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Protestantism began in the European [[Reformation]] of the 16th century, especially with such reformers as [[Martin Luther]] and [[John Calvin]], ass well as [[King Henry VIII]] in England.
Protestantism began in the European [[Reformation]] of the 16th century, especially with such reformers as [[Martin Luther]] and [[John Calvin]], ass well as [[King Henry VIII]] in England.
Protestantism rejects the Catholic belief that God created the Catholic Church to represent Him, and reject the notion that priests or saints have special access to the divine. They greatly reduced the role of Mary. Most Protestants stress the Bible as the Word of God, though Quakers and Pentecostals stress a direct divine connection to believers. Originally Protestants rejected historic traditions as a guide to Truth.
==Politics==
Europe was polarized by the Reformation, with the Catholics striking back with a [[Counter-Reformation]] that held key states such as Italy, France and Poland for Catholicism. Religious wars broke out, the worst being the [[Thirty Years War]] (1618-1648) that devastated much of Germany and neighboring areas. By 1648 a compromise was reached such that the religion of the Prince determined the religion of the people. Nevertheless religious strife continued in Germany as late as the 1870s in the [[Kulturkampf]], and in [[Ireland]] into the late 20th century.
==Missions==
Each Protestant denomination launched missionary activity to spread the gospel, and they competed with each other and with Catholic missions.
The greatest successes came in the United States, where a series of [[Great Awakenings]] converted most of the people to Protestantism by 1860, and in Africa, where Protestantism grew rapidly in the 20th century, as it did in South Korea.
== Impact ==
== Impact ==