How are Christianity and Catholicism different?
816737
the teachings and the authority of the church is very different, the catholic church is a different branch of christianity. in the catholic bible there are seven more books than in the other denominations, the other christians deleted the seven books and edited romans and ruth,shortened esther.... which caused a major reform in christianity. to find out more on the catholic church you could try americancatholic.org. there are many differences and it would be hard to state them all in a short space. the best thing to do is to focus on the things we have in common, and when you don't understand what someone or people believe ask or look it up online for better understanding.hope this helps and god bless.
799661
The biggest difference is that catholics believe in the virgin mary as a god. because Jesus is God, catholics believe Mary must have been a god as well, thus Jesus would be 100% God. however, the Bible makes no claims for mary being a god. Jesus was 100% God and 100% man.
1051410
Christianity is a religion.  What you listed are denominations within "Christianity".
248937
Catholics are Christians.  \n\nChristianity has many different 'branches' called denominations, which all have slightly different beleifs on the interpretation of the Bible and slightly different practices.  Catholics are just one denomination.  Other denominations include Methodist, Baptist, Mormons, Evangelicals and so on and so forth.  \n\nHope this was some help!
956936
Many Christians DO NOT acknowledge that Catholicism is a division of Christianity but in fact it is. There once was a time when Catholics practiced the oneness of God.... later adding the trinity to its doctrine created a separation in the church. Out of that division came Protestant, Episcopal, Lutheran, Methodist,  Pentecostal, Apostolic, Seventh Day Adventist, Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormon etc...All are Christian nonetheless. \n\nTo say, "I'm Christian" is a unbiased, unprejudiced title; or general and safe to say. \n\nHowever, to say, "I am Catholic" is like saying United Kingdom is NOT a part of Europe because they want to be different from the rest of Europe, and they think they are better than everybody else. They look like the oddball in the group (out-casted). \n\nChristianity has dissected into so many entities over the past  centuries, one would have to be a true religious scholar in order to define all the various types of Christianity.
337859
A Christian is one who follows Christ. Catholics are Christians but not all Christians are Catholic. A Christian can be Catholic, Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian, etc.
333221
As people have said, Catholicism is just a specific type of Christianity.  As for the cross bit, many Protestants use crosses as opposed to crucifixes (the cross with Jesus on it) because of the commandment that says you shouldn't make any graven images.  Catholics interpret this to mean you shouldn't worship any graven images and use the crucifix to help focus their thoughts during prayer or worship.  Some other points based on the differences between Catholics and Protestants (most Christians who aren't Catholic are Protestant):\n\n 1. Saints.  Catholics will pray to saints, asking them to intercede on their behalf.  Protestants don't do this, and don't really have saints.  I believe one reason is they sometimes think of this as worship, naturally forbidden.  Also, Catholics believe Mary was born without sin (the "immaculate conception").  Protestants do not.\n 2.  Structure.  Catholicism has a hierarchical structure with the pope at the top, then cardinals, bishops, priests, deacons, other religious, and laypeople.  This is not to say Catholics follow the pope mindlessly or above God, just that he acts as a father and a guide for the Church.  Protestants do not have this structure, but rely on small self-governing communities.\n 3.  The Eucharist.  Catholics say that the Eucharist is the essence of Christ, present with them.  They worship Christ in and through the Eucharist.  Protestants (generally) think the Eucharist is bread, symbolic of Christ, but not actually Christ.\n 4. Salvation.  Generally, Protestants believe that salvation can only come from accepting Christ as your savior.  Essentially, no matter how good a person is on their own, because they're not perfect, they wouldn't be able to make it to heaven if it weren't for Chirst's sacrifice.    Catholics believe this is true, but that you also have to 'walk the walk, not just talk the talk.'  Salvation is based on the acceptance of Christ as savior combined with good works.
847022
Catholicism is a branch of Christianity.  Not believing in the Bible defeats the purpose of Christianity.  You can't claim to be a Christian yet not believe in the one book that Christianity is all about.
614784
I am a Catholic.  Catholicism is the oldest Christian religion.  All other Christian religions came from Catholicism.  We do not worship statues and rosaries or even the Virgin Mary.  We worship God alone.  God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  3 persons in one God.  Just as 3 leaves make up one clover.  We ask Mary and other saints for intersession to Jesus.  It's no different than you asking someone to pray for you before a test or surgery.  We venerate certain statues or crucifixes.  This is not worship.  It is a sign of respect to the actual person or act that is being depicted.  Please do not think we worship anyone other than God Almighty Himself.
