can someone give me some info about the the catholic religion?

Question

like what they believe and how they do things.

Answer 1

Watch the movie DOGMA. It will answer all of your questions.

Answer 2

The Catholic Church was the original Christian religion. It started with Peter and changed with Paul. Some may say it started with Christ but he was a Jew and it is questionable as to weather he intended it to be a sect of Judaism, or not.
The Catholic Church gained momentum under Constantine the Emperor. The Pope at the time convinced Constantine to allow him to coronet the Emperor. From that time till Henry the VIII all Kings served at the auspices of the Pope. This made the Pope an Emperor. Popes were very powerful and ruled over most of Europe.
Martin Luther's edict caused the people to revolt against the Catholic Church which had lost it's way and was anything but Christian. Popes had wives and mistress'. The Medici family passed the crown of Pope down for many years. The Catholic Church was corrupt and rich. Even Napoleon wanted the blessing of the Pope when he declared himself Emperor in the late 1700's. He kidnapped the Pope till the Pope would coronet him. The Pope would not. The Pope lived very well in France in a region that grows wonderful wine. Today known as the Chateau nuf de Pape wine. The Vatican was run down and being rebuilt so the Pope refused to leave France.
Today it is much different Popes wield little Earthly power and are known as religious leaders.
The Catholic religion follows the Bible. Not the King James Bible which was written by King James a British King. He is why Jesus looks like a British King.He like most humans created his God in his own image and likeness.
Catholics have the Sacrament of Communion,Confession,last rights, marriage,Confirmation. Confirmation is used to denote a young person becoming an adult in his faith. Communion is the re-enacting of the last supper when Christ gave up bread as his body and wine as his blood. Confession is confessing your sins and asking forgiveness. Marriage is when two people stop having sex and agree to pay bills together. I think it's the same in all religions.
Catholics believe Christ is the Son of God. He ascended into Heaven. He rose from the dead. They do not believe he had brothers and sisters. They believe in Marys Virgin Birth. This is actually no big deal since many girls have had virgin births. If the sperm enters the vaginal canal and the penis does not break the Hyman it is a virgin birth.
Catholics believe the Pope is the successor to Christ and what he binds on Earth will be bound in Heaven.
The Pope is against all birth control and abortion. However he has softened the position with married people who use condoms for safe sex.
The Catholic Church does well in backward countries. If the people are poor and un-educated and susceptible to superstition they are easily converted. The Catholic church is loosing it's parishioners in the US and other more progressive nations. The stand on birth controll is usually ignored by most Catholics.
Catholic means Universal. They belive in the Trinity Father son and Holy Ghost as all being the three persons in God. Sort of like Ice water and Steam. They are all H/20.
I think that should be enough. Yes the follow the ten comandments.
By the way the Bible was written by men. Not Women and not God. Men wrote it and they change it all the time. It started as the Torah. The Old Testemant. The new Testemant is the part that is changed a lot by people who were never there.
The other Catholic religions like the Bizantine,Greek Orthodox,Armenian,Russian and others are schizims or splits from the original Catholic church. Many disagreed with Paul originaly Saul of Tarsus. St Cecilia had ideas against statues and this was said to be just an image not a God. This caused a split. Rather silly. The Religion of Islam is a split from the Catholic Church. They were Coptic Catholics and that still exists. They had different ideas on the same gospel. Muhammed came along and started his own church.
Islam did not exist before that time. All are splits from the Hebrew faith Judaism.
You have to remember the word of Christ had to travel a long way and like people whispering a statement to the next person, by the time it gets to the last person the first one sometimes does not even recognize it to be the same statement.In fact many times it is the opposite. So the words that Christ said have been twisted into a mess by illiterate people passing on the information.Sometimes wealthy people with angenda distort ar change it to suite their needs. Any one who believe this stuff as iron clad Gospel needs their head examined.

Answer 3

2/3 of all Catholics live in Latin America, I hardly consider those people rich!

I'll do my best, I apologize if this is really long or confusing.

Catholics are a Christian denomination, so they believe that Jesus is Lord and died, on the cross, for our sins.

Catholics also believe in saints. They believe that certain people, because they were so holy when they were alive, have a special relationship with Jesus once they die, and can intercede on behalf of those who pray to them.

Catholics are huge believers in a principle called "Social Justice," which basically means that all people should be treated equally and fairly and that we should do whatever possible to make less fortunate people more comfortable.

