Rachel Evans
Catholicism is one of the many Christian religions, with almost one billion members worldwide. The Catholic Church is appealing to many due to its rich traditions and intellectual and spiritual answers to life's questions. The Church's hierarchical structure, sacraments, and philosophical teachings are also attractive to followers. However, being Catholic can be challenging, as members may face rejection from society, family, and friends due to their beliefs. Catholics may also struggle with feelings of doubt and loss of faith at times. Despite these challenges, many find that the Catholic community provides support and a deeper connection to God, making it a rewarding and fulfilling choice for those seeking a religious path.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| View of the Bible | Catholics view the Bible as having equal authority with the Church and tradition. Christians view the Bible as the supreme authority for faith and practice. |
| Saints | Saints are esteemed and honored as part of the "great cloud of witnesses" whose lives testify to the truth of the Gospel. |
| Structure | The Catholic Church has a hierarchical structure, similar to heaven. |
| Membership | The Catholic Church has almost one billion members. |
| Denomination | Catholicism is one of many Christian religions. |
| Conversion | People convert to Catholicism for varying reasons, including chance, choice, and conviction. |
| Rituals | Catholics engage in Bible study, church attendance, and serving the homeless. They may also struggle through life with God by their side. |
| Community | Catholics may face rejection from society, family, and friends due to their beliefs. |
| Philosophy | The Catholic faith offers a complex, consistent, and complete system of ideas, providing practical wisdom, common sense, consistent theology, and thorough philosophy. |
| Transcendence | Catholic works of art, architecture, and music speak of a transcendent order and God's eternal harmony and beauty. |
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What You'll Learn
Catholicism vs. other Christian denominations
Catholicism is the largest denomination of Christianity, with about 60% of Christians identifying as Catholic. All Catholics are Christians, but not all Christians are Catholics. A Christian refers to a follower of Jesus Christ who may be a Catholic, Protestant, Gnostic, Mormon, Evangelical, Anglican, or Orthodox, or a follower of another branch of the religion.
The Catholic Church is led by the Pope, who is regarded as the spiritual successor to the Apostle Peter, considered to be the first pope. The Pope is the highest representative of God on Earth, with a chain of command that passes from the Pope to cardinals and bishops, and then to Catholic priests serving congregations. Catholics view the Bible as having equal authority with the Church and tradition, while Christians view the Bible as the supreme authority for faith and practice.
The Catholic Church has a hierarchical structure, with nine different choirs of angels, each with a different function and rank. The Virgin Mary is the most perfect illustration of this, as all the persons in God's kingdom are saints, but some are greater in holiness than others. Saints are not worshipped, but they are esteemed and honoured as part of the "great cloud of witnesses" whose lives testify to the truth of the Gospel.
The initiation into the Catholic Church usually occurs on the Easter Vigil, the evening before Easter Day. On this evening, a special Mass is celebrated, during which catechumens are baptised, given confirmation, and receive the Holy Eucharist. At this point, the catechumens become Catholics and are received into full communion with the Church.
The history of Catholicism and Christianity is also important to understand their differences. The Orthodox Church drew apart from Rome over several hundred years, finally separating in the 15th century, and the various Protestant denominations date back to the 16th century. These churches can trace their roots back to Christ only through the Catholic Church.
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The Bible and Catholic tradition
A key distinction between Catholics and Christians is their view of the Bible. Catholics view the Bible as having equal authority with the Church and tradition, whereas Christians view the Bible as the ultimate authority for faith and practice. Catholics recognise that the "rule of faith" is Scripture plus apostolic tradition, as manifested in the living teaching authority of the Catholic Church. This teaching authority was given the oral teachings of Jesus and the apostles, along with the authority to interpret Scripture correctly.
The Bible itself is referred to as "God-breathed" and is useful for "teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness". However, Protestants argue for the theory of sola scriptura, or "Scripture alone", citing verses such as "All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching". They claim that the Bible contains all the material one needs for theology and that this material is clear enough that no other authority is needed to interpret it.
