my best to cover a diverse group of them. So if you’re already lost, let’s briefly
cover what the term Protestant means. In 1517, a German theology professor named
Martin Luther challenged the policies of the Catholic Church, which was dominant at the
time. Luther never intended to split away from the
Catholic Church, but rather, he wanted to reform the Church from within. The biggest problem he saw was the sale of
“indulgences”: the idea that one could buy their way into Heaven by paying money
here on Earth (money, incidentally, that went to pay Michelangelo for painting the Sistine
Chapel). The sale of indulgences rested on the authority
of the Pope to decide Catholic doctrine, rather than on the Bible, which led Luther into conflict
with him. In 1521, Luther and his protesters were excommunicated
from the Catholic Church. In response, Luther burned the letter excommunicating
him. The people who followed Luther, and those
with different problems who followed after, were called “Protestants” because they
protested the Catholic Church. So here we begin our discussion on the first
denomination in this video: Lutheran. Martin Luther described Christianity through
five “solas”, the Latin word for “alone”. He believed that we are saved by grace alone,
through faith alone, in Christ alone, by His sacrifice on the Cross alone, as told in Bible
alone. He rejected the idea that we could earn our
way into Heaven through paying money, performing good deeds, or believing the right things. There is nothing that a human being can do
to impress a perfectly good Being like God. Therefore God became human in Jesus Christ
to unite humanity to Himself and to save humanity from the deadly consequences of its own sin
through His own death and resurrection. This is the gift of God’s grace, which Luther
believed we receive through the gift of faith. To Lutherans, faith is not believing in the
right doctrines or making an intellectual “decision for Christ”, as some Protestant
sects believe, but rather, faith is God initiating an intimate, trusting relationship with Him. But to know the story of Jesus, one has to
be able to hear it. Besides indulgences, another of Luther’s
problems with the Catholic Church was the insistence that the Bible could only be read
and recited in Latin, the language of scholars. He translated the Bible into German so that
the common people could read and hear it for themselves. Luther also believed that clergypeople should
be allowed to be married, and that priests, monks, and nuns were not an extra-special
class of holy people. Any honest work done well was holy work, whether
it was making shoes or tilling fields. With these exceptions, Lutherans still worship
much like Catholics do, using many of the same forms. Lutherans still practice the baptism of infants
like Catholics do, and believe that Christ is truly present in the bread and wine of
the Eucharist, or as some people might call the "communion." What Lutherans ultimately rejected is the
idea that the authority of human beings is higher than the authority of the Bible, and
that human authorities have the right to put rules and barriers between people and God. Around this same time, we have John Calvin,
a French theologian who also parted ways with the Catholic Church and had some differences
of belief with the Lutherans. Specifically, the Lutherans held onto the
idea that the Eucharist was actually and literally the body and blood
of Christ, whereas the Calvinist point of view is that Christ exists in the elements
alone, alongside the bread and wine. They both believe Christ is present, as opposed
to other denominations that we'll talk about soon that view this tradition as a symbolic gesture only. Calvinists also belief that God has predestined
things to happen. If someone is saved, it is because God planned
for them to saved, and any choices we make in this process are because of his ultimate
choices. They believe our sin is such a burden that
we cannot pursue salvation without God’s intervention and allowance. There is a handy acronym to help understand
what Calvinists believe, called TULIP. Let’s go through it quickly. Total Depravity points to that notion that
we are full of sin, and even moreso dead. God, of his own power can save us, we are
unable to do it alone. Unconditional Election means that God chooses
who receives salvation. The fact that it’s unconditional means that
both the good and the bad can receive salvation, regardless of their acts. Limited Atonement means that not everyone
will be saved. God has foresaw this future and decided already
who will be saved, not everyone will be or can be. Irresistible Grace means that if God chooses
to give salvation to you, that you will have no choice but to pursue it. And lastly we have Preservation of the Saints. It means if you are truly a Christian and
truly want to embrace salvation, that God will never let you perish and will hold you
close forever. Now, let’s transition away from Calvinism. While these denominations separated from the
Catholic structure of the church, let’s talk about Anglicanism, represented in the
United States by the Episcopal Church. This church embraces what is called apostolic
succession, meaning that their Bishops have a succession line going back to the original
12 apostles. Anglicanism as a distinctive tradition traces
back to St. Augustine of Canterbury, the first Catholic bishop in England. Lower case episcopal is used to describe any
church that uses this lineage, but we’re talking about the upper case Episcopal and
Anglican churches here. Like the Catholic Church, they have parishes
and dioceses throughout the world headed by bishops. Comedian Robin Williams said this about the strong similarities between the Episcopal and the Catholic Church: "Yeah, I'm an Episcopal, that's Catholic
