Are Jehovah’s Witnesses Protestants?
No. Jehovah’s Witnesses are Christians, but we do not consider ourselves to be Protestants. Why not?
Protestantism has been defined as a “religious movement opposing Roman Catholicism.” While it is true that Jehovah’s Witnesses disagree with teachings of the Catholic Church, we do not consider ourselves to be Protestants for the following reasons:
A number of Protestant beliefs conflict with what the Bible actually teaches. For example, the Bible teaches that “there is one God,” not a Trinity. (1 Timothy 2:5; John 14:28) And it clearly teaches that God punishes the wicked, not in hellfire, but with eternal destruction.—Psalm 37:9; 2 Thessalonians 1:9.
We do not protest against or attempt to reform the Catholic Church or any other religious group. On the contrary, we simply preach the good news of God’s Kingdom, endeavoring to help others build faith in that good news. (Matthew 24:14; 28:19, 20) We are interested, not in attempting to reform other religious groups, but in teaching sincere individuals the truth about God and his Word, the Bible.—Colossians 1:9, 10; 2 Timothy 2:24, 25.