Is Catholicism a denomination?

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The religion editor of our newspaper always refers to Catholicism as a denomination. Is this correct? To me it implies that we are just another branch of Christianity, on par with all those others that were derived from the Church.
 
The Catholic Church is not a denomination. It is the Church. It was founded by Jesus Christ himself in 33AD and has kept the same truth and teaching from the beginning (that is what was taught by the earliest post-apostalic writers is the same as what is being taught in modern papal encyplicals). With the possible exception of the Coptic Church (there was a provision in the Canon’s of the First Council of Constinople stating that the bishops of Egypt and Syria were to maintian their indepentance) every Christian Church has had its origin in the Catholic Church. 👍
 
Baby Sister:
The religion editor of our newspaper always refers to Catholicism as a denomination. Is this correct? To me it implies that we are just another branch of Christianity, on par with all those others that were derived from the Church.
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The word “denomination” means “name”. As Catholicism is in fact the name by which we refer to our Faith, it is not incorrect to refer to this as our Denomination. This designation does not in any way imply that other Christian denominations have equal status with Catholicism.
 
Technically, I think it would be a correct term. However inmho I think it stinks to refer to the Catholic church as a denomination. We are the Church, the one from which all denominations originally came from.
 
when i hear denominaton, i think denominator, a fraction. we have never split or fractioned from anyone. we are whole. So no, we are not a denomination in that way, but the common speech has decided each way of approaching christianity (with more or less truth involved) shall be called a denomination. so in that sense, yes we are one.
 
If Catholicism were a denomination it would be THE denomination. :cool:

But I wouldn’t consider our Church a denomination. Why? Because there is only One Catholic Church. Most everything else (at least in the US) is Protestant. They are split into denominations, not us.
 
The Catholic faith alone possesses the “fullness of truth”.
 
We should from now on call ourshelves the “SuperDenominatioin”!!! 😃
 
The Catholic church is the only church founded by Jesus Christ.You might be able to add the Orthodox to that,but. Thats it.
The 27,000 denominations that make up protestantism are denominations founded by " Men ".
 
I have to laugh. When I was younger, much younger, I read of “non-denominational” Christians having a get together. I went. I was greatly suprised to find out that “non-denominational Christians” was a denomination where Catholics were not welcome. Lots of laughs.
 
I can sum all of christianity up into 3 groups. The Church, the Schismatics, and the (plain old) Heretics.
 
I once saw the phrase “predenominational” and I think that’s fitting. 😃

Denominational churches are those with a solid, central governing body. So, yes, Catholic is a denomination- but not in a critical way. 👍 In fact, it is the definition of a beautiful organized denomination. 🙂
 
Here’s a dictionary definition of “denomination”

dictionary.reference.com/search?q=denomination

That is the way the word is used, in common parlance.

The RCC says that it is the church from which all other
denominations sprang.

Depends largely on context, then.

Theologically, it can be used in the sense that the RCC
uses the term.
Common parlance is the “standard defintion”, for lack of
a better term.

reen12
 
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