Lite – same religion, half the guilt.” In terms of beliefs, they are often described
as following a via media or ‘middle way’ between Roman Catholicism and other Protestant
denominations. After breaking with the Pope, the leaders
of the Church of England selectively incorporated beliefs from the Continental Reformation into
Anglican doctrine. They believe in grace alone and there’s
special importance placed on baptism and communion, though they also acknowledge other sacraments
from Catholicism as well, though not seen as required. Episcopalians in the United States are mostly
known for their progressive social stances. They’ve long fought for a higher living
wage for everyone and had an active role in the civil rights movement. They’re also one of the only Christian denominations
to allow same-sex marriage, if their presiding bishop permits it (and most do). LGBT church members are also eligible to be
ordained as priests, with the first being Ellen Barrett in 1977. The first openly gay bishop was appointed
in 2003, Gene Robinson. This was a divisive move in the church and
he even wore a bullet-proof vest at the ordination following several death threats. As the Episcopalian branch split off, so did
what we now call Methodists. This denomination is based on the teaching
and writings of two brothers named John and Charles Wesley, who traveled from the UK to
America to be missionaries to Native Americans. This failed mostly, but it strengthened their
conviction and they returned to England, preaching salvation to all, which was against the Calvinist
viewpoint of God preordaining who would be saved. They also used the term “New Birth”
which has slowly evolved into what we call born-again, though this term is used by all
sorts of Christian groups now. The Wesleys and their other leaders in the
movement also found themselves stretched too thin and focused on training and ordaining
normal people to become pastors and teachers, again breaking from the more traditional denominations
that focused on structure and power. Something else that has Methodist churches
were known for was a focus on hymns, with Charles Wesley writing over 6,000 hymns in
his lifetime. Churches weren't usually very musical at this
time, so this differentiated the Church then but continues to be a major factor in their
worship services now. While this is a much more relaxed feeling
as opposed to the Anglican slash Episcopal churches, they do retain the structure of Bishops that
preside over areas, so they’d be classified as episcopal with a lower case e. We’re now going to transition to the Presbyterian
church. This denomination eventually splintered from
the Church of Scotland. In terms of belief, they usually align with
Calvinist points of view, including God’s predestination on who is saved and who is
not. Presbyterian churches can dramatically be
different, so you might find this thought in some churches and not others. They differentiate themselves from other denominations
by focusing on a confessional type of tradition. They use statements such as the Apostle’s
Creed, or the Nicene Creed, to reaffirm their collective beliefs. They believe strongly in the community as
a whole over the individual. This also connects to their focus on allowing
all members of the church a voice, allowing all changes to go through a voting process
with the general membership. Most higher level church administration are
also elected into those positions. Now we’re going to cover Baptists, which
is quite a varied group but united under one common belief, the rebuttal of the infant
baptism and preference of the believer’s baptism, usually for adults who find salvation. They also stress complete immersion during
baptism as opposed to sprinkling. While they stress that immersion is the only
way to be baptized, they don’t see baptism as necessary for salvation, but rather an
act that we should do to show the world our faith. The other thing that makes Baptists somewhat
unique is that they don’t have a central authority, each congregation tends to have
autonomy. They might be connected to organizations that
give support or offer fellowship opportunities but these congregations are all self-governing. This makes the label of a “Baptist church”
somewhat tricky, as each congregation might have a different way to worship or a difference
in belief on certain points. There is no overarching body or set of documents
to bring these churches into alignment. Predating the Baptist denomination is the
Anabaptists, which also rejected children’s baptisms and instead focused on adult baptism. The difference between the two is really about
culture, as the Anabaptists reach far further into history than the Baptists. The Anabaptists began in the late medieval
age, about 1500. Since this belief set is so old, it’s hard
to trace its origin and there are even multiple theories on how it came to be. During these dark ages, we do know that Anabaptists
were persecuted for having counter opinions, and were even tortured and executed to try
to stifle the movement. Anabaptists have been split into many denominations
now, including groups like the Amish, Hutterites, and the Mennonites. The Amish and the Hutterites are mostly direct
descendants of their original counterparts, so are considered ethnic groups, while the
Mennonites have incorporated many new members into their congregations. All of these groups have a strong community
and cultural aspect, including traditional clothes and even the dialect of their old
homeland. The Amish for example formed from a schism
of Swiss Anabaptists, still read prayers and sing in German, but some speak what’s called
