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My point is not that all of them don't think of Protestants as Christians. In many cases, they simply think that "Catholic" is equivalent to "Christian" and say "Catholic" when they mean "Christian" by habit. So if they mean to ask, "Are you a Christian?" they might say, "Are you a Catholic?" In at least one case, I'm talking about a discussion I had in college with other college students, so I'm not talking about people who shouldn't know any better. My point is that if someone in a Protestant-majority area asks, "Are you Catholic or Christian?" they might really mean "Are you Catholic or Protestant?" and not mean that Catholics are not Christian. They may simply think that the words "Protestant" and "Christian" are interchangible the same way some Catholics I've met think that "Catholic" and "Christian" are interchangible. It's another way of saying, "Are you the normal (meaning "my") type of Christian or that Catholic kind of Christian." It may really have nothing to do with who they think is or isn't Christian. It might, but it also might not.

QA, I think we're running around in circles here. Never met a Catholic who thought that Protestants were not Christian, and at this point in my life, I'm doubtful I ever will. As a Catholic, however, I can tell you that there are many who consider Catholics to be non-Christian, and you may even find a few here on FR willing to go on record and state that. Any takers?

As for the discussion at hand, it has been prompted by a branch office for a national agency, and there is some indication that the person setting their policy hold that Catholics are not Christian, hence refuses to adopt children to Catholic parents.

I've already acknowledged that there are Protestants who do not think of Catholics as Christians and that I think it's a silly perspective. My point there is simply that it's not a one-way street in my experience. Your milage may vary, but in my experience, no sect corners the market on virtue, nor are they all free from boneheads and I've heard as many goofy things from Catholics and Jews as Protestants.

With respect to the issue at hand, I agree that it's troubling because it's taxpayer funded. I don't have a conceptual problem with a mother who is giving their child up for adoption saying, "I want this child placed in an Evangelical home," so long as they also accept, "I want this child placed in a Catholic home," "I want this child placed in a Jewish home," etc. I can understand why a mother giving a child up for adoption would want a religion match. The problem is that from what I understand about this organization, it promises to place the child in a good Christian home but my guess is that it's real scope is really a good Evangelical home. I doubt they'd place a child in a home where they are liberal Protestants, either. I should also point out that there are plenty of other religions that consider themselves Christian that quite a few Christians would debate that point over including Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, and some of the liberal Protestant sects that are only nominally Christian. Where someone draws the line between "Christian" and "not Christian" is a fairly subjective matter and an organization accepting taxpayer-funding probably should have no business making that call.

If it makes you feel any better, I'm sure there are Protestants that don't think I'm a Christian, either, because I'm not a Fundamentalist nor an Evangelical and was christened as a child rather than baptized as an adult.

I believe that Christianity is a PERSONAL belief, not a church dogma, in that not all Catholics are Christian and not all Lutherans are Christian, not all Baptists are Christians (get the idea?). It is a personal relationship with Christ that matters. You can go to church five times a day and not have Christ in your heart and life. There IS a difference. I don't like being dogmatic on this because I know many Catholics who are wonderful Christians.