The Baptists
Baptists form the largest Protestant movement in the United States, comprising over 30 separate groups or conventions. The largely white Southern Baptist Convention, with over 40,000 congregations, has over 16 million members, making it the largest individual Protestant denomination in the country. Baptists believe in the supremacy of the scriptures. Although they do form alliances in loose confederations, Baptists groups do not have a formal church hierarchy. In fact, they call their congregations “denominations” rather than churches. Each local denomination functions as an independent autonomous unit. Baptists believe in baptism (by full immersion of the body into water) of believers, rather than of infants. Beyond this basic tenet, however, there is no body of official Baptist doctrines.
Methoism
Methodism is second largest Protestant denomination in the United States. The United Methodist Church forms the largest Methodist organization, but there are over a dozen others. While modern Methodism has officially abandoned many of its more conservative views, and has become quite active in community and social causes, American Methodism has traditionally been associated with very strict standards of personal living regarding gambling, sex, alcohol, and other supposed vices. Over the course of American history, Methodism has associated itself with reform activities involving abolition of slavery, women’s suffrage, abolition of child labor, and the temperance movement.
The Lutherans
The United States has approximately seven million Lutherans, members of more than twenty different Lutheran church organizations. Lutheranism is particularly strong in the states of the upper Midwest because many German and Scandinavian Lutheran immigrants settled there. As the world's oldest Protestant group, Lutheran worship retains many Catholic practices, such as holy communion, in a simplified form. These include altars, crosses, vestments and candles that many other Protestants find too elaborate, but that Lutherans use to enhance their religious devotions. Like most Protestants, however, Lutherans believe that Christ is spiritually present in the sacrament of holy communion, rather than physically present as the Roman Catholics believe.
The Quakers A relatively small group that has played an important role in U.S. history has been the Quakers, members of the “Religious Society of Friends.” Originating in 17th century England, they were the original founders of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the “City of Brotherly Love.” Since early days, Quakers have been associated with pacifism. Other Quaker customs, now largely extinct, but still referred to in popular culture, include the custom of plain dress as well as plain speech (the use of the archaic familiar pronouns such as “thou,” “thee,” “thy” and “thine” instead of the formal pronouns “you,” “your” and “yours.”) Persecution of Quakers by other religious groups in both Great Britain and early America led to some of the earliest efforts to guarantee religious liberty in America.
The Mormons The Mormons, or Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, are by far the largest in the “other Christians” category with over five million adherents. The church was founded in western New York State in 1830 by Joseph Smith. Mormons believe in the Bible and in their own complementary work, The Book of Mormon. They believe in immortality and in the need for the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ. They believe that people travelled to ancient America from Israel to settle and that some of them were prophets. A prophet named “Mormon” wrote the Book of Mormon which God preserved on gold plates for Joseph Smith to find in 1820 and translate. The Book of Mormon shows how Jesus Christ visited ancient America after his Ascension. Mormons were greatly persecuted in their early years and eventually found a home in the desert of Utah. In earlier days, they were associated with polygamy (having many wives), though the church now eschews this practice. They abstain from all alcohol, tobacco, coffee and tea. Mormons believe in active proselytization, and each strives to serve at least a year as a missionary.
Jehova's Witnesses Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian Christian denomination with roots in the late 19th century America. Witnesses reject the notion of the holy trinity. They believe that God sent Jesus to earth as a sacrifice to vindicate his sovereignty and that Christ took power in heaven as king in 1914. He cast Satan out of heaven at that time, causing troubles to begin on earth. The “great tribulation” is going to come, during which God will destroy everything that is wicked and begin a thousand year reign of Christ. After Armageddon, conditions of paradise as in the Garden of Eden will be restored to the earth. Jehovah's Witnesses believe in actively preaching their doctrine and trying to gain converts by going door to door (dressed modestly) to distribute copies of their familiar publications, Awake! and The Watchtower. They refuse to salute the flag, receive blood transfusions, or enter into military service. Witnesses also refuse to celebrate holidays such as Christmas and Easter (or even their own birthdays) which they consider either of pagan origin or inconsistent with their view of Christianity.
The Roman Catholics Although Spanish and French colonization brought Roman Catholic settlers into what is now the United States from the earliest days of European exploration, the original thirteen colonies that became the United States after the American Revolution had few Catholic residents. Today, Roman Catholics are the largest individual religious denomination in the United States, accounting for just over 20% of the population. In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, the Catholic Church in the United States had the misfortune to suffer from a number of scandals involving sexual abuse of young people and children by priests, aggravated by systematic administrative interference with investigations into the behavior (in popular language, a massive “cover-up”). Criminal prosecutions of priests tarnished the image of the Church. Successful civil suits cost individual Catholic dioceses many millions of dollars in damages, sometimes seriously compromising their ability to survive. The issue is ongoing.
Differences Between Catholics and Protestants Roman Catholicism differs from Protestantism in two critical areas. Protestants believe in private interpretation of the Bible. Catholics believe the Church is appointed by God as custodian of the Bible to interpret the scripture. Most Protestants believe in a universal priesthood of all believers, while Catholics have a specially ordained priesthood.
Catholicism runs by a set dogma, or series of rules, emanating from the Pope in Rome. American Protestant groups, even when they have a set dogma, keep their hierarchy entirely inside the United States.
Where Protestants vary on social issues like divorce, birth control, abortion and homosexuality (many leaving these questions to the consciences of their members), the Catholic church has set guidelines on these matters. It also censors certain movies, plays and books, which Catholics may not read or attend. Since Catholics are supposed to believe by absolute faith, they are expected to take the Church's word on these matters.
It should be noted that the Catholic church is not as strict about tobacco, alcohol or gambling as some Protestant churches are. The Catholic practices of confession and absolution tend to mitigate some of these strictures.
Catholic priests may not marry, and they must be male. Many Protestant groups allow or even encourage female clergy. In nearly all cases, Protestant ministers may marry.