Religion is one of the most important things because it is their way of expressing their faith. Faith is when someone believes in something that the naked eyes cannot see. One of the largest religions in the world would be Christianity, and within it are three branches: Catholicism, Protestantism, and Orthodox. Orthodox Christians are divided into Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox.
Despite both being under Christianity, Catholics and Baptists have different beliefs, and learning more about it would help you identify between the two.
Catholic Vs. Baptist
The main difference between Catholics and Baptists would be that Catholics believe in infant baptism. On the other side, Baptists believe that baptism should be done only to those who believe in faith, which would be when a person is capable of making decisions for himself, and thus, they do not adhere to the concept of infant baptism.
Catholicism is a word that people use to describe people who have catholic faith. They are one of the largest churches and communities globally and thus the famous name of the Catholic Church. Three branches are in Christianity, and bishops are the highest in terms of the Christian faith.
On the other side, Baptists belong to the Protestantism branch of Christianity. They have completely different beliefs from Christianity besides being opposed to the concept of infant baptism. They also believe that praying to Jesus alone is the answer to faith. Baptists are further divided into two types: the General Baptists and the Particular Baptists. The general one holds the Arminian theology true while the Particular Baptists believe in the Reformed theology.
Arminian theology is based on the ideas of Jacobus Arminius, which gave the Fiver Articles of Remonstrance, while Reformed theology is often referred to as Calvinism.
What is a Catholic?
Catholics have a simple belief that Jesus Christ is God’s only son. They believe in things that sets them apart from other branches of Christianity. One of these beliefs would be that the Bible is the word of God and that it is error-free. The word Catholic comes from the Catholic Church, which is believed to have been established by Jesus himself, who loved the Roman Empire. Rome is the center of faith for Christians, and this is simply because the Pope is the highest governing body of the Church is located in Rome.
Catholicism became one of the official religions way back in the old times, and they have beliefs that the Roman Catholic Church is the one true Church. They also believe in the concept of purgatory in which a person would have to go through in the afterlife.
Once a person enters purgatory, the person will go through the punishments for all of the sins they committed, and then through the suffering, the sins will go away so that they can proceed to heaven. They also believe in the concept of the Virgin Mary to be the mother of Jesus through the miraculous conception.
What is a Baptist?
Baptists are also part of the Christian religion, but they are from the Protestant branch. They believe that the baptism process is only done to a believer, and they do not like the concept of infant baptism. They believe that baptism is a process of admitting a person of faith into their religion, and thus it should be done when a person is able to make decisions for himself. They advocate that Christianity is only for those that believe in Jesus.
Baptists only believe in Jesus and pray to him alone and not to any other saints or Mary. For Baptists, the concept of baptism should be done the way Jesus was baptized, which is by being immersed in water. Otherwise, it is invalid.
The Baptist historian Bruce Gourley is the one that outlined their history and traced back the Baptist movement way back in the 17<sup>th</sup> century. The Roman Catholic Church and the Church of England got separated way back in the Protestant Reformation. There were people who were not satisfied with the belief of the Church and let it and were known as the separatists. They are the ones who will, later on, become the founding people of the Baptists.
The Baptists are small in number compared with the Catholics, and that is why they have smaller churches. They also do not believe in the whole concept of purgatory but instead, believe that Jesus is the only way to salvation.
Difference between Catholic and Baptist
- Catholics support the concept of baptism during infancy, while Baptists are against this concept.
- Catholics pray to Jesus, Mary, and all the other Saints but Baptists only pray to Jesus.
- Catholics think that following the sacraments and praying to Jesus and the other saints will lead them to salvation, while Baptists think that having faith in Jesus is the only way to salvation.
- Catholics believe in the concept of purgatory, while Baptists do not believe in it at all.
- Catholics have larger churches than Baptists.
Conclusion
While there might be a lot of differences between the Baptists and the Catholics, they are both part of the larger religion that is Christianity. They are both of the same faith, despite their different beliefs, and it is important that one must learn the differences between them. Catholics make the sign of the cross while Baptists do not, and Baptists believe in baptism only when one is in the right faith, while Catholics believe in the concept of infant baptism.