Topic
Other Christians & Religions
How Catholics understand other Christians and other religions — the real differences, the shared ground, and the Church's hope for unity.
Questions about other christians & religions
All in Q&A
Why do Catholic Bibles have more books?
Catholic Bibles contain 73 books; most Protestant Bibles contain 66. The difference is seven Old Testament books — Tobit, Judith, 1 and 2 Maccabees, Wisdom, Sirach and Baruch — plus parts of Esther and Daniel. Catholics call them deuterocanonical. They were part of the Greek Old Testament used by the apostles and were accepted by the early Church.
Are Catholics saved by faith or by works?
Neither faith nor works earns salvation — it is a free gift of God's grace. Catholics believe we are justified by grace through faith, and that this grace produces real charity and good works, which God rewards. The Church calls it "faith working through love."
Are Catholics Christians?
Yes. Catholics are Christians — in fact, the Catholic Church is the oldest and largest Christian community. Catholics believe in the Trinity, confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, are baptized in his name, and hold the Bible as the inspired Word of God.
Can non-Catholics receive Communion at Mass?
Ordinarily, no. Receiving Communion is a sign of full unity in faith with the Catholic Church, so non-Catholics are warmly welcome at Mass but are asked not to receive. They may come forward for a blessing with arms crossed, or remain in prayer in the pew. Limited exceptions exist, especially for Orthodox Christians.
What is the difference between Catholic and Orthodox Christians?
Catholic and Orthodox Christians share the same sacraments, apostolic succession and nearly all doctrine. The main differences concern the authority of the Pope, the wording of the Creed (the "filioque"), and some liturgical and disciplinary practices. The division dates especially from 1054.
What does the Catholic Church teach about other religions?
The Church teaches that salvation comes through Christ and his Church, while respecting whatever is true and holy in other religions. It honours the special bond with the Jewish people, recognizes that Muslims worship the one God, and holds that those who, through no fault of their own, do not know Christ can still be saved by God's grace if they sincerely seek God and follow their conscience.
What was the Protestant Reformation?
The Reformation was a 16th-century movement, begun by Martin Luther in 1517, that challenged Church abuses and key Catholic teachings, leading to the formation of Protestant churches. The Catholic Church responded with genuine reform at the Council of Trent. Today Catholics and Protestants work toward reconciliation while real differences remain.
Common questions non-Catholics ask about Catholicism
Non-Catholics most often ask whether Catholics worship Mary and statues, why they confess to priests, why they believe the Eucharist is really Jesus, why they have a Pope, and whether they believe in salvation by grace. In each case, the Catholic answer is grounded in Scripture and centred on Christ.
Do modern Jews believe in purgatory?
Not as a doctrine. Judaism's theology of the afterlife is not highly developed, but traditional Jews pray and hold memorials for their dead — practices in line with Catholic concern for the departed. The books of Maccabees are generally not part of the modern Jewish canon.
Can non-Catholics participate in the gestures at Mass?
Yes. A non-Catholic in the congregation may do everything Catholics in the pews do — sign of the cross, kneeling, standing — except receive Communion. Guests may join in as far as they are comfortable; observers need only stand when others stand and otherwise sit quietly.
Can a non-Catholic Christian groom receive Communion at his Catholic wedding?
No. Receiving Communion in the Catholic Church is a sign of full acceptance of Catholic teaching and of complete unity among believers — a unity Catholics and other Christians do not yet share. Even Catholics may receive only in a state of grace. For this reason, Catholics marrying non-Catholics are usually encouraged not to have a nuptial Mass.
Can female Anglican priests consecrate the Eucharist like male Anglican priests?
The Catholic Church does not recognize Anglican orders as valid, for men or women. In her view, no Anglican priest can validly consecrate the bread and wine, because the form of holy orders was compromised when the Church of England ceased to uphold the Mass as a sacrifice under Edward VI.
Christ was a Jew, so why don't Catholics observe Judaism?
Catholicism is the completion of the Jewish religion. Had Jesus' contemporaries all accepted him as the Messiah, there would have remained one true religion. Because most did not, a split occurred: pre-Christian Judaism was the true religion, while post-Christian Judaism is incomplete because it does not recognize the Messiah it awaits.
