Protestant denominations share Reformation foundations such as justification by faith and the authority of Scripture, but they differ in church government (polity), baptism, and how they treat baptism and Communion. Major polity models include episcopal structures led by bishops (common in Anglican and many Methodist bodies), Presbyterian systems of elected elders and graded church courts, and congregational autonomy typical of most Baptist churches.
Baptismal practice is another clear divide: Baptists generally practice believer’s baptism by immersion, while Lutheran, Methodist, Presbyterian, and Anglican traditions usually baptize infants as well as adult converts. In the United States, Pew Research Center’s Religious Landscape Study further groups Protestants into evangelical, mainline, and historically Black Protestant traditions based on specific denominational identity.