Catholic vs. Roman Catholic?

Question

What, if any, is the difference between being Catholic vs. being Roman Catholic. Different beliefs, culture??????

Thanks

Answer 1

same thing. Catholic is just a contraction of the longer Roman Catholic. Kinda like calling the Dallas Cowboys the Cowboys.

Answer 2

Not really.

The Catholic Church has consistently referred to itself as the “Catholic Church” at least since 107 AD, when the term appears in the writings of St. Ignatius of Antioch

The new Anglican Church in England started using the term “Roman” in the 1500s as one of many ways of demeaning and demonizing Catholics.

Catholics accepted this late coming adjective without too much protest. Today “Catholic” and “Roman Catholic” are interchangeable terms. Both terms are even used in the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

To add a little more confusion, some apply the term “Roman Catholic Church” only to the Latin Rite Catholic Church, excluding the Eastern Rite Catholic Churches that are in full communion with the Pope, and are part of the same Church, under the Pope.

The term “Roman” neither increases nor decreases the faith, hope and love of the Catholic Church.

With love in Christ.

Answer 3

There is a Roman Catholic Church, a National Catholic Church and a Greek Orthodox Catholic church, etc....All under one Pope (I do believe), but all with varying traditions and policies (for lack of a better word)..they DO differ in a multitude of ways - far too many to mention here..but the main belief of Christ as Savior and God's son..blessed Trinity and rites of the Holy Mass...the big things?..they believe the same. BUT if you went to mass at each of these Catholic churchs...one would NOT be like the other.

There ARE other offshoots of the Catholic church...who have left or disbanded the Catholic church and are no longer under the Pope...and thus.. are no longer considered Catholic.

Answer 4

They are the same, for the most part.

Catholic could be Roman Catholic, Orthodox Catholic, Eastern Rite Catholic etc. It is the whole.

Roman Catholic specifically refers to what is correctly identified as the Latin Rite.

It is really like asking the difference between a horse and a stallion. Both the same, with slight differences.

Answer 5

Most people equate the term "Catholic" with the Roman Catholic Church. If someone says that he's Catholic, most people will assume that he's a Roman Catholic.

But the Eastern Orthodox churches are often considered to be Catholic, too. Sometimes, people will talk about "Eastern" or "Western" Catholicism. Western Catholicism is the Roman Catholic Church.

The term "catholic", with a small "c", just means "universal".

In the Episcopal liturgy, parishioners state that they believe in the "catholic and apostolic Church" and in fact, most churches using the Nicene Creed have retained that statement.

Answer 6

Most people who call themselves Catholic mean Roman Catholic.

However, there are several religions that consider themselves to be Catholic and differ slightly from the Roman Catholic church. The main difference is usually that they deny the supremacy of the Pope.

Some (but certainly not all) Anglicans consider themselves Catholic.

Answer 7

In common parlance the term most often refers to the members, beliefs, and practices of the Roman Catholic Church. This Church includes the Latin Rite and twenty-two Eastern Rite Catholic Churches, all in full communion with the Pope (Bishop of Rome). The Eastern Catholic particular Churches in communion with the Pope include the Ukrainian, Greek, Greek Melkite, Maronite, Ruthenian Byzantine, Coptic Catholic, Syro-Malabar, Syro-Malankara, Chaldean, and Ethiopian Rites.

Most Reformation and post-Reformation Churches use the term Catholic (sometimes with a lower-case c) to refer to the belief that all Christians are part of one Church, regardless of denominational divisions. This "universal" interpretation is often used to understand the phrase "One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church" in the Nicene Creed, the phrase "the catholic faith" in the Athanasian Creed, and the phrase "holy catholic church" in the Apostles' Creed.

ergo: It depends on the context. For the most part, being Catholic or Roman Catholic mean the same thing. Although different religions use the word "catholic" which means (again) universal.

Answer 8

The Catholic Church has two Rites. The Roman Catholics comprise the Western (Roman) Rite while other Catholics follow the Eastern (Byzantine) Rite.

The Eastern Rite practitioners are known by their nationality, ie. Greek Catholic, Ukrainian Catholic, etc.

Both Rites recognize the Pope in Rome as the Spiritual Head of the Church.

Answer 9

Catholic is short for Roman Catholic. However, as a word, catholic means the whole thing, all collected together, so Protestants actually belong to 'The Holy Catholic Church', ie, not closet Catholics, but the entire Church or all the Christians in the world.

Answer 10

Catholic means universal. Catholic and Roman Catholic are the same.