As we commemorate another Reformation anniversary it is worth asking the question – ‘What is Protestantism?’

To some, Protestantism represents a church; to others, a political ideology, a sectarian identity, or a cultural association. There is a measure of truth in each of these perceptions. Since the Reformation, many churches have borne the name Protestant. There has indeed been a political dimension to Protestantism from its beginning. Sadly, the term has often been abused—used by those who, while nominally Protestant, have displayed open hostility toward others of differing faiths while they themselves know nothing of Christ. For some, Protestantism has simply provided a cultural rallying point, a banner for those with shared traditions and values.

Yet none of these perspectives capture the heart of the movement that transformed Europe five centuries ago.

Let us turn to J.A. Wylie, one of the greatest historians of the Reformation. In the opening of his monumental History of Protestantism, he begins by stating clearly what Protestantism is not:

“It is not a policy. It is not an empire with its fleets and armies … It is not even a Church with its hierarchies and synods and edicts.”

What, then, is Protestantism? Wylie declares that it is “a principle”—a divine principle with the most profound and far-reaching influence upon humanity:

“It is a creative power. Its influence is all-embracing. It penetrates into the heart and renews the individual. It goes down to the depths and regenerates society. It thus becomes the creator of all that is true, and lovely, and great; the founder of free kingdoms, and the mother of pure churches.”

Wylie also rejects the notion that this principle originated in the sixteenth century. He traces it back far beyond Luther and Calvin, recognizing that it neither began with human reason nor arose from moral progress:

“Protestantism … is a Divine graft on the intellectual and moral nature of man, whereby new vitalities and forces are introduced into it, and the human stem yields henceforth a nobler fruit.”

While the name “Protestantism” emerged during the Reformation, the principle itself has always been present in the world—wherever the Spirit of God revives truth and renews His people.

So what is this enduring principle? Wylie gives his final and fullest answer in one magnificent line:

“In a word, Protestantism is revived Christianity.”

And that is the essence of what we commemorate today—not merely an event in history, but the revival of living, biblical Christianity. The Reformation was not the invention of something new, but the rediscovery of something eternal: the power of the Gospel to renew both heart and society.

Reference: J.A. Wylie, “History of Protestantism.”