Why aren't Protestants part of Catholicism?

[AgnosticBoy]

My question is simple. Why do Protestants not consider themselves Catholics?
Is it just for doctrinal differences?

Personally, when I was a Christian, I just thought that Catholicism had too many rituals/practices/ and hierarchies (i.e. middlemen) that led the Christian to engage in a whole lot of extra stuff that wasn't needed for Christianity. To me, it gave the feeling that the Tradition and all the middlemen (and all the saints that they pray to) were taken more seriously (almost on the same level of Scripture) than the essential stuff, which is just faith in Christ, confess sins, etc. Wouldn't all these extra things make people lose focus on the most important stuff?

Enough about my view...

For Discussion
Why do Protestants not consider themselves Catholics? Is there a turn off? Is it all doctrinal reasons?

 

[Scooter]

The Catholic Church has added doctrines that have no Biblical support. For instance, as you have already identified, their practice of praying to saints. This is forbidden in Deut.18:11. In fact, their qualifications for "saints" is not Biblical. The Bible teaches that all believers are saints. Their practice of indulgence is not Biblical; their claim Mary was sinless and remained a virgin is fiction; their requirement of priests to be unmarried is crazy and is not supported by the Bible and as we have seen it is harmful. They claim Peter was the first Pope, but Pete was married. So, their doctrines actually contradict the Bible.

 

[AgnosticBoy]

@Scooter


To me, it just seems they put way too much into Tradition, and let such things become so normalized that they get practiced like it's essential doctrine. At least Protestant clears out a lot of that clutter.