The Myth of 33,000 Protestant Denominations

              
      
One of the most common polemics used against Protestantism by Catholic apologists is the idea that there are "33,000 Protestant Denominations". It essentially is an attack against Sola Scriptura, arguing that if Scripture were really self-sufficient, why are there so many disagreements about what the Bible really teaches? If you ever watch one of these converts to Catholicism talk about their story on EWTN, this argument will undoubtedly come up. Let us have a look at some of what Catholic apologists have been claiming:

"As a rule of faith that, without recourse to Sacred Tradition and an infallible Magesterium, promises doctrinal certitude and a unity of faith, sola scriptura fails miserably. The best evidence of this is Protestantism itself. There are today, thousands of distinct Protestant denominations in the world, each claiming to go by the 'Bible Alone,' yet no two of them agree on what exactly the Bible teaches." (Patrick Madrid, Sola Scriptura: A Blueprint for Anarchy, pg. 26)

"But isn't it also telling that since the 'Reformation' just 480 years ago - a reformation claiming Sola Scriptura as its formal principle - there are now over 26,000 denominations that have derived from that principle? The 1982 World Christian Encyclopedia projected in that year that there would be 22,190 denominations by 1985. 'The present net increase," it noted, it 270 denominations each year (five new ones a week), If we extend that projection to our time, we have well over 26,000 denominations by now." (Tim Staples, Sola Scriptura: It's an open-and-shut case, catholicculture.org)


The Argument is Logically Fallacious

This argument commits what is known as a false cause fallacy in the attempt to attack Sola Scriptura. Lets say for the sake of argument, that there are indeed 33,000 Protestant denominations. How do we know that this is due to Sola Scriptura's alleged failure, as Patrick Madrid claimed? We don't. The Roman apologist must demonstrate this first. 

The Same Standard could be applied to the patristic literature

The early church fathers interpreted certain passages of Scripture in different ways and had some disagreements with one another over doctrinal issues. Here are a few examples:

Papias and Justin Martyr both believed in premillennialism, while Augustine believed in amillennialism.

(Papias, Fragments, 3.12)
(Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho, 80)
(Augustine, City of God, 20.8)


The Church Fathers had some disagreements on the fate of fallen angels

Irenaeus and Tertullian both believed that fallen angels go to everlasting punishment in hell, whereas Origen left open the possibility that fallen angels could be redeemed.

(Irenaeus, Against Heresies, 4.16.2)
(Tertullian, On the Flesh of Christ, 14)
(Origen, First Principles, 1.6.3)

The Church Fathers had disagreements over certain passages of Scripture, such as Paul's rebuke of Peter in the book of Galatians

"Clement of Alexandria argued that another Cephas besides the apostle Peter is in view here! Origen defended the idea the that the confrontation was simulated, as did Jerome. But Augustine, in correspondence with Jerome, uncovered the weakness of such a view"" (Thomas R. Schreiner, Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament: Galatians, pg. 145)

To be clear I am not trying to attack any of the church fathers here. I am pointing this out simply because some Roman Catholic apologists will brag that the church fathers believed everything the Roman church teaches today. (They didn't ;))

Catholics themselves have had disagreements over doctrine


 Despite the claims of Catholicism that the Roman magesterium protects a structural unity, Reformed scholar Eric Svendsen has pointed out the differences between modern Catholics over doctrines.

"Among the smorgasbord of beliefs from which to choose in Roman Catholicism are: (1) whether the creation account in Genesis 1-2 should be taken literally or mythically, (2) whether or not we should believe that Jonah was really swallowed by a fish, (3) which branch of predestination we should subscribe to (there as many  as four), (4) whether or not we should believe that the Bible contains errors, (5) whether or not Mary is to be seen as Mediatrix of all graces, and if so (6) whether she should be viewed next to Christ facing the church or next to the church facing Christ, (7) whether or not Vatican II is to be considered an infallible council (which invites modern exegesis, embraces Protestant and Orthodox churches as Christian churches, and displaces the use of force in the propagation of the faith), or (8) whether we should instead believe Pius XII Pascendi Dominici Gregis (which condemned modern exegesis), Boniface VIII's Unam Sanctum (which excluded all non-Catholics from salvation), and the Fourth Lateran Council (which ordered Catholics to exterminate non-Catholics unless they recanted), or (9) whether we should not believe in evolution (as does the pope), or special creation. (10) whether divine revelation comes partly from Scripture and partly from oral tradition, or whether all tradition has its basis in Scripture, (11) infallibility extends only to ex cathedra papal statements and ecunemical councils, or whether synods such as Hippo and Carthage are also infallible, (12) which Greek text type (Byzantine or Eclectic) is the correct Greek manuscript behind the New Testament documents, and (13) whether or not the current pope is a legitimate pope!" (Eric Svendsen, Evangelical Answers: A Critique of Current Roman Catholic Apologists, pg. 122)

Even Catholic theologian Karl Rahner admits this:

"We discover that there innumerable questions of profound importance upon which we Catholics are far from being united among ourselves" (Karl Rahner, Theological Investigations Volume 10, pg. 108)

Where did this number come from?

