Had a debate between a few of my friends the other day; one is a staunch Lutheran, one is a former Catholic, and I'm Catholic, but non-practicing (thus pretty much aligning myself with the second friend).
The first friend started with the statement: "Christianity is a religion. Catholicism and Protestantism are offshoots of it."
My second friend said: "Bull. Ask a conservative Catholic if they are the same religion as a Protestant. You'll be set on fire; but splashed with holy water and prayers right before you die. Then they'll kill you to put you out of your misery."
My take: "It's tough to say. Most of the time, Christianity hits both. But if you ask the specific members of each offshoot what they think, and they'll have their own opinions. It is tough to know who is right."
What I basically summed up my position as was: Christianity is a belief. It encompasses both Catholicism and Protestantism, plus everything that Protestantism branches off into. However, a religion is not just a belief: it is a system organized around a belief. Because "Christianity" itself is not a structure (as some "Christians don't use the Bible, and many debate what Christ actually said/did/meant...), it is therefore not a belief until you reach one of its stuctured offshoots, such as Catholicism, or a Protestant religion.
Any takers on the subject?