Could the Catholic Church canonize a non-Catholic?
In theory, yes, since canonization is simply an official acknowledgment that someone is in heaven. But so far the Church has canonized only her own members, because one purpose of canonization is to hold up a model of Catholic holiness.
If I'm on active duty and can only attend a Protestant service, does it fulfill my Sunday obligation?
No. A Protestant service does not fulfill the Sunday obligation. But if attending Mass is impossible, you have no obligation; the Church recommends that you take part in a Liturgy of the Word if one is available, or spend time in prayer alone, with family, or with groups of families.
What is the correct list of the Ten Commandments?
The commandments in Deuteronomy 5 and Exodus 20 seem to number more than ten, so their division isn't perfectly clear. The traditional Catholic numbering is correct; in it, the prohibition of idolatry is not dropped but included in the first commandment.
Are Eastern "Masses" valid? Should Catholics receive Communion at them?
The consecration is valid in both Eastern Catholic and Eastern Orthodox divine liturgies. A Roman-rite Catholic may receive Communion at an Eastern Catholic liturgy, which also fulfills the Sunday obligation. Orthodox liturgies do not fulfill it, and Catholics ordinarily should not receive Communion there, though some circumstances permit it.
Do the Episcopal and Orthodox churches have the Real Presence in the Eucharist?
The Orthodox churches have valid holy orders, so their Eucharist is valid. The Episcopal Church does not have valid orders, so its Eucharist is not.
Do Catholics believe in the Rapture?
Catholics believe that Christians still living at Christ's Second Coming will be caught up with those who died in Christ to be with the Lord forever. But they do not generally use the term "Rapture," and they do not believe in a Rapture before the Second Coming, as many Evangelicals do.
Why is baptism outside the Church valid, but marriage outside the Church not?
Both can be valid outside the Church. But Church law requires Catholics to marry in the Church or with permission, for pastoral and theological reasons that apply to marriage. Those reasons don't apply to baptism, which Jesus willed for everyone, so any baptism done as he instructed is valid.
My non-Catholic husband says the Eucharist should make me a better Christian than he is. Is that so?
Neither of you can judge the state of your soul, or know how holy you would be without the sacraments, or he with them. But no one draws near to Christ without being affected: "Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life." Only Christ knows how holy you are — but you are better off receiving him than not.
Can I receive Communion in an Anglican church?
No. The Anglican church does not have valid holy orders, so eucharistic intercommunion is not possible. The Catechism teaches that communities from the Reformation have not preserved the full reality of the Eucharist, especially because they lack holy orders.
If two married Lutherans divorce civilly, can either remarry in the Catholic Church?
Only if the first marriage is found not to have been valid. A valid sacramental marriage ends only with the death of a spouse, so the marriage must first be investigated. If it was valid, no new marriage can take place; if not, a declaration of nullity frees the person to marry a Catholic, who needs a dispensation to marry a non-Catholic.
What effect does a person's re-baptism in a Baptist church have?
In itself, none. Baptism seals the Christian with an indelible spiritual mark of belonging to Christ; given once for all, it cannot be repeated.
Why does the Church recognize Protestant baptism if Protestantism has no valid priesthood?
Because baptism is necessary for salvation and God wills everyone's salvation, the Church recognizes all validly administered baptisms. In necessity anyone can baptize, using the Trinitarian formula with the intention of doing what the Church does. Baptism by immersion or pouring with the Trinitarian formula is valid in itself.
Should I have received Communion and anointing from an Orthodox priest?
Yes, that was permissible. A Catholic may receive these sacraments from a validly ordained non-Catholic priest, such as a Russian Orthodox priest, when no Catholic priest is available and there is necessity or spiritual benefit — as for a Catholic in hospital.
How can Eastern Orthodoxy have saints if it has no pope?
The pope doesn't make saints; he officially recognizes them through canonization. Everyone who dies in God's friendship becomes a saint, and Orthodox Christians can die in God's friendship. Their recognition of saints resembles the early Church's acclamation, but the Catholic Church does not currently recognize those individuals as saints, though it hopes for their salvation.