Pennsylvania Dutch. Now, there are sects of these Anabaptists
that have come into the modern age and might have culturally assimilated, while some still
reject modern technology and live in relative isolation. Even today, the core tenants of believer’s
baptism, nonconformity to the world, and a focus on pacifism are still stressed in most
Anabaptist communities. There is a group that shares some of these
values that might be confusing for the average person and that is the Quaker population,
who also prefer plain clothes and refuse to participate in war, though they differ greatly
from the Anabaptists. The Quaker movement began just after the Protestant
reformation, as a man known as George Fox began to teach that you didn’t need an intermediary
or a priest to commune with God. The actual movement was called the Religious
Society of Friends, or Friends Church for short. They have a strong emphasis on missionary
work, which spread the church throughout the world. The most recent account says that 52% of Quakers
are now in Africa, likely due to these missionary efforts, specifically to countries like Kenya,
Uganda, and Rwanda. While the number of Quakers are relatively
low, they have drastically different belief sets across congregations. There are very traditional groups and very
liberal groups, and everything in between. One unique thing about the Quakers is their
stance on communion, or the Eucharist. For a long time, the Eucharist was only prepared
and served by men in the traditional churches, and the Quakers believed that women had every
same privilege and right as men, so denied taking the Eucharist out of principle. They’ve come to replace it with the idea
that sharing meals together, similar to the Last Supper, and believe that Jesus can join
people in that moment. Today, modern Quakers have generally assimilated
into the larger culture in terms of dress, though there are few that are drawn to live
the old Quaker way and isolate from the world in certain ways. We’re going to transition to one of the
more sensationalized sects of Protestant Christianity and start discussing what it means to be Pentecostal. Being a Pentecostal Christian falls under
the umbrella of what is called “charismatic Christianity,” a group of denominations
that arose from a movement in the 1800s called the Holiness Movement, where Christians started
to break off from other sects, most often Methodist churches, and tried to become more
in line with the literal Biblical scripture. Charismatic churches, and specifically Pentecostal
churches, emphasize spiritual gifts much more than other churches, or at least emphasize
spiritual gifts that are maybe underemphasized in other churches. One of these gifts is the speaking of tongues,
which is where someone might speak in a language that is not understandable. What this language is, or what it means, is
hotly debated. Some churches believe that the speakers are
speaking in an ancient language that we’ve forgotten or is no longer used, while others
believe the language is that of the angels, of heaven itself. There are other people in these churches who
typically have a gift of understanding tongues and can translate what’s said. This is an uncommon practice, so is often
hard to believe when it’s happening, even for believers. Pentecostal Christians also engage in some
other unique practices, such as handling of snakes, which is to prove that even dangerous
animals can not harm those doing God’s work. These poisonous snakes do bite these speakers,
and sometimes the speaker even dies, though it’s usually claimed to still be God’s
intent. The number of churches that still use snakes
in their sermons is very low, even among Pentecostal churches. The third big difference and how you might
have seen or experienced Pentecostal churches is through their belief in healing, often
held in large tents as the church traveled and evangelized and healed the sick and crippled. They believe that with enough belief, even
normal people could conjure up miracles with God’s power. While not scientifically proven or disproven,
there are many testimonies of healing actually occurring in these situations, enough to encourage
its continued practice. These three things, the speaking of tongues,
snake handling, and healing of the sick, are the most sensationalized acts of Pentecostal
churches, but like all other denominations, it differs greatly from church to church. There are many Pentecostal churches that don’t
do any of these things and look similar to other denominations. Another form of Protestant Christianity that
you’ve likely heard of is being an Adventist. There are many types of Adventist but we’re
going to really dive into the largest portion of this pool, the Seventh-Day Adventists. While some denominations differ from church
to church, the Seventh-Day Adventists have an overarching organization, the General Conference
which includes the office of the President, housed in Maryland in the United States. This governing body makes all large decisions,
including debates on scripture and administrative decisions for the church. Why they’re called Seventh-Day Adventists
is that they believe that Saturday, not Sunday, represents the Sabbath, and they typically
spend this day resting and enjoying fellowship with other believers, but they will not work
or do errands on this day. Another distinctive belief for most Seventh-Day
Adventists is that Hell, while usually seen as a neverending torture, is not infinite
in their belief set. They believe in what’s called Annihilationism,
that after their final judgment, nonbelievers will instead be destroyed, total extinction. Adventists also put a huge emphasis on humanitarian