Catholics believe in a series of "rites" to be preformed during ones life (Rite of Baptism, Rite of Marriage, Rite of Christian Burial)

Catholics believe in something call Transubstantiation. Which basically means that when the priest blesses the eucharist (bread and wine), it actually becomes Jesus' blood and body. Because of this, Catholics take communion very seriously. Which is why they don't give communion to people who haven't passed the "Rite of Communion"/"First Communion" They want to make sure that people understand what kind of holy ritual they are partaking in.

The Catholic Mass is a unique worship service. There is a set order and certain words and actions that are always said.

Catholics do the sign of the cross to signify the holy trinity (God, Son, Holy Spirit)

I hope this helps. Go to wikipedia, they have some good sources and info, too. Also, feel free to just wander on into a church and look for the priest (unless you're a young boy... sorry! had to be done!!)

[edit]

ignore the poster above me, she is ignorant and seriously misinformed. Also, I forgot to mention that the Catholic Bible has more books than the protestant bible. Thos books are called the Apocrypha.

I think the poster above should ask why the protestants edited the bible in the first place? Did they get rid of the stuff they didn't like?!?!

Think about it.

Answer 4

It is interesting. These people who have answered have confused even me and I know what they believe and why and how they do stuff.

Very few of the above are useful or accurate.

I have a suggestion. There is a pretty good book that covers your question pretty well. It is called "Why do Catholics do that?" I am attaching the link.

It is very inexpensive and you can buy it used online at the link as well as new. You can also pick it up in most any bookstore of size.

Generally, if you are Protestant, they believe pretty much everything you believe plus a little extra that other Protestant believe but you reject. Generally, if you look across all of Protestantism and add Orthodoxy, you end up with Catholic beliefs (super simplified).

If you are not Christian, then the following is pretty much the complete answer.

I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible. And I believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God. Born of the Father before all ages. God of God, Light of Light, true God of true God. Begotten, not made, of one substance with the Father. By whom all things were made. Who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven. And He became flesh by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary: and was made man. He was also crucified for us, suffered under Pontius Pilate, and was buried. And on the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead. And of His kingdom there will be no end. And I believe 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, and who spoke through the prophets. And one holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. I confess one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. And I await the resurrection of the dead. And the life of the world to come. Amen.

Answer 5

In Jesus and contrary to what a lot of Americans think and believe the largest group o catholics are still working class Irish, Italians, and people of Latin heritage.
The Catholic Church gets a lot of grief because they have chosen a more traditional form of worship. We believe in reverence and respect.
We keep traditions because it is the right thing to do. Not all catholics are evil we don't stem from pagan belief and the only thing we believe different from other forms of Christianity is that communion is more than just symbolic.

Answer 6

Believe it or not, but there is an "Idiots Guide to Catholicism". I would check that out (library or book store) or talk to a priest. This space allotted here could not even hope to give you a good insight to the Catholic religion.

Answer 7

A summary of Catholic beliefs is contained in the Nicene Creed (from the year 325):

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

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, one in being with the Father. Through Him all things were made. For us and our salvation He came down from heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit, He was born of the Virgin Mary, and became man. For our sake He was crucified under Pontius Pilate; He suffered, died, and was buried. On the third day He rose again in fulfillment of the scriptures: He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the Father and the Son, He is worshiped and glorified. He has spoken through the Prophets. We believe in one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

For a complete description of what Catholics believe, see the Catechism of the Catholic Church: http://www.usccb.org/catechism/text/index.htm

With love in Christ.

Answer 8

catholics pray a lot to the virgin mary, she is a very respected woman. We go to confession, where we would confess our sins to a padre in a dark room. We eat the holy bread. We attend church on saturday or sundays. we can sign up for what they call adoration (adore) an hour in the quiet chapel that you can attend at anytime and any day that is convinient for you (thats what i do because i dont regularly go to church on sun or sat.). There are a lot of rules to follow if you want to be a die hard catholic. I'm not so die hard but i do enjoy attending my church and paying my respects. OR GO TO CATHOLIC.COM and you can find most of your answers there

Answer 9

We are Christians that live with a lot of guilt. We are the orginal Christians (you can trace us back to Peter) and we are usually working class. In the US, we are either Irish, Polish, Italian or Mexican mainly. Come down to one of our churches and check us out sometime.

Answer 10

The best place to go is www.catholic.com

That's the site that convinced me to convert to Catholicism. It has essays on every topic you could think of and also a forum if you still have specific questions.

Also, feel free to contact me if you would like to speak personally.

Answer 11

Go to www.askmeaboutgod.org to ask your question(s) about Catholicism and receive a prompt, free, and confidential answer via email in about one day.

You may also send for our free Catholic Resource CD.