Does Acts 2:47 prove eternal security?
No. The verse says people "were being saved" — not that they were saved and need not fear hell, nor even that they were saved. "Being saved" describes something ongoing, just as the Church teaches.
Can our Orthodox friend be our child's godfather?
Yes, as long as there is also a Catholic godparent and the child's Catholic education is ensured. Since godparents should be one of each sex, choose a Catholic woman as godmother.
Is Seventh-day Adventism a cult?
No. It promotes some strange ideas, some with an anti-Catholic basis, but it is a genuinely Christian denomination: its members are validly baptized and Christian in their beliefs — unlike Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses.
Is it the pope's private opinion that Muslims worship the same God?
No. The Second Vatican Council taught that Muslims adore the one God — living, merciful, all-powerful, Creator of heaven and earth, who has spoken to humanity — and strive to submit to his decrees as Abraham did.
Can I attend my Lutheran friend's baptism?
Yes. The Church's ecumenical directory says Catholics may, as occasions arise, join other Christians in commemorating the baptism that unites them, renewing their commitment to Christian life and pledging to work for Christian unity.
How are Catholics to view Protestant marriages?
Protestants generally have two valid sacraments, baptism and marriage, though they usually don't call marriage a sacrament. If both spouses are validly baptized and there is no impediment, the Church presumes their marriage valid and sacramental.
Is the Catholic Church Arminian rather than Calvinist?
Neither label fits: the Church came before Arminianism and isn't a product of it. Better to say Calvinism and Arminianism each agree with Catholicism on some points and differ on others.
Was this Jehovah's Witness right about hell?
No. Scripture describes hell as fire to convey the intensity of its suffering — it is worse than fire. God doesn't send people there; they choose it by turning from him. Christ's agonizing death shows how grave sin is before God's infinite goodness, so the punishment fits the crime.
Did the Church change the Mass to make it more acceptable to Protestants?
No. The reform's primary concern was the active participation of Catholic laity. Vatican II did list fostering Christian unity among its reasons, but not first — and unity is a valid concern, given how much Jesus valued it.
Was it wrong for my diocese to give money to rebuild an Anglican church?
Only if it risked drawing Catholics away from the faith. That danger has greatly declined with mainstream Protestants, so helping them after a tragedy can be Christian compassion. But it seems imprudent to help aggressively proselytizing, anti-Catholic groups build churches — though emergency aid to their families is fine.
When Jesus spoke of "one flock, one shepherd," did he mean the Catholic Church alone?
The Church teaches that the "one flock, one shepherd" subsists in the Catholic Church, governed by Peter's successor and the bishops in communion with him. Many truths are found elsewhere, but the fullness of Christ's teaching and grace is in the Catholic Church, whose mission is to draw all humanity into unity under Christ.
Should Catholics do a reading at a non-Catholic wedding?
Yes, if invited. The Ecumenical Directory encourages Catholics at other churches' services to join in the psalms, responses, hymns and common actions, and says they may read a lesson or preach if their hosts invite them.
Newman said "to be deep in history is to cease to be Protestant." Why don't more Protestant historians become Catholic?
Newman's maxim is a general observation, not a rule. Belief in Catholicism is ultimately a gift of faith that must be accepted and acted on. Some may not have received it; others may not have accepted it. We commend them to God's mercy, trusting that those who follow him according to their light may be saved.
Should Catholics read Kierkegaard?
Probably with profit. Kierkegaard (1813–1855) was a Danish Lutheran and a Christian critic of Christianity as he understood it. There will be disagreements with Catholic thought, but Catholics could likely find much of value — criticism from within, like Erasmus's, doesn't make a writer un-Christian.
Can a Catholic attend an Anglican service as a visitor?
Yes. But because the Anglican church lacks valid holy orders, Eucharistic intercommunion is not possible (CCC 1400).
Why does Rome call itself a "Church" but other churches "ecclesial communities"?
Church documents use "church" for the Catholic Church and for bodies that have kept valid apostolic succession, such as the Eastern Orthodox, and "ecclesial communities" for those that have not. It is a distinction, not an insult.