Today there are more than a billion Catholics in the world, spread across all five continents with particular concentrations in southern Europe, the United States, the Philippines and the countries of Central and South America. What binds this diverse group of people together is their faith in Jesus Christ and their obedience to the papacy.

Based on the evidence presented, it is evident that Catholicism does not fit the definition of cult. While some may have misconceptions or misgivings about certain rituals and traditions within its faith, Catholicism does not fit with key characteristics that define a cult. Instead, Catholicism is an historical, widespread, open religion which encourages its followers to become active members in their communities.Is Catholicism a Cult Allow me to explain. My religion has changed since I was a kid. We have two different versions of Catholicism now. Version A was a respectful, caring, private religion that lived and let live. We did our thing but didn’t try to force others to live the Catholic way. We didn’t try to wipe out other religious beliefs and replace them with our own. But now there is Version B: Catholics and evangelicals have infiltrated the Republican Party to try to get the Christian way forced into law so it can replace everyone else’s way of thinking and living.

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There is a proper indoctrination (being led into the doctrines of the Church), but this type of false indoctrination is characterized, according to Sam & Tanner, by “follow your leader” and “doubt your doubts.” The Church welcomes questions and instructs the faithful to believe but not without evidence and strong apologetic answers. In the Church, the word “cult” is also employed to mean the veneration (not worship) of a person who has died. The foundation of a cult around a person is a banal word which just means venerable devotion. The person will then be titled “Venerable” by the Church; this is the first step on the way to “Blessed” (Beatification) and “Saint” (Canonization). This “cult” or special devotion and veneration also applies to each of the saints, including the greatest veneration owed to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Is the Catholic Church a Cult? Great emphasis is placed on the ascetic tradition of religious life as either separation from worldly concerns or, in the words of Pope John Paul II (1978 - 2005) as 'a sign of contradiction' in contemporary culture. Catholicism retains from earliest times a strong sense of sin and correspondingly of God's redeeming love. Constantine but he still worshipped the sun god. Although Christianity was not made the official religion of the The term “cult” also gets in the way of understanding American politics. There are real differences between isolated religious groups that live together communally and political movements that attract millions of people.

In regards to the question “Are Catholics saved?”, this is a more difficult question to answer. It is impossible to give a universal statement on the salvation of all members of any denomination of Christianity. Not ALL Baptists are saved. Not ALL Presbyterians are saved. Not ALL Lutherans are saved. Salvation is determined by personal faith in Jesus alone for salvation, not by titles or denominational identification. Despite the unbiblical beliefs and practices of the Roman Catholic Church, there are genuine believers who attend Roman Catholic churches. There are many Roman Catholics who have genuinely placed their faith in Jesus Christ alone for salvation. However, these Catholic Christians are believers despite what the Catholic Church teaches, not because of what it teaches. To varying degrees, the Catholic Church teaches from the Bible and points people to Jesus Christ as the Savior. As a result, people are sometimes saved in Catholic churches. The Bible has an impact whenever it is proclaimed (Isaiah 55:11). Catholic Christians remain in the Catholic Church out of ignorance of what the Catholic Church truly stands for, out of family tradition and peer pressure, or out of a desire to reach other Catholics for Christ. Authoritarian leaders and structures can usually be found in groups that have a clear mission and identity. From the Catholic Church to the U.S. Marine Corps, many organizations rely on strict discipline and obedience. Using the word cult is an easy way to criticize a group, but a poor way to describe one.The number of Roman Catholics in the world is greater than that of nearly all other religious traditions. There are more Roman Catholics than all other Christians combined and more Roman Catholics than all Buddhists or Hindus. Although there are more Muslims than Roman Catholics, the number of Roman Catholics is greater than that of the individual traditions of Shiʿi and Sunni Islam. Labeling Catholicism as a cult would be misleading and falsely portray its fundamental nature. At its heart lies an emphasis on developing a deeper connection with God while following in Jesus Christ’s footsteps and advocating love, kindness, and charity among members. I’m now 82, white and the son of an Irish Catholic mother. I’ve been through the whole gamut of Catholic indoctrination, up to being an altar boy for the bishop on certain occasions. I went to a Catholic grammar school run by the Christian Brothers. Early schooling was under nuns at two primary schools. Cults, generally speaking, are small splinter groups with a fairly recent origin.**Despite what Catholics would like the world to believe they were the original splinter group from Christianity.