164846
Here is an AWESOME website that compares different branches of Christianity (and other religions):\n\nhttp://www.religionfacts.com
149237
I'll tell you my bias from the beginning. I am a protestant. I do, however, consider Catholics to be my brothers and sisters in Christ. Both Catholics and Protestants believe that Jesus is the Messiah that was promised to the Jews. We both believe that He was born of a virgin, died for our sins, and rose from the dead. The Catholic New Testament and the Protestant New Testament are the same. The main difference between Catholics and Protestants today is the value given to tradition. The Catholics seem to value tradition as highly as I value Scripture. I have also heard some people argue convincingly that the Catholic view of pennance and purgatory deny the finished work of Jesus on the cross. While I disagree with some Catholic doctrines, I still believe them to be Christians.
662596
Splinterjah (sp?) has no idea what he is talking about. Not to be mean of course, but he doesn't. Catholicism does differ from the mainstream Christian denominations, but it doesn't teach anything false. Catholics do NOT at ALL worship Mary, or any of the other saints. That is just a popular belief that is spread by ingnorant people who really have no idea what Catholicism is. That kinda thing has been going on since the 1500's. Catholics ask Mary and the saints to pray FOR US, just like it says to in the bible. We belive that the during the Eucharistic celebration (communion) the bread and wine really do turn into Jesus, which it also says in the bible. \n\nI don't think anyone in the world has ever prayed to the pope. We might have prayed FOR the pope, but never to him. Thats just ridiculous. The bible (in Matthew) talks about how Jesus gave Peter (the first pope) the "keys to the kingdom" and how what ever Peters says on earth (in reference to religious/moral doctrines) will make a binding compact with heaven. In other words, that means he is infallible, because if it binds with the law of heaven (God), then it has to be infallible, because if God wasn't infallible, the world would cease to be. \n\nAfter Jesus rose back from the dead, The Catholic Church started. JESUS himself started the Catholic Church. Someone said something about the bible saying something about "Christians in Antioch". Well DUH. Who do you think they were? Batists? Methodists? I doubt it, since they (or any other Protestant denomination) didn't come into existance until 1547 (I think thats the right year). Therefore, they must have been Catholics. \n\nIf the Pope is infallible, then that means everything he says and preaches is true (religious-wise) because he is filled with the Holy Spirit, and was given authority by Jesus himself. That means that Catholic doctrine is always in accordance with God in Heaven. \n\nThe bible also says to confess your sins to one another (preists). It never ever says "hey! Don't confess your sins to anybody, and make sure you never go into a thing called a confessional. And also make sure you never follow any kind of tradition, or listen to anything that a holy man says even if he is given authority by Jesus. And definately make sure you don't ask ANYBODY to pray for you, otherwise its a sin, and yes, that does include Mary and the saints."\n\nIt never says anything of the sort. And if anybody tries to prove that different by quoting from the bibe, then they are wrong. You can't just take random verses from the bible with out first looking at the context of which it is taken from. Thats a mistake that everybody makes when trying to refute the Catholic doctrine. \n\nAnd the main that I would say the Protestant churches do that is false is try to prove Catholicism wrong. \n\nBut anyways, I diverge. There is nothing wrong with going to a Catholic Highschool. You already know what you belive in, so it doesn't matter. Of course, you should be open minded. And remember, everyone is going to answer differently in Yahoo!Answers. So my advice to you is to not take ANYBODY'S word for ANYTHING on here. Reasearch all of it for yourself, and make sure that you don't get all of your information from a single biased perspective, which is what I, and everyone else is giving you. \n\nHighschool is highschool. Its all about getting your education, and you shouldn't be worried about anything else. \n\nAnd for the record, there is NO difference between Catholicism and Christianity. There are only differences between the different denominations of Christianity.
962684
Christian is the tree. Catholic is the branch of the tree.
630236
catholics are christians
694321
Christianity is not divided into branches.\nThere are majority Catholics, Protestants and Orthodox.\nThose who fought Catholicisms are called Protestants.  These includes, Methodist, Jehovah Witnesses, Calvinism, Lutheran, Anglican, Pentecostal/Born Again.\nOrthodox were another group that  emerged during the persecution times.
718028
Catholics are merley one of the many christian denominations.  actually the first one. And with the Orthodox church the only ones for 1500 years.
529400
ALL Catholics are CHRISTIANS...\n\nin the same way as all dogs are ANIMALS.\n\nPeople who say Catholics aren't Christians...\ndon't understand the meaning of both words.