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Protestantism is a movement within [[Christianity]], representing a split from the [[Roman Catholic Church]] that occurred during the sixteenth century in Europe — a period known as the Protestant [[Reformation]]. The split occurred primarily over issues of doctrine, especially the issue of [[Justification by faith]] versus [[Justification by faith plus works]]. Some of the main Protestant church denominations today include the [[Lutheran Church]], [[Anglican Communion]] and the [[Baptist Church]].

The term Protestant originally applied to the group of princes and imperial cities who protested the decision by the 1529 Diet of Speyer to reverse course and enforce the 1521 Edict of Worms. The 1521 edict forbade Lutheran teachings within the Holy Roman Empire. The 1526 session of the Diet had agreed to toleration of Lutheran teachings (on the basis of Cuius regio, eius religio) until a General Council could be held to settle the question, but by 1529 the Catholic forces felt they had gathered enough power to end the toleration without waiting for a Council.

In Christian theology, as the bread shares identity with Christ (which he calls, "my body"), in an analogous way the Church shares identity with him (and also is called "the Body of Christ"). Thus, controversies over the Lord's Supper only initially seem to be about the nature of bread and wine, but are ultimately about the nature of salvation, and therefore secondarily about the nature of the Church.

Protestants can be differentiated according to how they have been influenced by important movements since the magisterial Reformation and the Puritan Reformation in England. Some of these movements have a common lineage, sometimes directly spawning later movements in the same groups.