Do you have to believe in God to be a catholic?

Answer 1

Yes, belief in God is the most basic Catholic requirement and the first line of the Nicene Creed from 325 A.D.:

We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is seen and unseen.

With love in Christ.

Answer 2

Well, it all depends what you mean by "have to"...

Normally, a Catholic in conscience should be able to say truthfully the Creed (the Nicene Creed and the Symbol of the Apostles).

This means, at the most basic level, a belief in One God:
* the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, visible and invisible,
* and in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages, God from God, light from light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father, through whom all things were made, who for us and for our salvation came down from heaven, who became incarnate by the Holy Spirit from the Virgin Mary and was made man, who was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, suffered, died, and was buried, who rose again on the third day, in accordance with the Scriptures, who ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father, and who shall come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and of whose kingdom there shall be no end.
* and in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who together with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets.

If you specifically (i.e., consciously and willingly) choose to disagree with any of those statements, then you are to an extent choosing not to be in full communion with the Catholic Church.

On the other hand, many people disagree with some more or less important portions of the teachings of the Catholic Church, while still holding a strong desire of being in communion with her. And there is a sense that these people indeed remain Catholic in a loser meaning of the word.

Sorry for the fuzzy answer, but you're asking a tough question!

Answer 3

I believe that a belief in God is likely a prerequisite for becoming or being a Catholic.

Answer 4

I know lots of catholics who believe in their religion, but they do not believe the bible or have a relationship with God through his son Jesus Christ. So the answer is no you can still have catholic religion and not believe in God.

Answer 5

Yes

Answer 6

The term "religion" itself would imply devout worship of its practices, and unfortunately, its many traditions. Most religions worship a deity, and therefore expect its followers to worship the same. As a catholic, the term adopted by one sect of Christianity worshipping the "trinity", it's safe to assume the "catholic" would be expected to worship the same way in order to have "one church/spirit/foundation", so forth and so on.

Answer 7

No. A recent Harris poll shows that about 10% of Catholics do not believe in God.

Answer 8

Fundies are just jealous of the Catholic Church because they know that is the ORIGINAL established Christian Church which came before all others.

Answer 9

Not at all, just mumble the incantations and use the hand signals and signs and they will accept you. They don't think about god, that's what the celibate priests are for.

Answer 10

today you do, tomorrow you wont, fridays you do, only if you say hail marys 7 times. then do the cross symbol and kiss your finger twice. (Im not catholic by the way!)Thank the Lord!