A Christian is a general term for a person who believes in God and Jesus Christ. There are many different denominations of Christianity. Catholicism is just one of those denominations, but there are many more. Roman Catholics do make up the largest denomination in the world. They have over one billion members worldwide. It is a very organized religion with many very specific creeds and doctrines.
Some different examples of christian denominations are Lutheran, Methodist, Baptist, etc. There are many churches these days that are of no particular denomination. These are usually called something along the lines of "Church of Christ."
We can categorize Christianity into two major groups - Catholics and Protestants. All Protestant religions were once Catholic but broke away from their religious doctrine and the ideas central control by the Pope and formed their own Christian religions. Lutherans, Episcopalians, Baptists all fall into this category, among others.
All of the Protestant religions believe that, unlike the Catholic religion, a religious leader, pastor or priest us unable to grant forgiveness, that it must be asked for and obtained only through God. Catholicism is practiced all over the world and is more widespread than other Christian religions, and you will find quite different variations of the doctrine and how it is observed in Latin America and Europe.
There is not a difference between Catholicism and Christianity any more than there is a difference between men and people. Men are people, Catholics are Christian.
There are some major differences, however, between Catholics and other Christians.
- Catholics believe in their church's hierarchy and the authority of the Pope.
- Catholics revere saints and the Virgin Mary more than most Protestants do.
- Catholics believe that the bread and wine at communion literally turn into the body and blood of Jesus Christ.
- Catholics do not allow priests or other "religious" to be married.
What is the difference between Christianity and Catholicism?What is the difference between Christianity and Catholicism?
Catholicism is a form of Christianity in that Catholics believe that Christ was the son of God and died for our sins. However, Catholics traditionally have different views on a few pieces of the faith. One of these differences is in the way that a person's sins are forgiven. In the Catholic church, the person who wants to be forgiven for a sin goes to mass and the priest intercedes for him or her with God.
Protestant Christians, however, do not believe that they need an intermidiary between them and God. Romans 8 vs 39-39 says "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from...
See This Answer Now
Start your 48-hour free trial to unlock this answer and thousands more. Enjoy eNotes ad-free and cancel anytime.
Already a member? Log in here.
the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Other evidence for the Protestant side lies in the fact that, in Biblical times in Solomons temple, there was a curtain that divided the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place. It was huge, heavy, and very well made, and it kept the common people from going in to where the spirit of God was. Going behind the curtain meant entering the presence of God, and the Lord says in Leviticus 16:2 "Tell your brother Aaron not to come whenever he chooses into the Most Holy Place ... or else he will die".
As Christ was crucified, this curtain tore, top to bottom. According to many, the tearing of the curtain was the end of man's separation from God as the Holy Spirit came to dwell in the hearts of man.
If you are looking for differences between Catholicism and Protestantism, see the website below for a very simplified chart with links to more complete information.
http://www.religionfacts.com/christianity/charts/catholic_protestant.htm
Christianity has many different sects. Lutheranism, Catholicism, Protestantism, Baptist and Unitarian are all examples of Christian sects. Catholicism and Christianity is like asking what is the difference between a dog and a labrador retriever. A labrador retriever is a type of dog like Catholicism is a type Christianity.
There is no difference. The Catholic Church (both Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox) is a Christian church. For centuries, it was the only Christian church. During the Reformation, many different groups grew dissatisfied with the corruption and hypocrisy within the church and broke off to form the various denominations known today as Protestant. Nowadays, Catholicism is another denomination within Christianity.
There are three major forms of Christianity. One is Protestantism, one is Catholicism and one is Eastern Orthodox. The separation of the three main branches occurred centuries ago but all three faiths share a common belief that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, that he died and was resurrected from the dead, and that He is the Savior of the World. Your question, I believe, deals with the difference between Catholicism and Protestantism. Protestants broke away from the Catholic Church during the 1500's over issues like the of the Bible over the supremacy of the Pope, corruption in the Catholic Church and issues over methods of worship,the mass, communion, and salvation ( faith vs. works. For more information, see the links below for a more through discussion.
