Self Reflection as A Way to Study Religion Using Roman Catholicism



Self Reflection as A Way to Study Religion Using Roman Catholicism

Definition of the Terms and Concepts

The Catholic Church has always been considered the spiritual heir of Christ, despite the dissent and heresy has always tried to maintain a continuous line from Jesus to this day: Pope, direct heir of Peter who was appointed head of the Church leading to the return of Jesus. However, the last thousand years have proved agonizing for Catholicism that has been undermined his power and influence because of schisms and disagreements that have departed from their influence to a growing number of Christians. Like all Christian religions, Catholic beliefs are based on the Bible, though she added a great deal of tradition. For example, although the Bible nowhere mentions infant baptism, only the adults who come voluntarily to the baptism, the church believes that the tradition has legitimized this practice by giving the same value as if Christ himself had introduced.

Victims of prejudice and discrimination, Catholics gathered together in their own cultural enclaves, where they created a world set apart from the rest of American society. The key institution of this Catholic world was the national parish. Traditionally, Catholic parishes were organized by territory (Burns, 1992). People worshiped in the neighborhood where they lived, and nationality had little to do with church membership. That was not the case in the immigrant neighborhoods of urban America. Immigrant Catholics wanted to worship in a church where services and sermons were in their native language and where they could continue the traditions and customs of the Old World. By the end of the century, when Catholicism had become an ethnically diverse denomination, city neighborhoods commonly had several Catholic churches, one for each major immigrant group. On any given Sunday in such neighborhoods Catholics would walk past one or more Catholic churches on their way to the church of their choice.

The Council of Trent's legacy was not only significant in establishing a well-demarcated, authoritative outline of Catholicism and what specific beliefs and practices Church membership entailed, it also contributed to consolidating the religious-geographical-political divide set in motion in Europe following the Reformation, whose contours intertwined the subsequent political and militaristic conflicts that dominated Europe into the early decades of the 20th century.

Key Attributes and Characteristics of Roman Catholicism Religion

In one sense, Roman Catholicism exists only in distinction to Orthodox and Protestant branches of Christianity, and the earlier history of Christianity that is common to all three branches is a separate historical narrative. In another way of viewing the history of Roman Catholicism, it can be merged with the history of Christianity itself, thereby spanning close to two millennia. It is understandably, therefore, a complex and multi-layered narrative encompassing wide-ranging theological debates, political events, intra-institutional reforms, and diverse philosophers (e.g., Thomas Aquinas), prophetic thinkers (e.g., Jacques Maritain), and charismatic figures (e.g., Pope John XXIII, Pope John Paul II, Dorothy Day). In terms of understanding the institutional evolution of Roman Catholicism ...