Protestants & Mary

What do Protestant ministers think about the Virgin Mary? Father Kenneth Dougherty of Washington's Franciscan Friars of the Atonement sent a questionnaire to 270 ministers of 17 denominations in 29 states and the District of Columbia. Last week he discussed the 100 replies.

In answer to the question "Do you believe that Mary is the mother of God?" 64% of the ministers said no, 21% said yes, and 15% answered that they were uncertain. Among the larger denominations, most nearly united in favor of the doctrine were the Episcopalians, least the Presbyterians, who were unanimously against it.

Asked why they thought as they did, ministers most commonly cited their opinion that Roman Catholics "divinize" Mary. This, says Father Dougherty, is a "product of gross misunderstanding." The church, he points out, distinguishes between latria (the adoration due only to God) and dulia (the reverence appropriate to some creatures). Second commonest reason for Protestant dissent was the belief that Mary was mother of Christ the man, not Christ the God.

In discussing his survey before the Mariological Society of America, Father Dougherty spoke warmly of the Protestant minority who believe that Mary was in fact the mother of God. "These children of Mary are in truth amongst a strange company in the sects. There are signs of intensified protests against Our Lady evoked by controversialists . . . It may happen that these controversies may be a way of light for the defenders of Mary in the sects, a way back to the church of her Son."

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