Ultimately, Catholics are often claiming to be getting this statistic  from the World Christian Encyclopedia from David Barrett.The source, however, doesn't even say that. Keith Thompson in his documentary on Roman Catholicism says this:

"Catholic apologists are guilty of misreading and distorting Barrett's work World Christian Encyclopedia concerning their claim that there are 33,000 Protestant denominations, since that source does not even say that. Firstly, the figure Barrett cites is 20,780 denominations as of 1980, and an estimated 22,190 by 1985. But these are neither true denominations, according to the way we commonly use the word 'denomination', nor are they Protestant. Barrett there uses the word 'denomination' to mean, as Svendsen points out: 'any ecclesial body that retains a 'jurisdiction (i.e., semi-autonomy). As an example Baptist denominations compromise approximately 321 of the total Protestant figure. Yet the lion's share of Baptist denominations are independent, making them (in Barrett's calculation) separate denominations. In other words, if there are ten independent Baptist churches in any given city, even though all of them are identical in belief and practice, each one is counted as a separate denomination due to its autonomy in jurisdiction" [Eric Svendsen, Upon this Slippery Rock, pg. 60-61]. So there are not 20,780 Protestant denominations as we commonly use the term, [i.e. Lutheran, Presbyterian, Baptist, etc.] There are instead, if one understands what Barrett is actually saying, 20,780 semi-autonomous bodies despite the fact that the beliefs and practices largely remain the same for the most part. It is highly deceptive for Catholic apologists to throw around that figure without mentioning this, since the uninformed person will actually think that there are 20,780 different true denominations who all believe different things."

Eric Svendsen goes on to say that Barrett's number/figure isn't referring solely to Protestant denominations:

"Barrett identifies seven major ecclesiastical 'blocs' under which these 22,190 distinct denominations fall: (1) Roman Catholicism, which accounts for 223 denominations; (2) Protestant, which accounts for 8,196 denominations, (3) Eastern Orthodox, which accounts for 580 denominations; (4) Non-White Indigenous, which accounts for 10,956 denominations, (5) Anglican, which accounts for 240 denominations; (6) Marginal Protestant, which includes Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, New Age groups, and all cults, and which accounts for 1,490 denominations; and (7) Catholic (non-Roman), which accounts for 504 denominations" (Eric Svendsen, Upon this Slippery Rock, pg. 59)

Even Catholic apologist Trent Horn has admitted that it is not good to cite this as a basis for this Catholic argument:

"...this citation from the World Christian Encylcopedia is misleading (even though many Catholics are fond of citing it)."


When one continues to read this source, they will discover that the list of "Protestant" denominations also includes non-Trinitarian groups such as Oneness Pentecostals as well as Seventh-Day Adventists, none of which agree with Reformation theology at all! Another thing to realize is that Protestants could use this same exact source to attack Catholicism. For example, we come to a chart displaying the martyrs during Christian history. It lists 11,000,000 Roman Catholics since AD 1000. It also gives 3,170,000 Protestant martyrs, and 38,000 Catholics prior to AD 1000. This encyclopedia also lets us know who was responsible for all of these death. Muslims rank 2nd place with 9,101,000 killings, and atheistic/secular governments are holding the top spot. Guess who is 5th place. Roman Catholics with a score of  of 4,951,000 killings. 

When we actually read the source cited by Catholic apologists in context, we discover that it refutes the entire Roman Catholic argument. 

However, Catholic apologists don't seem to care. They actually have started to increase the number. Tyler McNabb, a "former Protestant and anti-Catholic" (don't you hate when they use that term) has said that there are 36,000 denominations now. 

Eric Svendsen has also noted the following about Roman Catholics who use this argument:

"No doubt the same Roman Catholic apologists who so gleefully cite the erroneous 25,000-denominations figure, and who might with just as much glee cite the revised 8,196-denominations figure, would reel at the notion that there might actually be 223 distinct denominations within Roman Catholicism! Yet that is precisely the number that Barrett cites for Roman Catholicism. Moreover, Barrett indicates in the case of Roman Catholicism that even this number can be broken down further to produce 2,942 separate “denominations”—and that was only in 1970! In that same year there were only 3,294 Protestant denominations; a difference of only 352 denominations. If we were to use the Roman Catholic apologist’s method to “project” a figure for the current day, we could no doubt postulate a number upwards of 8,000 Roman Catholic denominations today! Hence, if Roman Catholic apologists want to argue that Protestantism is splintered into 8,196 “bickering” denominations, then they must just as readily admit that their own ecclesial system is splintered into at least 2,942 bickering denominations (possibly as many as 8,000). If, on the other hand, they would rather claim that among those 2,942+ (perhaps 8,000?) Roman Catholic denominations there is “unity,” then they can have no objection to the notion that among the 8,196 Protestant denominations there is also unity."

What if Protestants began to point out how there are different groups or "rites" within Catholicism. You got Jesuits, Franciscans, Benedictines, etc. If they are going to be consistent, they would have to conclude that the Roman magesterium sets up the church for doctrinal anarchy, like they claim Sola Scriptura does.

Conclusion

To any Roman Catholics who are reading this, please drop this childish argument. We have heard it so many times and it is time to move on. Lets be more productive in our discussions and maintain a consistent approach to dealing with the differences between Protestants and Roman Catholics.