evangelists
Out of context: Reply #40
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Look, here's the nutshell - Catholics and Protestant are not the same thing. They had a few hundred years of wars about this in Europe. the first crusades where not in the Middle East they were into the South of France against heretics. Plenty about the religious wars that wrecked Europe in your history books.
Heck, religion determined why America and Brazil had slaves and the SPanish colonies didn't. Do not brush over religious differences and put all christians in the same box.
Christianity in the US is defined primarily in Protestant terms. We've had ONE (1) Catholic president - JFK, and the protestants where up in arms at the time claiming he would be taking direction from the Pope - which Kennedy had to frequently deny, especially during his campaign.
Interesting that the protestants were AFRAID of Kennedy's religious convictiuons shading his politics, but now they are calling for more of THEIR interpretation of the religion be expressed in politics.Fundamentalism is a political movement, not a religious one.
The US Founders, well aware of the dangers of religion and governmental powers sharing the same base (aka the Church of England, Rome a few hundred years before that) wisely seperated the government from endorsing or having a favored/spomsored religion.
So, to make the argument that Catholics and Protestants are the same is absurd.
Catholics are ritual based in worship and community. Protestants are seekers of individual spiritual fulfillment through their own personal interpretation of the bible.
Whose right/wrong? Whatever..but they are differenet and those difference led to violence, civil wars and bloodshed in the past. To ignore those differences is to do so at yuor own peril.