Roman Catholic

Roman Catholic
Brenda Barber
HUM 130
Kea Chatman
August 6, 2010

Religion is a communal system for which people beliefs focus on a system of thought, unseen being, person, or object, that is considered to be supernatural, sacred, divine, or of the highest truth. Religions teach morals, values and all local communities become defined by the religious beliefs that one embraces.
The aim of this report is to compare two of the many religions: Roman Catholicism and Buddhism. Mainly, I aim to understand Catholicism as a religion by interviewing someone of its faith and a priest. And to further that understanding, I will compare Roman Catholicism to Buddhism. The comparison and contrasting of the two religions will help us understand their belief systems, and how they are related and different from each other. Before further analyzing and discussing the beliefs behind these religions, it is important to first learn the basic facts behind them, such as their backgrounds.
The word Catholic was not added to the creed in the Middle West until the fourth century, yet the word “holy Church” was added early on.
The world has more than a billion Catholics and with the ever growing religion, it will only get larger in number. To be a Catholic means to have complete faith in God and his divine grace. Having God 's divine grace means to obey it and keep it holy as it was created by God and given to his people. The religion itself is based on this and the people take it very seriously. Catholics believe that all people are of good nature but when one commits a sin it not only hurts that one person but the people and the Church.
Catholics are a Christian sect and believe in one God. Like other Christians, they believe that Jesus is God 's Son which goes hand-in-hand with the belief in the Holy Trinity. God the Father, The Son, and the Holy Spirit are what makes up the Holy Trinity. The Catholics basic beliefs are the bible; which was created by God and is not wrong in any way. The Ten Commandments which are what the Catholics live by for moral and ethnic reasoning. The Ten Commandments are do not kill, do not covet, do not worship any graven object, do not steal, do not bear false witness, do not commit adultery, Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy, honor thy father and mother, do not take the Lord 's name in Vain, and Thou shall not have any other gods before me.
As mentioned previously, God 's divine grace comes from seven sacraments. The seven sacraments are Penance, Baptism, Holy Eucharist, Confirmation, Holy Matrimony, Anointing of the Sick, and Holy Orders. These are the spiritual development that makes up the religion.
Catholics belong to Churches known as parishes. These places are where Catholics can go and worship no matter where they are in the world. Holy Mass is a worship that is held daily and weekly that marks Good Friday and Holy Thursday. Sunday Mass has always been a day to go and worship with family and friends. To the Catholics it is an obligation and to miss Sunday Mass is considered a sin because it is the Day of the Lord.
The Catholic and Buddhist religions have important people within their religion. These important people help to spread the word about their religion. In the Catholic religion a Priest is an important person who leads mass as too is the Buddhist equivalent, Lama. Nuns, in both Buddhism and Catholicism, are also very important within their religions. Lamas and Priests are both leaders in their religion. They both have the authority of their figure in their religion. The Lama has the authority of Buddha and a Priest has the authority of God.
Buddhism does not believe in god
Catholicism believes in a god
Buddhism has no prophet
Catholicism has Jesus
Buddhism does not have a father to repent your sins to
Catholicism you have the priest to listen to your sins and help you
Buddhism does not have prayers
Catholicism has prayers
Buddhism does not have a bible
Catholicism has a bible
Buddhism believe you die and you are reborn, reincarnated again
Catholicism you go to heaven or hell
A Catholic nun is also not restricted to just working in the Church. Other areas of work include education, health and pastoral care. A Buddhist nun will stay in the monastery and work there. Buddhist nuns have to also wear an orange robe while Catholic nuns aren 't forced to wear the traditional habit but can choose to wear conservative clothing. Lamas and Priests as with Catholic nuns and Buddhist nuns do have a few similarities. What they share in common is their devotion to their religion. They make vows to give up many things in life which we all take for granted such as, complete freedom & living in luxury.

