What does the Catholic Church teach about other religions?
The short answer
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.
Christ is the one Saviour
"There is no salvation through anyone else" (Acts 4:12). The Church does not regard all religions as equally true. Yet God "wills everyone to be saved and to come to knowledge of the truth" (1 Timothy 2:4).
Respect for what is true
The Second Vatican Council's declaration Nostra Aetate (1965) teaches that the Church "rejects nothing that is true and holy" in other religions, which often "reflect a ray of that Truth which enlightens all men" (CCC 843).
- Judaism holds a unique place. The Jewish people were the first to hear God's word, and "the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable" (Romans 11:29; CCC 839).
- Islam: Muslims "profess to hold the faith of Abraham, and together with us they adore the one, merciful God" (CCC 841).
- Other religions are seen as a search for God, "in shadows and images" (CCC 843).
"Outside the Church there is no salvation"?
This ancient saying means that all salvation comes from Christ through his Church. It is not aimed at those who, without fault, do not know Christ or the Church. "Those who, through no fault of their own, do not know the Gospel… but who nevertheless seek God with a sincere heart… may achieve eternal salvation" (CCC 847).
Mission and dialogue
Because the truth about Christ is good news, the Church still proclaims it to all — respectfully, without coercion, alongside dialogue and friendship.