Why do people refer to the “protestant” religion?
Protestantism derived from the “protesters” of the Catholic faith, The movement arose in the sixteeth century in Europe to “reform” the Roman Catholic Church traced to former Augustinian monk Martin Luther. Protestants reject papal authority and the authority of the Catholic Church. The word itself is derived from the Latin pro, meaning “for,” and testare, meaning “witness.” Thus literally, if one was to be a protestant it would mean he or she would be a witness for something. The word was first used in 1529 as part of Martin Luther’s reform movement. Others believe it derived from the Latin protestari meaning publicly declare which refers to the letter of protestation by Lutheran princes against the decision of the Diet of Speyer in 1529, which reaffirmed the edict, at the Diet of Worms banning Luther’s documents. Since that time, the term Protestantism has been used in many different senses, often as a general term to refer to Western Christianity that is not subject to Papal authori
