What is the difference between Catholic and Christian religion?

Answer 1

Good on you for asking - some times it is easier to ask a question afresh than wading though much of the rubbish that clutters this place. This really isn't the best place for this question however - apart from the many Zealots who would call themselves Christians beating you over the head, there are simply too many points to sufficiently cover here.

Let me try and answer this in a way that casts no bias in either direction. I'm not here to bash either points of view - just to try and answer your question.

First thing to understand is that there are three main classes of Catholic:

(traditional) Catholic
Roman Catholic
Christian Catholic.
...oh, and then there are those who identify themselves as Catholic because they were brought up in that environment rather than due to any beliefs/practises they may hold.

Confused yet?? Well keep reading :)

Roman Catholics tend to hold the most importance in all the traditional rituals - ie, importance of the saints, rosary beads, confessionals, etc. The Roman Catholic is less likely to read the bible themselves, relying more upon the hierarchy of the church to guide their religious direction.

Regular Catholics, whilst not tending to be as imbued in the ritualism of the Church, still hold to many of the traditional beliefs. The confessional is still deemed important in seeking forgiveness for sins.

Then there is the Christian Catholic (represented by such as John Paul II, John XXIII, and from memory the current pope) who tend to give the many Catholic symbolism far less weight, in preference to having a personal relationship with their God. These Catholics are often guided to bring unity btwn the Christian and Catholic brethren.

Now that you're probably confused as all heck, I'll try and cover a couple of the key differences.

The Catholic Church tends to be far more hierarchical in nature - the closest Christian comparison is the High Anglican, which was in many ways modelled off the Catholic Church by Henry VIII after being blacklisted because of divorce.

This actually stands as another key difference. Whilst both belief systems hold to the sanctity of marriage, the traditional and Roman branches of the Catholic church do not support divorce at all - although in specially circumstances a marriage can be annulled (I can't remember the exact terminology), such as in cases where there is ongoing spousal abuse or if one party has abandoned the church completely (the other party can then apply for this).

The other key difference (and most would agree this stands as the most significant of all) lies in their relationship with God. The Christian & the Christian Catholic alike believe in a personal relationship with their saviour, with need for an intermediary. Their sins are forgiven through the blood of Jesus. A cornerstone of faith is the understanding that "no man shall come to the Father but through Jesus the Son".

Catholics and Roman Catholics instead will seek intermediaries such as Mary or the saints, who are seen as a bridge btwn them selves and Christ. Sins are forgiven through confession and penance rather than through praying directly to Jesus/God.

Christians alike also see the concept of being "born again" central to their faith, acknowledging that all are born in sin and thus must come to God on their own. From memory this is not the case with Catholicism (although a catholic could best explain why that is..a I can't for the life of me remember).

Anyhow, I hope this helps in some way. As I said at the beginning, there are a raft of differences - too many to cover here - but these are some of the most significant.

Answer 2

Catholic And Christian

Answer 3

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Congratulations for being the 80,000th person to ask this here. You could have saved yourself 5 points by using the "Search" feature. But here is my prepared response. Catholicism is a sect of Christianity. So Catholics ARE Christians. You'll notice that the only people who say otherwise are ethnocentric non-Catholic Christians who pretty much believe that only their own sect gets to be the "real Christians". No doubt, they'll be giving thumbs down to this response to make themselves feel better. Christianity is, as the name implies, the religion that focuses on Jesus Christ as described in the Gospels. This is the one feature that all sects of Christianity have in common, and a feature that distinguishes Christianity from other religions of the world (Hinduism, Judaism, Buddhism, Islam, Sikhism, etc.). Of course, not all Christians agree on what the best way is to go about Jesus. That's why you have the Lutherans, the Catholics, the Mormons, the Episcopalians, the Presbyterians, the Quakers, the Church of Christian Science, Seven Day Adventists, Baptists, Greek Orthodox, Russian Orthodox, Chinese Orthodox, Pentecostals, Jesuits, Calvinists, Jehovah's Witnesses, and hundreds of other sects. Catholicism is simply one of those hundreds of sects. So the question is: what separates Catholicism from the other ones I listed? Well the Bible says that Jesus instructed Peter to build is church. The Catholics believe that they are that Church. They view Peter as being the first Pope, which is a title that has been handed down from one leader to another all the way down to the present Pope. They have a notable focus on Mary and the Saints (but do NOT worship them, contrary to what you'll hear on this thread), along with the sacraments.

Answer 4

All Catholics are Christians because they believe that Jesus is the Son of God, That He was crucified to pay for our sins and that He rose from the dead, ascended into Heaven, sits at the right hand of God and will come again. Catholics also believe that the Bible is true. How could we not be Christians?

What I hear on YA is Protestant Christians say that Catholics are not Christian because some (not all) Protestants believe that we are saved by Faith alone and not by works while Catholics believe that we need both Faith and works to go to Heaven. Those Protestants must have never read the Book of James in the New Testament.

