BellaOnline Forums Religion and Spirituality Catholicism Article: Are Catholics Christians?

Are Catholics Christians? If you�re Catholic, you might be thinking of course, why even ask? Or you might be wondering how to explain to a non-Catholic who doesn�t understand Catholicism. If you�re a non-Catholic, you might truly be curious about this very question.

There was a time when I thought addressing this question as the topic for an article was unnecessary. Of course, Catholics are Christians. Why would anyone ever dispute this? Read the full article here

It's the assumptions behind the question, Melissa, that are the problem. You could also ask, are Protestants Christians? The answer is, some of them are.

Being a Christian is not about what church you belong to, but whether or not you have a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. I feel certain there are people in every church and every cult out there that are indeed Christians. But belonging to "the right" church isn't what it takes.

Which churches teach true doctrine is another question entirely, wouldn't you say?

LeeAnn, I am certainly not saying anyone who doesn't belong to the Catholic Church isn't a Christian. Of course there are many Christians who belong to other churches!

My motivation for writing this article was in reading so much of the misinformation about Catholicism that is out there. I just want people to understand what Catholicism truly teaches and not to base their opinion on all the misinformation that abounds. Whether someone agrees with the Catholic Church or not, it is Jesus' pilgrim church on earth and therefore it is a Christian church.

There are many people that sit on both sides that will accuse and say that one is not a Christian simply because they do or don't belong to a certain church.

I believe the 3 of us (at least) agree on the fact that the most important thing is Jesus Christ and God and the belief and acceptance of the Holy Spirit. Everything else falls from there.

Religion is something interpreted by man. God did give us sets of rules and guidelines to live by in order that we might stay more faithful to Him.

But let's be careful and remember that words are very easy on forums to misinterpret and "hear" inflections that might not be there. Never assume that someone is aiming something at you. (This is me speaking as a moderator - and trying to keep peace and head off some arguments here.)

Well said, Michelle! I believe that anyone who believes in and follows the teachings of Jesus Christ and believes in the Holy Trinity, is a Christian, whether they attend a church or not. Thank you for your insight.

Good article, Melissa, thank you.

Evening, This topic was brought up in RCIA a few times so I do know that it is a question that may need to be answered from time to time.


I hope this isn't too far out of context.

As St. Paul said in his Epistle to the Galatians,

For you are all the children of God by faith, in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized in Christ, have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek: there is neither bond nor free: there is neither male nor female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you be Christ's, then are you the seed of Abraham, heirs according to the promise.

Who are "heretics" and what happens to them, according to the Church (and God)?

Czarina,we are beginning to get a little off-topic.

There is already the thread (began by you I believe) that is stating the Catholic church is the only true religion. Your statement needs to go into that area.

This thread is for talking about the misunderstanding many people that are NOT Catholics have that Catholics might not be Christians.

Melissa, after reading the article - and coming from a Southern Baptist church, I can clear up a little of what LeeAnn was talking about as well as a lot of other Protestants (Baptists in general seem to be the most "aagainst" Catholicism for some reason that I have never understood).

We believe in the Baptist church that you make the choice to accept Jesus and thus become a Christian, and then we are baptized. I was taught growing up that Catholics are sprinkled at birth and therefore think they are already "saved" and don't have to do anything else. Then to go one step further, Catholics get to go the really easy route and commit any sin they want as long as they go tell their Priest about it and then say a couple of prayers. (This is not what I believ now but what I heard being preached as I was growing up.)

Now one thing that I have always been concerned with about the Catholic church is the fact that y'all seem to have to go through intermediaries to pray to God (such as the Saints or Mary). I feel like the relationship with God should be an extremely personal thing. He is our Father, and like a father, we should be able to speak directly to Him.

But I will admit that I might be misunderstanding how that works.

We pray directly to God, I know I do (and I know He hears); but, we also ask Mary and the Saints to pray for us as well. We often put family, friends, and others on our prayer list and pray for them, don't we? We also ask Mary and the Saints to give us guidance; and we emulate their lives - they are our role models.

Michelle, you've brought up a great topic that is often misunderstood. Catholics don't have to go through intermediaries to pray to God, however we can ask the saints (including Mary) to intercede for us - to pray for us in much the same way as we ask family and friends here on earth to pray for us, or for our intentions. We can and do pray directly to God, as well.

I've written a couple articles that might help further explain this:

Saints Among Us

Mary - Our Heavenly Mother