nonProtestants

NonProtestants refers to people or religious groups that are not part of the Protestant branch of Christianity. In common usage, the term contrasts Protestant churches with other Christian traditions, and, in a broader sense, with non-Christian religions as a category of religious affiliation. The descriptor is coarse and not widely used as a formal label in scholarly writing, because it groups diverse communities with distinct histories and beliefs.

Within Christianity, the main non-Protestant bodies are the Roman Catholic Church and the various churches of Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy. These traditions share different theological emphases, liturgical practices, and church structures, but they generally reject the Protestant principle of Sola Scriptura and maintain continuity with earlier church calendars and authorities. Other smaller Christian groups, such as the Assyrian Church of the East and some ancient or independent Christian communities, are also considered non-Protestant.

Outside Christianity, the term would apply to adherents of any religion other than Protestant denominations, or to secular unaffiliated people. In modern usage, demographic and cultural studies typically refer to Catholics, Orthodox, and other Christian confessions by name, rather than as a collective group of “non-Protestants.” The term has historical relevance in discussions of Reformation-era religion, ecumenism, and interfaith relations, where Protestant and non-Protestant Christians are examined as distinct streams within the broader Christian tradition.