The Catholic Church with its interpretation of Matthew 16:18 marks Peter as the first Pope in the first Christian Church. The First Council of Nicea in 325 A. D. brought about division in the Catholic Church: the Roman Catholic is the division known to Western Europe and the United States. From the Nicean Council, the Greek Orthodox also was formed; this Church is no longer recognized as Catholic.
German Roman Catholic monk and theologian, Martin Luther, challenged the authority of the papacy, the buying and selling of indulgences, payment for contributions to the Church. Greatly disturbed by the corruption in the Catholic Church, Luther contended that salvation is only attained through repentance, not by means of indulgences. In 1546 Luther nailed a copy of his 95 Theses to the door of Castle Church in Wittenberg, an event perceived as the beginning of the Protestant Reformation.
After this the beginning of many Christian Protestant churches came about with major differences established between the Protestants and the Catholics. Two such differences are in the belief in purgatory and the transubstantion in the Catholic Mass in which Catholics believe that the host and wine are changed to the body and blood of Christ. Other differences between Catholics and Protestants lie in the interpretation of the Bible, as do differences among Protestant sects. Nevertheless, all Protestants and all Catholics are all Christians.
What is the difference between Catholic and Christian?
All Catholics are Christian, but not all Christians are Catholic. There are many different forms of Christianity, and they vary considerably, but the primary differences are the result of various Christian sects originating in a rejection of Catholicism.
It is important to understand that for hundreds of years, there was only one form of Christianity, which was Catholicism. Until the Reformation, which was the breaking away from the Catholic Church, to be a Christian was to be Catholic. The Church was a well-organized and well-established religious and political entity. All power flowed from the Pope and his minions.
In the sixteenth century came what is now known as the Reformation. From this time, all those who were Christian and not Catholic began to be known as Protestants, the name rooted in the idea of protest against the Catholic Church. The Reformation included different sects of Christians, notable Martin Luther, who was protesting the greed of the Church, Henry the Eighth, who wished a divorce the Church would not grant him, and John Calvin, who had his own theological disagreements with Catholicism. Today, these forms of Protestantism are, respectively, Lutheran, Anglican (Episcopalian in the United States,) and the Reformed Church.
The most substantive difference for all of these and the Catholic Church is a rejection of the authority of the Pope. Other than this difference, there are theological and ritual differences, but each form of Protestantism has its own theology and ritual, some closer to the Catholic Church than others. As a general rule, those closer to the Catholic Church are spoken of as "high church," and those further away from the Catholic Church are spoken of as "low church."
What are the differences between a Christian and a Catholic?
The word "Christian" means "little Christ," and is attributable to any religion or denomination that considers itself to be following Jesus Christ or his teachings. Since Catholicism falls into the category of religions that adhere to the teachings of Jesus Christ, technically a Catholic is a Christian, but not all Christians are Catholic.
The word "Catholic" means "universal" and in many of the recitations of the Catholic church (and other traditional churches, such as the Lutheran church) the word is not capitalized. The reason for this is that although "Catholic" and "catholic" are the same word, the capital "C" denotes the specific church, and the lower case "c" denotes the universal church, or the unified family of God.
To interpret your question slightly differently, I might phrase it, "What are the differences between a Protestant and a Catholic?" Protestant Christians are the major branch of Christianity that is non-Catholic. The Protestant Reformation began in 1517 when Martin Luther published his "95 Theses," a list of disagreements or protests against the Catholic church. This spurred a split in the church that ended up creating a second branch of Christianity: Protestantism (from the word "protest").
The way this works out in the differences in beliefs in the present is that Catholic Christians place a much larger emphasis on tradition, and Protestant Christians typically believe that the sole standard of spiritual authority is the Bible. Since there are so many Protestant denominations with so many differing beliefs, it is difficult to pinpoint a list of differences between Protestant Christians in general and Catholic Christians. The teachings of the Catholic Church are published and uniform across all of their parishes.
A good source on the teachings of the Catholic Church is the United States Catholic Catechism for Adults, published by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Washington, D.C., (2006). For specifics on the different Protestant denominations, you would have to look up the various denominations by name.