Why do some people not believe Catholics are Christians?

Answer 1

Catholics are Christians. According to the good ol' American Heritage Dictionary, a Christian is one who professes "belief in Jesus as Christ or following the religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus." I'm a Catholic, and I know this describes me.

I have come to understand a bit more about why sometimes Protestants say Catholics aren't Chritistian, however. Hopefully, these will help you understand their logic:

1. The Saints. It's thought that by praying to saints, Catholics are worshiping them. This isn't true. Catholics ask for a saint's intercession like you might ask a friend to pray for you. Even if one does ask something directly of a saint, however, it could only be granted if God gave them the power to do so, like when he gave the Apostles the power to perform miracles. You can see how people might think Catholics aren't Christian if they thought this prayer was equal to worship..
2. The Bible. Because Protestants don't have a Church structure the way Catholics do, Protestants often end up paying a lot more attention to the Bible, memorizing passages etc. It seems to them that Catholics ignore the Scriptures and so the word of Christ. This isn't true either, but it's a not-infrequent misconception.
3. The Eucharist. Catholics say that the Eucharist is the essence of Christ, present with us. We worship Christ in and through the Eucharist. If you're Protestant, you (generally) think the Eucharist is bread, symbolic of Christ, but not actually Christ. So if they see us worshiping God in the Eucharist, they think we're bowing down to a piece of bread. Obviously, that would seem sacriligious.
4. Salvation. Generally, Protestants believe that salvation can only come from accepting Christ as your savior. Essentially, no matter how good a person is on their own, because they're not perfect, they wouldn't be able to make it to heaven if it weren't for Chirst's sacrifice. Catholics believe this is true, but that you also have to 'walk the walk, not just talk the talk.' Salvation is based on the acceptance of Christ as savior combined with good works. The reason some Protestants have a problem with this is because they're thinking we're discounting the importance of Christ's sacrifice and that we think we could get into heaven on our own.

So you see, the concept of Catholics not being Christian is generally based on misconceptions, but in truth we all believe in Christ as the source of eternal life. Hopefully one day, we'll all be able to recognize this truth each other as true brothers and sisters in him.

Answer 2

Don't know but let me try and answer with a question.

Isn't Christianity a break away form the Jewish faith because Jesus was viewed to be the son of god by the Christians? And that the Vatican (Catholic) is the direct line of development of this faith? And the other faiths are off-shoots of the Catholic faith?

So shouldn't Catholics be the default of the meaning of Christianity unless specified otherwise?

Answer 3

Because Catholics refer to Christians as being another group. I hear it all the time and don't get it either. The sad thing is that most Catholics don't know the Bible. They are so used to being told what to say and think, that most never read the word on their own. A Nun told me this.

Answer 4

Catholics pray to Mary instead of Jesus. I was raised Catholic but never felt right there. As soon as I'd walk into church I'd see statues and idols everywhere. Isn't this against one of the Commandments. No, I wasn't a christian when I was Catholic. I'm not talking bad about catholics, just stating my personal observations.

Answer 5

No, I wasn't a christian when I was Catholic.
I went to the catholic schools and all I remember was they were teaching how to defend the catholic church.
They kept saying holy mother the church--whatever that meant.
Then they would pray to Mary, not God or even to Jesus. DUH!
Mary wasn't god.
Confess to a priest--what is he a psychiatrist?
They didn't focus on salvation.
What Jesus did for us on the cross.
They were buried in ritualism. Very mystical.
They walk around in black--whats with the color black?
They said for me to call them father, the Bible says not to.
They said to say the rosary, a long sting of prayers, the Bible says not to.
They did not read from the Bible, they read from some other kind of book--their religion. Catholic Pope edicts I think.
Then they said, that the actual body and blood of Jesus was there on the alter or in the host.
Even when I was little, I knew cannibalism was wrong.

Answer 6

Because they don't know enough about the Catholic Faith-- there are many misbeliefs about the Catholic Faith, just as there are a lot of beliefs that are not true about MANY faiths-- it is due to ignorance and intolerance of those that have a different belief. We fear and condemn that which we do not know. I was raised one religion, and chose a different religion as an adult-- We all have our own way of worshiping-- whether Catholic, Buddhist, Jewish, or otherwise-- as long as we are decent, caring human beings that respect one another-- it does not matter how we worship-- I think if we all took the time to honestly consider each religion we would all find comforting aspects of each one-- not that we would necessarily agree, but we all have our comfort zone, and to each his own. WE should all be respected and treated with dignity no matter what our religious choice. PERIOD

Answer 7

When Christ started His ministry on earth, His followers are called Christians. Catholic means universal. Catholicism is the same worldwide, unlike some denominations of Christianity. Those who doesn't believe that Cathoics are Christians are just ignorant about the matter.

Answer 8

The main reasons are:
1. They see Catholics as worshiping idols. They pray before a statue of Mary, and to them that smacks of idolatry.
2. They place human institutions before God, believing that salvation comes from the Church and the Church's sacraments. Protestants claim that our only authority is the Bible, and the Church has no authority of its own.
3. They fail to recognize that salvation comes from faith alone through Christ alone. Catholics add works, sacraments, etc.

That said, I would conclude that all these arguments are false. Catholics do not practice idolatry, they follow the Biblical view of the authority of the Church and they also follow the Biblical view balancing faith with our actions.

Answer 9

A lot of racist groups in the U.S. in the past said it because they were protestants and all the immigrants (Italians, Irish, etc) were Catholic, so they invented conspiracy theories and made up lies about Catholics. As a result, some of the more redneck backwoods churches still believe the lies about Catholics not being Christian.

Answer 10

have no clue. I was taught that any religion that believe in Jesus is a Christian. All Catholics are Christians but not all Christians are Catholics