Catholicism: Origin, Beliefs, Practices, and Cultural Significance

This essay provides a comprehensive overview of Catholicism, exploring its origins, core beliefs, and practices. It begins by defining Catholicism and outlining its fundamental tenets, such as the belief in Jesus Christ, the Bible, and the Holy Trinity. The essay then delves into the historical development of Catholicism, tracing its roots back to the early Christian community and its evolution over time. It highlights key practices, including baptism, Eucharist, prayer, and confession, as well as daily routines like praying before meals and attending Mass. The essay also examines the cultural impact of Catholicism, particularly in the United States, and touches upon contemporary issues and criticisms. It concludes by reiterating the religion's role in promoting peace and harmony, emphasizing the importance of faith, prayer, and adherence to Catholic teachings. The essay also references several scholarly sources to support its claims.

Catholic
Impressions

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
What is Catholicism? What are the pre-existing ideas about what Catholicism is?....................1
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................2
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................4

INTRODUCTION
Christianity is the most followed religion in the world with over more than 2 billion
people practising it. The essence of Christianity centres around the life, death and resurrection of
Jesus Christ. Christianity is further divided into three major groups called Catholics, Protestant
and Eastern Orthodox. Being a catholic, in my view point it is one of the most peaceful and
harmonizing religion in the world that teaches us to believe in God and also to be kind to others.
The current essay will focus on Catholicism, its origin, diversification and their beliefs and
practices.
MAIN BODY
What is Catholicism? What are the pre-existing ideas about what Catholicism is?
Catholicism is concerned with the beliefs and values of Christian churches and also
defines their morals, theology and spirituality. The major beliefs of Catholicism are believing
that Jesus Christ is the son of God and also that the Bible is free of errors, inspiring and it is the
revealed word of God. The catholic people also share values regarding the existence of the Holy
Trinity that means that God is made up of three persons; God the father, God the son and God
the holy spirit(Van Elk, Rutjens and van Harreveld, 2017).
As per the catholic tradition, the Catholicism began in the 4th B.C. with Jesus Christ and
his teachings and later on the catholic church was built to continue the tradition of early Christian
community established by the disciples of Jesus Christ.
As of 2018, there are more than 1.2 billion Catholics all around the world thus making it
the most followed religion in the world. In the United States, there are more than 70 million
Catholics that comprise of 22% of the total population of country(DelRosso, 2016).
The major rules to be followed by Catholics involve obeying the church and Christianity,
avoiding eating or drinking one hour before the communion and to lead a holy life. Also, the
people have the authority to free from following Christian faith against their wish. Other beliefs
of Catholicism are practising of baptism, Eucharist, prayers for the sick, marriage and
confessions. There are some routine and daily practices that are to be followed by Catholics like
praying at table before having food, praying before going to bed and attending a mass daily or
Eucharist(Gillis, 2015). Although, there are no such restrictions on the diet consumed by the
people but it is advised to fast and ask for confession prior to receiving Eucharist and also to
avoid eating meat on Fridays.
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It is imperative for the people of catholic origin to pray daily, go for confession monthly
and visit church often. The traditional practices of Catholics allow them to pray by making a sign
of cross, kneeling and bowing and praying to the God almighty. The major form of worship for
catholic people is called 'Mass' and is celebrated everyday. Moreover, the Catholics also follow a
religious practice called 'Baptism' where the people are submerged into the water in order to
make them pure and sanctify(Silk and Killen, P.O.C., 2019). The major objective behind baptism
is to free the people from their sins and to welcome them into the world of Catholicism. The true
catholic belief also confirms the presence of Jesus Christ on Earth and in order to seek their
blessings it is important to visit church daily. Over the years, there has been an increasing rise
regarding the concept of 'catholic culture' in the States that defines the people who participate in
occasional celebrations like Christmas, Easter and Good Friday but do not visit church or pray
daily(Jablonsky, 2019).
Interesting fact about Catholics in the United States of America is that they are very
diverse both racially and ethnically like Latinos, Africo-American and Asians. Also, majority of
the Catholics in the United states wish to see some changes in overall catholic rules and
regulations such as that Priests should be allowed to marry and the women must also have the
right to become priests as well. Although, majority of the American Christians follow Pope
Francis but it seems that the newer generation is in discontent with it.
Not only Catholicism but the overall Christianity is considered to be an extremely
peaceful religion and it has contributed to the entire world in more ways than one, be it in the
field of science, technology, medical research, politics, literature or music, they have also played
an incessant role in the human progress and civilization. However, there is some criticism
attached to the Catholicism and the entire Christian community like oppression of women,
slavery and violence(McLoughlin, 2017). The criticism has not only came from other religions
and ethnicity but also from the Christians as well.
CONCLUSION
From the above essay it can be concluded that, Catholicism, a branch of Christianity is
the most followed religious practice in the world and it promotes peace and harmony in the
society. Also, the main focus of Catholicism is to widespread the importance of Jesus Christ and
the importance of praying to them. The religion's main motive is to instil the belief of God in
human beings and the importance of praying, confessing and bowing down to him. In my
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opinion, Catholicism has played an extensive role in the overall growth of human civilization but
there are some rigid practices that the religion must get rid of so that it can widespread even
more and promote sustainability.
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REFERENCES
Books and journals
DelRosso, J., 2016. Writing Catholic Women: Contemporary International Catholic Girlhood
Narratives. Springer.
Gillis, C., 2015. Roman Catholicism in America. Columbia University Press.
Jablonsky, T.J., 2019. Anti-Catholicism in America, 1620–1860.
McLoughlin, E., 2017. Crime and Immorality in the Catholic Church. Pickle Partners Publishing.
O'collins, G., 2017. Catholicism: a very short introduction (Vol. 198). Oxford University Press.
Silk, M. and Killen, P.O.C. eds., 2019. The Future of Catholicism in America. Columbia
University Press.
Van Elk, M., T. Rutjens, B. and van Harreveld, F., 2017. Why are Protestants more prosocial
than Catholics? A comparative study among orthodox Dutch believers. The
International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 27(1), pp.65-81.
Online
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