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Religious Studies & Theology vocabulary · World Religions and Traditions

Catholicism

Meaning in religious studies & theology, with examples

/kəˈθɒləsɪzəm/nounCommon term

In religious studies & theology, Catholicism means: The faith, teaching and practice of the Catholic Church, the largest Christian church, which is led by the Pope as Bishop of Rome.

In Turkish: Katoliklik, Katolik Hristiyanlık

How it is used

Also called Roman Catholicism. The adjective and noun are Catholic (Catholic theology, a practising Catholic). Besides the Latin Church, it includes Eastern Catholic churches that keep their own rites. Turkey has small Latin, Armenian, Chaldean and Syriac Catholic communities.

Example sentences

  1. Catholicism spread to Latin America with Spanish and Portuguese colonization.

  2. The Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) brought major changes to modern Catholicism.

Common collocations

  • Roman Catholicism
  • modern Catholicism
  • convert to Catholicism
  • Catholic doctrine
  • ChristianityA monotheistic religion based on the life and teaching of Jesus of Nazareth, whom Christians believe to be the Son of God; it began in the first century CE.
  • canon lawThe body of laws and regulations made by church authorities to govern a Christian church, especially the Catholic Church, its clergy and its members.
  • sacramentIn Christianity, a sacred rite believed to be a visible sign through which God's grace is given, such as baptism and the Eucharist.
  • ProtestantismThe branch of Christianity that grew out of the sixteenth-century Reformation, stressing the authority of the Bible and salvation by grace through faith.
  • priestA person authorized to perform sacred rituals, such as offering sacrifices or administering sacraments, in traditions such as Catholicism, Orthodox Christianity and Hinduism.

More terms: World Religions and Traditions

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