Protestantism, unlike Catholicism, could not maintain internal unity, divided into many branches and directions, among which there is no one true, and all are recognized as equal versions of Christian teaching: the choice between them is dictated by the personal preferences of the believer. That is why it would be a great stretch to speak of sects in relation to Protestantism, since in the conditions of freedom of religious worship, any direction has a full right to exist if it remains committed to the text of the Holy Scripture and the spirit of Christian teaching. In addition to Lutheranism, which was the first but not the main Protestant movement, the most significant are Calvinism, Anglicanism, Baptist, Adventism, and Pentecostalism. Mormons hold a special place among Protestants.

Lutheranism. Following the founder of their teaching, Lutherans clearly distinguish between the spiritual and worldly spheres of human life. The spiritual side of human life is devoted to the service of God, but the worldly side is built on its own laws, the main of which are work ethics, civil morality, and so on. In its religious component, Lutheranism adheres to an intermediate position between Catholicism and the extreme directions of Protestantism, since it retains external attributes in the Church (organ, chants) and recognizes two sacred sacraments (baptism and communion), in contrast to other Protestant movements that recognize only baptism. Followers of Martin Luther for the most part focus on solving topical moral and social issues in the spirit of Christian teaching, but almost do not pay attention to the development of dogmas and theoretical positions, which contributes to their popularity in Western and Central Europe. At the moment, there are approximately 75 million Lutherans in the world, most of whom live in Germany, Scandinavia and the Baltic States.

Calvinism. The founder of this trend was an active follower of Luther’s reforms, the French monk Jean Calvin (1509-1564). Another name for the Calvinists, which characterizes their orderly and measured way of life, is the puritans (from lat. puras-clean). The essence of Calvinism was the complete elimination of the Church hierarchy and the concentration of man on such values as moderation and thrift. The fate of a person is predetermined, but it is possible to reveal the meaning of predestination only in the course of performing everyday duties. If a person is lucky in business, it is a sign that God cares for him and shows his mercy towards him, but if a person is constantly haunted by failures, it is a symptom of a negative attitude towards him on the part of God. People get rich not because of their own talents, but because of the special mercy shown to them by God, so it is pointless to rebel against the rich, because this automatically means resistance to the order that is established by the divine will. Modern Calvinism is the second largest Protestant movement after Lutheranism, with 50 million people belonging to three different branches of Calvinism: reformation, Congregationalism, and Presbyterianism.

Anglicanism. The emergence of Anglicanism as one of the main directions of Protestantism can be dated to 1532, when the Council of English bishops declared the independence of the English Church from the papal authority. The official establishment of Anglicanism had its own tragic history: with the accession of Mary Tudor (1553-1558), who was a staunch Catholic, a Renaissance of Catholicism began, and several English bishops who took part in the historic Council were executed for firmness in their beliefs. Fortunately, the period of repression was short, and all subsequent English monarchs (with the exception of James II, who was expelled from the country in 1688) were convinced Protestants, who were “part-time” and spiritual pastors of their country.

The worship of representatives of Anglicanism goes back to the Catholic model. Also borrowed is the Nicene creed and the filioque-the statement that the Holy Spirit comes from the Father and the Son. From Protestantism, Anglicanism took the reduction of the number of sacraments to two (baptism and communion), as well as the simplification of Church rites and the rejection of the obligatory mediation of the Church on the path of knowledge of God. At present, the official head of the Church of England is the English Parliament, so no change in the dogmatic or liturgical part can be introduced without the sanction of Parliament. One of the most scandalous decisions made within the Anglican Church was to allow women to occupy the Episcopal see (1988), which has already been implemented several times in Anglican communities in North America, although in Britain itself this decision remains only on paper.

Baptism has an important place in the history of the Protestant faith, as it originates in the XVII century. many features are related to other Protestant churches baptism (simplified rites of worship, the priority of faith over the cult). But there are also differences: the replacement of solemn services by prayer meetings of members of the community, where there is a collective reading of the Holy Scripture, which means only the New Testament. In baptism there is no veneration of saints, crosses and icons, as well as Church organization and monastic orders, because Jesus Christ, who is the main object of worship within this trend, carried out his activities in the world, but was guided by spiritual principles. Following the example of Jesus, the Baptists steadily carry out missionary work, recruiting representatives of other branches of Christianity, so that their number is steadily increasing. Currently, representatives of the Baptist Church, most of whom live in the United States and South Africa, number more than 40 million people.