What do Catholics believe that makes it different than other branches of Christianity?

Answer 1

I DISAGREE WITH CHRIS SO I GAVE HIM A LOW RATING! WE ARE CHRISTIANS HENCE THE WORD 'CHRIST' IN CHRISTIAN, WHO WE BELEIVE IN!!! WE JUST HAVE A DIFFERENT WAY OF WORSHIPING, AND OUR MASS IS BASED ON THE LAST SUPPER. YES WE PRAY TO SAINTS, BUT IT ISNT BECAUSE WE "WORSHIP" THEM BUT FOR THEM TO PRAY FOR US. BUT ONE THING THAT WE BELEIVE IN IS LIMBO, NOT THE GAME, BUT WHEN YOU DIE YOU DONT GO STRAIGHT TO HEAVEN BUT ARE STUCK TO REPENT YOUR SINS FOR A WHILE, BUT IT IS STILL A WIERD SUBJECT.

Answer 2

Catholics believe:

that they are the true first Christian religion- founded by the apostle Peter.

that Mary is without sin and that you can pray to her

that the Communion is "really" the body and blood of Jesus

that you can pray to Saints

that you can become a Saint

that Priests should not marry

that contraception is wrong

that they should follow the Pope

that you can confess sins to a Priest and have them absolved

in 7 Sacrements

Just a few.

Answer 3

The Eucharist



The Sacrifice of the Mass is a propitiatory sacrifice, that is, it is made for the remission of sins and for the appeasement of the Father. The Old Testament sacrifices were ineffectual, but the Sacrifice of Christ on Calvary, which the Mass re-presents, is effectual because Christ Himself is both the High Priest and the perfect Victim. Partaking of His Body (with right intention, as with all Sacraments) remits venial sin and sanctifies.

Answer 4

We believe the dogma expressed in the Nicene Creed, which states that God the Father, God, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are Three Persons of the One Almighty God.............The Trinity.


We believe that when a person dies, he faces a "particular judgement": he immediately goes to Heaven, to Hell or to Purgatory.


We believe that death does not separate the members of His Church and that we are exhorted to pray for one another and ask others to pray for us........Saints.



We believe that Jesus Christ is the spiritual Foundation Stone, the High Priest and Head of the Church and that He authorized Peter, as the earthly rock of the Church, to shepherd His sheep. The Christ-given authority entrusted to Peter and the other Apostles, with Peter as the Chief Apostle, is passed on by "apostolic succession" through the Bishops, with the Bishop of Rome as their source of unity and earthly king, and Christ Jesus as King of Kings .


The authority of the Church rests on three pillars:

Scripture
Tradition
Magisterium






All 7 Sacraments :

Baptism

Confirmation ("Chrismation" or the "Sacrament of the Seal")

Eucharist ("Communion")

Penance ("Confession" or "Reconciliation")
Holy Matrimony

Holy Orders ("Ordination")

Extreme Unction ("Sacrament of the Sick")

Answer 5

They believe that all the other branches are just that, branches. Some believe that this is probably true in the sense that if Paul was a Roman spy who managed to cover up the true religion of Jesus Christ and used his version to save the crumbling Roman Empire, then everyone has been had. It is if, for me. For proponents of this anti-Pauline thought, there is no if.

Answer 6

There are a lot of differences between Catholics and Christians.

Typically, Christians beleive that accepting that Christ is the Son of God, and believing that he died on the cross in penance for your sins will get you in to Heaven (this is a very simplified explanation).

Catholics typically beleive that Christ is the Son of God, and that he died to wiupe us all clean, and that we have to reamin that way. However, if we commit a sin, we must atone for it ourselves. (This is why Catholics do Hail Marys in chruch, do volunteer work, etc). Catholics beleive it is your good deeds that get you in to heaven. Catholics also believe that their good deeds can undo the damning acts of the predecessors, or their offspring, and get them into heaven. I.E. if their parent murdered someone, and then they died, they would not go to hevan. the child could then do LOTS of good deeds, and work that person from hell to heaven. (again, a very simplified explaination).

Catholics beleive that the Pope is an incarnation of God (again, simplified). They beleive that religious persons, such as priests, cardinals, etc, are closer to God than those of us who are not, which is why they are referred to as Father (as in, God, the father).

Answer 7

All religions believe a little but differently, But the first answer left by Chris says that Catholics aren't saved. WRONG!!! I am Catholic and I have been saved. The main difference is that we do pray to the Blessed Virgin Mary along with praying to God. Alot of people believe that we put Mary above God and that is not the case at all.

Answer 8

because Catholicism was the first type of Christianity then all the other religion's broke off of Catholicism and started their other religion. ex: Lutheran.
Also Catholic's have more history, traditions,customs, etc.
Why don't other religions have a universal leader, aka- The Pope. Only Catholics do.
Also Catholicism is universal. you can find it all over the world. You dont find Baptists, Lutherans, Amish, etc anywhere else really.

Answer 9

The main difference between Catholics and Christians is the Papal system. Catholics believe the Pope speaks with God directly and that the other Papal entities help govern the entire Catholic society. The beliefs regarding the Bible and Jesus are very similar.

Answer 10

Not much anymore.

The only thing I can think of is the Catholic concept of communion, in which the "Body and Blood of Christ" are given to parishiners, whereas in many other Christian branches, communion simply symbolizes that.

Answer 11

The main things are the authority of the Roman hierarchy and transubstantiation. Transubstantiation is the belief that in the communion the bread and wine are literally turned into the body and blood of Christ, a belief they share with the Eastern Orthodox.