It is common knowledge that Protestant Christians reject the veneration of Mary. But many are not aware of the reason for this. However, this rejection is not a small detail, but part of the evangelical attitude to faith.
Why do many evangelical Christians reject Marian devotion? All evangelical Christians reject Marian devotion because they consider it to be idolatry. God is the only one who may be worshipped.
Further on you will find the more detailed explanation of the reasons for the rejection. Even though it is kept simple and short here, these are the foundation of the evangelical school of thought.
Table of Contents
Reason 1: Mary has no special role in the Bible
The first reason is that evangelical Christians rely entirely on the authority of the Bible. Other factors influencing faith, such as tradition, do not apply. The Bible alone is the basis for faith.
In it, Mary simply does not play a major role. She is occasionally the mother of Jesus, whose ancestors are important – but otherwise has no other special characteristics. She is occasionally mentioned in the gospels. That’s it.
Don’t misunderstand: In the Gospel, Mary’s motherhood is not underplayed! But it is also not overemphasized. She was just the mother of Jesus.
The ascension or other appearances of Mary are unbiblical and do not occur there. Therefore the veneration is absolutely inappropriate.
However, how (alleged) Marian apparitions are judged by evangelical Christians is not uniform. Some say it is imagination. Others speak of demonic influence. Which of it is really true, only God should know.
Reason 2: Worship other than God is idolatry
If you ask a Catholic, the veneration of Mary is not the same veneration that is given to Jesus Christ. They make a distinction between veneration and honoring.
But for Protestant Christians (and probably for many Catholics), this line is too thin and it is crossed in such a way that it is actually a veneration of Mary. According to the principle: If it looks like a dog, barks like a dog and smells like a dog it is a dog.
In the Protestant faith, however, the veneration of all saints is rejected. They do exist, but they are not to be worshipped.
This is because there is no indication in the Bible that saints put in a good word with God so that He is more likely to answer prayer. As Christians, we are considered holy through Jesus and can go directly to God. We do not need saints!
There is also no indication in the Bible that we may talk or pray with deceased people. On the contrary, the Old Testament forbids necromancy or contacting the dead.
Another reason for the rejection is the fact that one would not worship God and would not put one’s trust in God – but just in the saint. This idea is absolutely not evangelical.
And the veneration of Mary is rejected for this reason – It is a veneration and worship of a saint. And not God. To God belongs all honor. Always.
Do Protestants pray to Mary?
There is no evangelical Christian faith group that venerates Mary. This contradicts the concept of the evangelical understanding of saint worship. Among evangelical Christians, worshiping any person other than God is considered idolatry. This includes Mary.
Thus, it is deeply evangelical to reject the worship of Mary. Therefore, there can be no evangelical Christians who do not reject the worship of Mary!