Catholics, on the other hand, argue that the Bible does not say it is all that is needed for salvation or theology. They point out that the earliest Christians learned from oral instruction rather than the written word. Furthermore, St. Paul instructs his readers to "stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by letter". This indicates that Christian teaching is to be found in the tradition handed down orally, as well as in Scripture.
The Catholic Church teaches that salvation is achieved through baptismal regeneration and maintained through the Catholic sacraments unless a willful act of sin is committed. However, Scripture teaches that confession of sins is made to God, not to a priest as in the Catholic tradition. The Catholic Church also teaches that Mary is the Queen of Heaven, a perpetual virgin, and the co-redemptress who ascended into heaven. None of these attributes are found in Scripture, and some are explicitly contradicted by it.
In summary, while Catholics and Christians both hold the Bible as a sacred text, they differ in their views on its authority and interpretation. Catholics see the Bible as one part of a broader transmission of the Faith, including sacred Tradition and the teaching authority of the Church. Christians, on the other hand, generally view the Bible as the sole source of Christian truth and the ultimate authority on faith and practice.
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Saints and their role
Saints are individuals who are recognised by the Catholic Church as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. The Catholic Church teaches that it does not create saints but rather identifies them. The process of recognition is called canonisation and it involves the Pope declaring a Catholic to be united with God in heaven. Saints are venerated and looked up to by Catholics as examples of lives well lived in the faith.
Saints include martyrs, kings and queens, missionaries, widows, theologians, parents, nuns and priests, and “everyday people” who dedicated their lives to the pursuit of God. Many saints are depicted in art prints, statues, and even the inspiration behind candle scents. Some saints are the patrons of certain occupations or causes, and are often invoked to aid people in those professions or situations. For example, St. Jude is the patron saint of impossible or desperate causes, and many Catholics ask him to pray on their behalf for the resolution of seemingly impossible situations in their lives.
Saints remind Catholics that the Church is holy and can never stop being holy. They are also a reminder that the Church is called to show the holiness of God by living the life of Christ. Many Catholics find comfort in the knowledge that saints shared in their same struggles, sins, doubts, or hardships and ask specific saints to pray for them.
There are more than 10,000 saints recognised by the Catholic Church, with many more saints commemorated by the whole church because they "are truly of universal importance".
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Conversion stories
There are many reasons why people convert to Catholicism. For some, it is an intellectual and spiritual journey, while for others, it is a return to the faith they were brought up with. Some people are drawn to the truth claims of the Catholic Church, while others are inspired by fictional characters or conversion stories of prominent evangelicals. Here are a few conversion stories:
Jeff Miller
Jeff Miller, a popular writer who blogs and tweets as the Curt Jester, had a troubled family life and embraced atheism and modern liberalism. One day, he was riding his bike to work when a car struck him. He was surprised to find himself still alive and felt his atheism slipping away as he realized that if he had died, he would not have thought he would be cast into oblivion. This experience led him back to faith and eventually to Catholicism.
Libby Edwards
Libby Edwards, a self-described "neo-pagan witch," had practised occult talents and organized pagan events for 15 years. She loved horror novels and movies and noticed that the solution to the evil in the storylines was never a Protestant pastor or a Wiccan priestess but was always found in the Catholic Church. She was also attracted to the character Nightcrawler from the X-Men comics, a devout Catholic mutant. Inspired by Nightcrawler, Libby pursued a study of the Catholic faith, enrolled in RCIA, and ultimately became Catholic.
Richard Evans
Richard Evans had been away from the Church for 35 years and had come out as a gay man in the early 1990s. He was inspired by Jim Caviezel's performance as Jesus Christ and the conversion stories of prominent evangelicals like Tom Howard. He read Rome Sweet Home by Scott and Kimberly Hahn, and their personal journey drew him back to the Catholic Church and a life of chastity.
