I was baptised ,age 17, into church of scotland. Then attended a Baptist Church in England where I lived for 10 years. Now back in Scotland am disillusioned with church of Scotland. Have been attending Catholic mass and this article helped me understand the difference between Catholic and protestants. You can't have communion in a Catholic Church even if you have been baptised and are a Christian, but thats OK. Am still thinking about stuff like how the Pope is the designated leader of catholics. Still don't know if I would ever convert.

Catholics believe in one god and that theirs the father,the son,and the Holy Spirit

Honestly, I don't understand why people knock and diss things they don't understand. I'm a Catholic and I know it's hard to understand our doctrines but I don't appreciate when people say things like- 'attend a protestant church and you'll know what true religion is' or 'catholics do not understand the bible or interpreted it right?' Really, people? Just who are you to diss a religion older than you. If you don't understand it, fine! If you don't agree with it then fine but don't diss it because of that, okay. I believe we are all Christians- Catholics, protestant, Baptist...whatever. I believe we're all on a journey towards a perfect relationship with Christ but our paths may slightly differ. If u r on the protestant road and i'm on the Catholic road then don't try to tell me that my roads an illusion. We're going in the same direction,okay? Rather than that, concentrate on ur own relationship with God. Thank you.?

Salvation is NOT received through baptism. All Christians definitely do not believe that is true. It is an outward act and proclamation of your being saved. The act DOES NOT save you.

God teaches through the Bible, its not any domination or sect that teaches. Why hear echoes of Gods voice from one persons opinion? Read Gods word (the bible) to have a personal relationship with him.

I was born and raised a Catholic, going to mass on Sunday and attending private school. Growing up, I never tried to understand anything for myself, I would just believe what I was told. "Meghan, you're a Catholic." It wasn't until my teenage years that I began to think of other beliefs and had a desire to understand other faiths. I stopped attending Catholic mass weekly and would instead go on Easter, Christmas, Ash Wednesday, and so forth. I was invited to join several friends to worship with them whether it be at a Baptist Church or a Buddhist Temple. I was exploring myself and seeing what else was out there and how other people put their faith in their God, whatever that may have been. I felt like it was a beautiful thing to see all of these human beings just wanting to extend love and receive forgiveness in various ways. For awhile, I considered the air I breathed to be my God. I then hadn't attended church in years and would rather look within myself and to nature. I would use the laws of Karma and all others relating to that, as those do in the Hindu or Buddhist faiths. I was content, but somehow still lost, thinking of my roots. If someone asks me what I "am", I reply with no hesitation and say, "Catholic." Recently, someone who I care for has come into my life and has given this topic life again for me. He is a "born again Christian" after serving time in jail that stemmed from drug abuse. He was later transferred to a Christian based rehab facility and has since become one with God and Jesus Christ. Loving this man, I'm doing my best to respect his newfound faith in God and perhaps embodying it once again within myself. These things take time. I read this article to see what the differences were between him and myself....Him being a Christian and me being a Catholic, or raised as one. This article helped me a lot and I am eager to continue my journey of understanding. Thank you.

My problem with Catholics is that according to them there is no such a thing as divorce. So my husbands ex believes they are not divorced in the eyes of the church which is an extrrmely strange thing to believe. We are Methodists so we do not hold the same beliefs. We can substantiate our beliefs with scriptures that states a man can divorce his wife if she commits adultery. As a divorced woman she is also not allowed to use the mass, which has driven her away from the church. Sad indeed.

Laura, yes you can, but I would consider getting baptized in a Christian church. It's a little different. I'm glad you're considering Christianity :)

I'm a Christian and my boyfriend is catholic. He converted right before his fathers wedding because he said he felt like he had to make a decision. My boyfriend is a parents boy, so I feel like he did it to make them happy. He gets frustrated when I ask him about things, it just confuses me because his reason to converting was bias and crazy. I'm not degrading any religion but he says he converted because Christian men are cheaters, liars, rapists etc. It confused me because he didn't seem to hear about to priests that molesred children, etc. He chose a religion based on his parents wants. I'm just trying to get a better understanding of the catholic religion because he don't understand it himself.

All this back and forth between us. Everyone understands things differently. I was not raised up in religion when I was in my thirties I became Catholic and was told that when I became Catholic I was saved. Now I'm doing a Bible study with someone who is Baptist and she says no, you have to accept Jesus Christ as your Savior, which I did today. To me it's not just about that, it's about loving your fellow man, being kind even to your enemies, to do for others. What gets me the most about people of faith is they are so judgemental, but yet it's not our place to judge, it's God's