Roman+Catholicism

There are more Roman Catholics in the world than any other religion. The Roman Catholic religion traces its roots through the 12 apostles, especially Apostle Peter, who was considered to be the leader of the apostles and the first pope. However, popes did not always exist in the Roman Catholic Church. In fact, it took several centuries after Christ for the catholic religion to develop into what it is today (Religionfacts). The Roman Catholic Church believes that there is one God, born by the Virgin Mary. They believe that this God exists as a compilation of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. Roman Catholicism does not differ greatly from other branches of Christianity, but one distinctly Roman Catholic belief is the concept of Purgatory (Religionfacts). Purgatory is said to be the place after death where the soul is cleansed before it can go on to heaven (Wikipedia). Catholics also believe that the pope has special authority and that the bread used in the Eucharist becomes the body of Christ when blessed by a priest. The Roman Catholic liturgy also tends to be more elaborate and formal than similar religions (Religionfacts). Roman Catholics follow the seven sacraments. They are: baptism, Eucharist, reconciliation, confirmation, marriage, holy orders, and anointing of the sick (Wikipedia). The Sacrament of Baptism (the first of the seven) removes the Original Sin (Catholicism). It is the sin that Adam committed and is born into every descendent of Adam. The Sacrament of Eucharist is attending mass, which is what Catholics call the Eucharist. The Sacrament of reconciliation is periodically confession ones sins to a priest. The Sacrament of marriage is the union of one man and one woman, but it also signifies God’s attachment to the Church (Catholicism). In the Sacrament of the Holy Orders, man is brought into the priesthood of Christ as part of the priesthood, the episcopate, or the diaconate (Religionfacts).