work and education. In terms of service projects, there is an
Adventist Development and Relief Agency that works in 125 countries and employs over 4,000
people. In terms of education, Adventists operate
over 7,000 schools, including colleges and universities, with the largest being Northern
Caribbean University in Jamaica. Now, Adventist Christians sometimes share
a similarity with another denomination that we’re about to cover. The idea of celebrating holidays is a divisive
one in the population, as some Adventists might choose to not celebrate holidays like
Christmas or Easter, or even celebrate birthdays. Yet, many do, so it’s a divisive choice. The President of the church wrote a statement
that it’s up to each person to decide on their own, the church has no official stance
either way. This is similar to what you may know or have
heard about the Jehovah’s Witnesses, often known for their lack of celebrating any holiday. This is a standard across all their churches,
that any sort of celebration is against God’s will. Even Christmas is not celebrated, as God said
to celebrate his death, not his birth. Birthdays are not celebrated for it should
be the spiritual birth that is acknowledged. Witnesses do not see themselves of the world,
so they don’t celebrate national holidays and they do not glorify warfare and the military,
so they don’t celebrate holidays such as Memorial Day. This can be tricky to understand, especially
for children, as they don’t share in birthday or holiday festivities in the classroom. How the Jehovah’s Witnesses worship is also
a little different, as their churches are actually called Kingdom Halls. And typically, though not always, these Halls
don’t have any windows and don’t feature any crosses, so you may not even know it’s
a place of worship. The answers for why the buildings don’t
have windows has a few prominent answers but the most common is the expense and time of
building a Kingdom Hall. Typically, these buildings are raised in just
a few short days, so the luxury of adding windows is a burden on time. And why no crosses? Scripture says to not worship idols, which
Jehovah’s Witnesses see the cross as. It’s a symbol, an idol, something other
than God, so they choose to not use them. Like the Adventists, Jehovah’s Witnesses
also believe that extinction is the fate of the nonbeliever. The core tenants of what Jehovah's Witnesses believe differentiates them from any other sect of Christianitiy. Witnesses do not believe that Jesus Christ
is equal to God, they do not believe in the trinity as traditionally seen. Should Jesus be revered and respected, yes,
but worship should solely be placed on God, another likely factor in removing the cross. They believe that Jesus was indeed the son
of God and did indeed give his life to offer salvation, but they also trust Jesus when
he said that the Father is greater than I, John 14:28, so they focus their worship on
God alone. Now that we’re discussing denominations
that diverge from traditional beliefs, it’s time to cover what’s called Christian Science,
or the Church of Christ, Scientist. This religion focuses on the fact that only
the spiritual world is real, and that our physical world here is an illusion. So any sickness that people might face, should
be able to be addressed through prayer alone. Because of the name, people often confuse
Christian Scientists with the Church of Scientology, which is very much not a Christian church
and is the focus of another video all to itself. While this is a small denomination, it makes
the headlines quite often, as many legal cases have been in the news in the debate over whether
parents must give medical attention to a child, or if their potential death would be considered
negligent. In most countries, even today, it is still
their religious freedom that allows them to turn away medical help that would save their
children. The actual history of these lawsuits is again
tumultuous, with incidents favoring the Christian Scientists and incidents condemning their
behavior. The law is still very messy and other religious
organizations will often support Christian Science in these lawsuits, as the benefit
of religious freedom benefits all of them. Before we end this video, you may be asking
where other Christians are classified, maybe you even are a Christian but don’t quite
know which of these denominations you fit into. The term for most of these Christian churches
is nondenominational Christianity. This basically means that these churches are
autonomous, they don’t exist under any larger umbrella and don’t report to any larger
governing body. These nondenominational Christian churches
include a large group of people, in 2014 it was cited as 6.2% of the United States population,
the second highest group of Protestants just under Baptists. Since these groups are varied, pinpointing
their exact theological beliefs is tricky. If you’re part of a nondenominational church
or want to learn about them, you can start by asking questions about the church’s stance
on salvation, the trinity, and sacraments such as communion. This should open up more opportunities for
questions, to make sure their values align with yours. So hopefully this was an interesting journey. I know we didn’t include every facet of
Protestant Christianity and even the denominations that we did talk about, it was fairly brief
and superficial. Maybe someday we’ll cover some of these
branches more extensively, but this was meant to just give you a look at how they differ
and what some of these groups are like. We have other religion videos to check out,
so look at these videos highlighted on the screen and give them a look. Subscribe if you find this interesting and
thanks for watching!
