Protestantism
General Information
Protestantism is a movement in Western Christianity whose adherents reject the notion that divine authority is channeled through one particular human institution or person such as the Roman Catholic pope. Protestants look elsewhere for the authority of their faith. Most of them stress the Bible - the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament - as the source and the norm of their teaching. Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Christians also stress the authority of the Bible, but they also look to tradition, and, in the case of Catholics, to the pope as a source of authority.
Cultural Impact
The rejection of the Catholic tradition and in some instances a tendency toward iconoclasm militated against the development of a specifically Protestant style in the visual arts, although many great artists have been Protestants. In general the Protestant contribution has been a simplicity, even austerity, of design and decoration. This is particularly true of the Calvinist tradition.
In music and literature the Protestant contribution has been enormous. The vernacular versions of the Bible, such as Luther's and the King James Version, played a formative role in the development of modern German and English literature. Emphasis on preaching and lack of strong centers of doctrinal authority contributed to a diversity of opinion and expression, as reflected, for example, in the work of John Milton. A strong musical tradition developed out of the encouragement of hymn singing and the use of the organ and other instruments, reaching its pinnacle in the work of Johann Sebastian Bach.
Protestantism is a movement in Western Christianity whose adherents reject the notion that divine authority is channeled through one particular human institution or person such as the Roman Catholic pope. Protestants look elsewhere for the authority of their faith. Most of them stress the Bible - the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament - as the source and the norm of their teaching. Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Christians also stress the authority of the Bible, but they also look to tradition, and, in the case of Catholics, to the pope as a source of authority.
Cultural Impact
The rejection of the Catholic tradition and in some instances a tendency toward iconoclasm militated against the development of a specifically Protestant style in the visual arts, although many great artists have been Protestants. In general the Protestant contribution has been a simplicity, even austerity, of design and decoration. This is particularly true of the Calvinist tradition.
In music and literature the Protestant contribution has been enormous. The vernacular versions of the Bible, such as Luther's and the King James Version, played a formative role in the development of modern German and English literature. Emphasis on preaching and lack of strong centers of doctrinal authority contributed to a diversity of opinion and expression, as reflected, for example, in the work of John Milton. A strong musical tradition developed out of the encouragement of hymn singing and the use of the organ and other instruments, reaching its pinnacle in the work of Johann Sebastian Bach.