To be a part of the Catholic Church is to be part of something that makes grand claims that embody high aspirations. There is a distinction to be made between the church as a bureaucratic and earthly institution, and the Church as spiritual entity. For a believing Catholic the latter is far, far more important than the former, the former being merely a tool of the latter. This is not to denigrate the bureaucratic and organizational aspects of the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church’s early emphasis on hierarchy and organization played an important role in its survival. Bokenkotter has described the Apostle Paul as being a person “with an uncanny ability to organize” and much of the subject matter of his letters had to do with organization, hierarchy, and the need to present a united front to the surrounding world.
The width of Buddhism is immense. It is a religion without any written rules. Buddhism is based on self-discovery. Buddhists are born with the quest to find their true form. They believe that they are prisoners of the physical plain until they reach nirvana. Nirvana is the ultimate goal for a Buddhist (Buddhism, 2007). It is the state that saves them from all suffering and evil. They believe that only nirvana can remove them from the never-ending circle of life. Buddhists must conquer the mind before they could ever reach nirvana. The mind is full of lust and greed. A Buddhist eradicates temptations like greed and lust by rejecting the source of evil (Buddhism, 2007). They live independently from most of the luxuries required by westerners. They rely mainly on the basic necessities of life. By removing temptation, they gain more control of the mind (Buddhism).
Buddhists are very spiritual about their surroundings. They cherish all living things. They would remove all living organism with such care before an area is used for construction. Reducing the suffering of others provides a meaning to their lives. They believe that all things have the right to live (Buddhism). By doing good things they ease the mind from all the suffering around them.
Most religions believe in different dogmas. A dogma is an informed idea of what the gods look like. The Buddhist outsmarted the rest of the crowd by being the individual. They do not believe in god. A major misconception is where people think they worship Buddha. They only believe that the ideas of the first Buddha would lead them to nirvana. The first known Buddha was Gautama Siddharta (Buddhism, 2007).
In order to get my interview, I called the St Mary’s Catholic and there was a member of the church that volunteered to let me interview them and ask ten questions. The Summary of my interview was the person was born into a Catholic family and has been Catholic for 42 years.
The Questions and Answers asked at the interview process: Why have you chosen to be Catholic? I think being Catholic is a great way to live your life and how to make a spiritual enhancement. I was born and raised as a Roman Catholic and will continue being Roman Catholic until I die, I think the religion is beneficial, relaxing, and honest. I enjoy the Catholic Church as well because you can sit down with the priest and have a serious one on one talk.
Also at the interview I asked, what are the most important holidays and traditions, how has the religion shaped your life, and what are the challenges, if any, to practicing this particular religion? The person I interviewed believed Easter is the number-one most important holiday on the catholic calendar and most Christian religious calendars, since it is the day of Jesus’ resurrection. The whole season is very important to Catholics, especially. It begins Ash Wednesday, when fasting and abstinence begins, which represents Jesus’ fasting when he was in the dessert for forty days and was tempted by the devil. This goes on until Easter Sunday. Ash Wednesday happens the day after Mardi Gra (called fat Tuesday in the catholic religion). Fat Tuesday/Mardi Gra is the day before because it is kind of a last day to party and get "fat" before you begin your fasting, maurning, and abstinence. Then there are a lot of other special days in between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday that celebrate his last super, his dying on the cross, and such. You might ask why the days before Easter are spent in a kind of sorrowful way. basically, this is our way of feeling the pain that Jesus went through to save us. Then, on and after Easter, we are happy and rejoice that he has risen! The interviewee stated, “It’s made me who I am today! It’s given me hope in everything that I do that things will turn out the way they are meant to be, security because I know God is always on my side and looking out for me, and support because I have an entire parish who prays for the best for its members. It’s also taught me more literally how to forgive, how to reach out to those in need, and how to appreciate all the blessings I have been given.” During the interview it was stated that the challenges are day to day. It’s finding the strength and the faith to learn to have more trust in God, to grow in love of Him so that people learn to rely on His strength instead of their own to overcome their faults. They try to live the faith each day, for their own good and the good of others. Catholics constantly have heaven and hell on their mind. The interview information said in order to convert to Catholic you have to find a church you are comfortable with and attend a Catholic inquiry session, attend the Catechumenate, and choose a sponsor. If you decide to join the church, you will need a sponsor who is a member of the Catholic faith community to serve as a listener and mentor.
In conclusion of the interview I learned to understand Catholics and their beliefs. Catholics believe strongly in their religion and rely on their faith throughout their lives. Being born a Catholic I think would be a lot easier than trying to convert from another religion to Catholic.

References
Catholicism: History, Beliefs of Catholic Religion (n.d) Retrieved August 6, 2010 from www.spaceandmotion.com
Fairchild, M. (n.d) Roman Catholic Church History A Brief History of
The Roman Catholic Denomination. Retrieved August 5, 2010 from www.christianity.about.com Lewis, J. (2010). Buddhism: A Christian Exploration and Appraisal. Christian Scholar 's Review,
39(3), 353-356. Retrieved from University of Phoenix Library database.
Religion Facts (n.d) Roman Catholicism. Retrieved August 5, 2010 from
www.religionfacts.com

References: Catholicism: History, Beliefs of Catholic Religion (n.d) Retrieved August 6, 2010 from www.spaceandmotion.com Fairchild, M. (n.d) Roman Catholic Church History A Brief History of The Roman Catholic Denomination. Retrieved August 5, 2010 from www.christianity.about.com Lewis, J. (2010). Buddhism: A Christian Exploration and Appraisal. Christian Scholar 's Review, 39(3), 353-356. Retrieved from University of Phoenix Library database. Religion Facts (n.d) Roman Catholicism. Retrieved August 5, 2010 from www.religionfacts.com