[LiteKeeper]

You have succumbed to a common myth about Protestantism. It is not "every man for himself." There is a long record of agreement on orthodoxy (vs orthopraxy).

I would venture to say that there is not as much unity in Roman Catholicism as a lot would like to believe.

[terycarl]

Martin Luther is responsible for the loss of more souls than any other person in history

[Ciexyz]

I never heard the phrase "every man for himself" applied to the Protestant religious movements.

[livius]

The difference is that there is unity in doctrine in the Catholic Church, simply because doctrine itself is never modified just because there are differences in opinion over it. People who feel their personal opinion is more important than the defined doctrine end by leaving the Church to follow their own opinion and are, of course, no longer Catholic. Or in some cases, they are excommunicated, if they do not leave voluntarily. In both cases, they can be reconciled, but only if they acknowledge and accept the doctrine of the Church as it is.

I think there is a problem with the use of the word “Protestantism,” because it can describe anything from orthodox Anglicans or Lutherans to fundamentally non-Christian wackos like the UCC. I’m not sure how this can be handled. I remember we once had a discussion on FR of Protestants who accept the standard Creedal definition of the Trinity as constituting the orthodox wing.