Deacon Alex Jones
Deacon Alex Jones, a former Pentecostal preacher, set off to lead his congregation in a study of the early Church Fathers in the late 1980s. As he read the Scripture, the Fathers of the Church, and the writings of the early saints, he concluded that the Holy Mass is the same "worship service" as was celebrated in the early Church. He recognized the Sign of the Cross as a symbol of discipleship and a celebration of Christ's victory over the devil. Through this symbol, he found the impetus to embrace the traditions and tenets of Catholicism.
Stephen Lacey
Stephen Lacey shares how his daughter Daisy's journey of recovery from a serious illness became a journey of faith for their family.
Mia
Mia, who arrived in Australia with Olympic badminton dreams, lost both her sporting ambitions and her Muslim faith during the COVID-19 pandemic. She was welcomed by Catholic friends who introduced her to Jesus.
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Catholic community and family
Catholicism is one of many Christian religions, and it is one of the closest to the Orthodox Church in belief and practice. The Catholic Church offers its almost one billion members certain unique characteristics that set it apart from other Christian denominations.
The Catholic faith represents a complex, consistent, and complete system of ideas among competing philosophies. It is a cathedral of human thought, relying not just on human ingenuity but divine inspiration. The Catholic faith alone can provide the practical wisdom, common sense, consistent theology, and thorough philosophy that leads to full human happiness and flourishing.
The Catholic Church has a hierarchical structure, with nine different choirs of angels, each with a different function and rank. The lives of the saints bear witness to a higher law, a higher order, and ultimately to the living person of Christ. The saints are not worshipped but esteemed and honoured, as their lives testify to the truth of the Gospel and inspire those Christians still on Earth.
The Catholic community is a supportive community of people who have found or are searching for their worth in Jesus. Often, people are born into Catholic families and remain loyal to the Church throughout their lives. Others join the Church later in life, and some leave and then return. The Catholic faith provides intellectual and spiritual answers to almost all questions.
For those who wish to become Catholic, the process is governed by the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA) or the Order of Christian Initiation for Adults (OCIA). This begins with the inquiry stage, in which a person learns about the Catholic faith and decides whether to embrace it. The first formal step is the rite of reception into the order of catechumens, in which the unbaptized express their desire to become Christians. The catechumenate period varies depending on how much the catechumen has learned and how ready they feel. Initiation usually occurs on the Easter Vigil, the evening before Easter Day, when a special Mass is celebrated, and catechumens are baptized, confirmed, and receive the Holy Eucharist.
Being Catholic involves Bible study, church on Sundays and weekdays, serving the homeless, and struggling through life with God by your side. It can be challenging as society, family, and friends may reject you due to your beliefs. However, the Catholic community provides support and words of praise.
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Frequently asked questions
Catholicism is one of the many Christian religions, and there are almost as many reasons for being Catholic as there are members of the Church. Some people are born Catholic, while others join later in life. Catholics view the Bible as having equal authority with the Church and tradition, and the Church presents role models for its members. The Catholic faith is also said to be a complex, consistent, and complete system of ideas that can lead to full human happiness and flourishing.
Being Catholic involves doing Bible study when you can, going to church on Sundays and occasionally on weekdays, serving the homeless when you have time, and struggling through life with God by your side. A Catholic living their faith fully is filled with life and light and joy. They will pray together regularly and have pictures of Jesus and Mary and the saints covering their walls.
For adults and children who have reached the age of reason (age seven), entrance into the Church is governed by the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA), sometimes called the Order of Christian Initiation for Adults (OCIA). Preparation for reception into the Church begins with the inquiry stage, in which the unbaptized person begins to learn about the Catholic faith and decide whether to embrace it. The first formal step to becoming Catholic begins with the rite of reception into the order of catechumens, in which the unbaptized express their desire and intention to become Christians. The initiation itself usually occurs on the Easter Vigil, the evening before Easter Day.
