Is it wrong to attend a service by another religion?

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Hey, I was just wondering if it is against Canon Law if I were to attend a service at a Nazarene church? If so, could you provide info on where in Canon Law it does say that? Thanks, and God Bless.
 
I don’t think it is any more, but I’m not a Catholic so don’t take my word for it.

More to the point, why do you call Nazarenes “another religion”? Don’t you know that they are baptized Christians? The Catholic Church calls Protestants “separated brethren.” Why do you disagree?

Edwin
 
You can attend services of other faiths and denominations so long as there’s nothing absolutely sinful going on (human sacrifice), and you don’t participate in anything that’s sacrilige (taking communion at a Protestant service).

Simply attending is hardly sinful, though.

:blessyou:
 
I’ve attended services at Evangelical churches when it was the friendly thing to do with friends. However, it does NOT fulfill the Sunday obligation, and one should not take communion if offered. But there’s no reason you can’t praise and worship and listen with our separated brethren if you are called to do so out of charity or friendship.
 
i must apologize to contarini concerning my refering to nazarenes as another religion. i was simply saying that nazarenes are not catholic. i have ransacked canon law looking for anything that touches on the subject. so far, all of you are right. God bless!
 
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dbacks5439:
Hey, I was just wondering if it is against Canon Law if I were to attend a service at a Nazarene church? If so, could you provide info on where in Canon Law it does say that? Thanks, and God Bless.
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Traditional Catholics will tell you that this is, indeed, a sin. However, I do not think it is…I sometimes attend church services with my Evangelical Protestant family…I do not recieve communion, though…They have it every week, which is unusual for a Chruch of Christ…And…This would be enough to get me drummed out of the Cathoic Church…according to some…I work with their choir in the annual Christmas Pageant, which is a really big deal, and sing with them for an Easter concert…I know I’m a little more ecumenical than many Cathiolics, but that doesn’t bother me…
 
Maybe it is not against canon law.

But it is worshipping God in an inferior manner.

You have the best available, why turn it down?

In Christ.

Andre.
 
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Contarini:
I don’t think it is any more, but I’m not a Catholic so don’t take my word for it.

More to the point, why do you call Nazarenes “another religion”? Don’t you know that they are baptized Christians? The Catholic Church calls Protestants “separated brethren.” Why do you disagree?

Edwin
Click to expand...

It’s a very good idea, AFA Rome is concerned. Here is my favourite link for showing that is so: **DIRECTORY FOR THE APPLICATION OF PRINCIPLES AND NORMS ON ECUMENISM **[1993]​

A taste of the contents:
  1. *The spiritual life. *In the ecumenical movement it is necessary to give priority to conversion of heart, spiritual life and its renewal. "This change of heart and holiness of life, along with public and private prayer for the unity of Christians, should be regarded as the soul of the whole ecumenical movement, and can rightly be called "spiritual ecumenism’ ". Individual Christians, therefore, insofar as they live a genuine spiritual life with Christ the Saviour as its centre and the glory of God the Father as its goal, can always and everywhere share deeply in the ecumenical movement, witnessing to the Gospel of Christ with their lives.
*a) *Catholics should also give value to certain elements and goods, sources of spiritual life, which are found in other Churches and ecclesial Communities, and which belong to the one Church of Christ: Holy Scripture, the sacraments and other sacred actions, faith, hope, charity and other gifts of the Spirit. These goods have borne fruit for example in the mystical tradition of the Christian East and the spiritual treasures of the monastic life, in the worship and piety of Anglicans, in the evangelical prayer and the diverse forms of Protestant spirituality.

*b) *This appreciation should not remain merely theoretical; in suitable particular conditions, it should be completed by the practical knowledge of other traditions of spirituality. Therefore, sharing prayer and participating in some form of public worship or in devotional acts of other Christians can have a formative value when in accord with existing directives.
  1. *Other initiatives. *Collaboration in social and charitable initiatives in contexts such as schools, hospitals and prisons, has a proven formational value. So too has work for peace in the world or in particular regions where it is threatened, and for human rights and religious liberty.

These activities, properly directed, can show the efficacy of the social application of the Gospel and the practical force of ecumenical sensitivity in various places. Periodic reflection on the Christian basis of such activities, testing their quality and their fruitfulness, while correcting their defects, will also be educative and constructive.​

I’m slightly surprised that this document seems not to be better-known. What I would like to see explained, is how Rome made the 180-degree turn from dissing other Christians something awful, to saying what this document does. I mean, how is the change to be justified as consistent with the past ? The question is slightly less acute for (say) Anglicanism or Presbyterians, because neither of them makes the claims that the CC does: the CC has left itself far less “wiggle-room” for backing away from previously-made claims than they have. And this should be addressed, unambiguously, in detail, because it is a headache for people. The CC was not this welcoming in 1850 - far from it. ##
 
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