| Question | Catholicism | Protestantism | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | Scripture + Sacred Tradition + Magisterium (Pope & Bishops) | Sola Scriptura (Scripture alone) | | 2. Means of Salvation | Faith + Sacraments + Good Works (Cooperation with grace) | Sola Fide (Faith alone in Christ alone) | | 3. The Eucharist (Communion) | Transubstantiation (bread/wine become literal Body/Blood) | Spiritual presence (Lutheran) or Symbolic memorial (Reformed/Baptist) | | 4. The Pope | Vicar of Christ; infallible in ex cathedra statements | Human office with no spiritual authority; often considered the Antichrist in historic confessions | | 5. Mary, Mother of Jesus | Immaculate Conception, Perpetual Virginity, Assumption, Queen of Heaven, Mediatrix | Blessed but sinful human; model of obedience; no special intercessory power | | 6. Sacraments | Seven (Baptism, Eucharist, Confirmation, Penance, Anointing of Sick, Holy Orders, Matrimony) | Two (Baptism & Eucharist) — some add none (Quakers) | | 7. Purgatory | Yes (temporal purification after death) | No (Christ’s work finished; "to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord") | | 8. Saints & Icons | Veneration (dulia/hyperdulia) allowed; intercession of saints encouraged | No veneration; all believers are saints; direct prayer to God only | | 9. Justification | Infused righteousness (becoming righteous through grace) | Imputed righteousness (Christ’s righteousness credited to believer) |
Imputed righteousness – Christ’s perfect righteousness is credited (accounted) to the believer. We are declared righteous, not made righteous. It is a legal, alien righteousness. comparing catholicism and protestantism worksheet answers
Most denominations recognize only two sacraments (or ordinances): Baptism and the Lord’s Supper (Communion). These are the only two explicitly instituted by Christ in the Gospels. 5. The Real Presence in the Eucharist | Question | Catholicism | Protestantism | |
Rejects the papal office. Church structure varies by denomination (Episcopal, Presbyterian, or Congregational). Many believe in the "priesthood of all believers," meaning every Christian has direct access to God without an intermediary. 3. Salvation and Grace The Pope | Vicar of Christ; infallible in
Sola Scriptura (Latin for "Scripture alone"). Traditions are valid only if they agree with Scripture. Protestant reformers rejected the Apocrypha as doctrinal foundation (though Luther included it as useful reading).
The structure of the church is a major point of visual and functional difference.
– Incorrect. Lutherans and Anglicans affirm that baptism saves (1 Peter 3:21). Correct: The dividing line is not baptism but the number of sacraments and transubstantiation.