James was an Apostle and learned from Jesus Himself for 3 years and after Jesus death, resurrection, and was the head of the Christian Church in Jerusalem. Faith vs works was an issue right away after Jesus and James wrote a letter to teach many things and Faith vs works was one of them. Faith is the English translation of the Greek word "pistis" and they mean different things. In English, in English the word Faith usually means "trust" and of course God wants us to trust Him.

Pistis means something else. Pistis means to believe something so strongly that the person cannot say or do anything which is not in agreement with his pistis. In the Book of James, The English translation of the book of James has James writing that "Faith without works is dead. A better translation of the Greek that the New Testament is written in is, "Pistis without works is not pistis. I hope this answers your question.

Answer 5

There is no Christian Religion, but yes there are Christians. All churches who believe in Jesus as their Saviour and God are Christians. They do not have a Christian Religion but follow Christ in different Churches, Religions or Denominations such as Catholics, Protestants, Evangelical, Orthodox, Evangelical, Baptists and many more. As of the belief it is the result of Tradition and Culture and Councils and proclamations and credes and commandments and Popes talk and more.

Answer 6

More is required of true Christians than a mere confession of faith. It is necessary that belief be demonstrated by works. (Ro 10:10; Jas 2:17, 26) Born as sinners, those who become Christians repent, turn around, dedicate their lives to Jehovah, to worship and serve him, and then submit to water baptism. (Mt 28:19; Ac 2:38; 3:19) They must keep themselves clean from fornication, from idolatry, and from eating blood. (Ac 15:20, 29) They strip off old personalities with their fits of anger, obscene talk, lying, stealing, drunkenness, and “things like these,” and they bring their lives into accord with Bible principles. (Ga 5:19-21; 1Co 6:9-11; Eph 4:17-24; Col 3:5-10) “Let none of you,” wrote Peter to Christians, “suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a busybody in other people’s matters.” (1Pe 4:15) Christians are to be kind and considerate, mild-tempered and long-suffering, lovingly exercising self-control. (Ga 5:22, 23; Col 3:12-14) They provide and care for their own and love their neighbors as themselves. (1Ti 5:8; Ga 6:10; Mt 22:36-40; Ro 13:8-10) The main identifying quality by which true Christians are recognized is the outstanding love they have toward one another. “By this,” Jesus said, “all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love among yourselves.”—Joh 13:34, 35; 15:12, 13.

Answer 7

"What separates us as believers in Christ is much less than what unites us." (Pope John XXIII)

Almost all important doctrine is completely agreed upon between Catholic Christians and other Christians.

Here is the joint declaration of justification by Catholics (1999), Lutherans (1999), and Methodists (2006):

By grace alone, in faith in Christ's saving work and not because of any merit on our part, we are accepted by God and receive the Holy Spirit, who renews our hearts while equipping us and calling us to good works.

There are many minor doctrine issues and some major cultural traditional differences which, I believe, do not matter that much.

A Catholic worships and follows Christ in the tradition of Catholicism which, among other things, recognizes that Christ made Peter the leader of His new Church and Pope Benedict XVI is Peter's direct successor.

With love in Christ.

Answer 8

Catholicism is one of the many branches of Christianism, such as Lutheranism, Calvinism, Orthodox, Church of England, etc. The main characteristics of Catholicism is that it has the Pope of Rome as it's head, the worship of the virgin Mary and a great commitment to tradition and the sacraments. That's pretty much it. Pretty much everything that kanis.lupus said was nonsense.

Answer 9

No difference. Catholics are just Christian, but not all Christians are Catholic, some are protestant.

Answer 10

The early Christians had common beliefs called the principles of the doctrine of Christ
Heb 6:1 Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,
Heb 6:2 Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.
They taught that faith in Christ's shed blood on the cross is what saves us Tit 3:5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us. However once saved he gives grace by his Spirit to overcome sin and to perform works. So James said works show faith.

Around 400 AD Constantine wanted to control the masses by making one state religion. So he blended the pagan queen of heaven worship with Christianity and formed the Roman Catholic church. He changed the names from the pagan gods to Mary and the apostles. The pagans who went to worship idols like the queen of heaven and the roman gods continued to commit idolatry by worshipping the same statues but calling them different names. The pagans not only committed idolatry which was forbidden in the bible, but they also had priests and gods who they prayed too. Sio the RC church changed the names of the pagan gods to Chrisitans and the pagans started praying to saints instead of gods. Nowhere in the bible does it say saints or apostles or Mary is someone you pray to. The bible states there is only one intercessor between God and man and that is Christ Jesus. 1Ti_2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; So all the pagan practices practiced by the RC church is because of this blend of pagan and Christian ideas. Luther started one of the protests against the RC church by stating Ephesians 2:8 by faith we are saved and not of works it is the gift of God.
Unfortunaltely the RC church hunted down, persecuted and killed and martyred true Christians throughout the centuries such as the Waldensians the Moravians the puritans and the Mennonites. The inquisition was an example of Catholic intolerance and repression. There is nothing in the bible to suggest such behaviour.

Answer 11

Christianity is the religion.
catholic is a branch of it.