[Desdemona]

I guess they needed some word to express non-Roman Catholic Christian so they came up with "protestant."

The word comes from the protest. The founders of protestant sects didn't like what the original, main church said, so they protested - and either left or were kicked out. Their followers were identified as "protestants."

[xzins]

. The founders of protestant sects didn't like what the original, main church said, so they protested

Yeah, I know that part. That's why they called Luther's, Calvin's, Henry's (although his wasn't doctrinal) and a very few others "protestants."

But why do you call "evangelical congregational" protestant? They didn't exist until 400 years later, they're not protesting anything, and they are only connected to those original groups through splinters of splinters of splinters.

If it's fair to trace splinters back, then it makes exactly as much sense to call them Roman Catholic.

[OLD REGGIE]

The word comes from the protest. The founders of protestant sects didn't like what the original, main church said, so they protested - and either left or were kicked out. Their followers were identified as "protestants."

Really?

"Whereas Roman apologists often tend to think of the term "protest" in negative manner, the word derives from the Latin pro + testare, which together mean "to witness for". In other words, to "protest" is an essentially positive action, not a negative one."

For a different perspective Go here: