The Differences Between Catholicism and Christianism

Overview

This report will examine the differences between Catholicism and Christianism. Being Catholic I wanted to immerse in the Christian religion, to understand and learn about the services it provides to the Hispanic community, and how the celebration of praise is carried out. I will explain throughout this report how this religion contributes to culture and what its values are, by analyzing everything related to the religion and its service.

Religion or Culture

The religion I selected is Christianism, most specifically I will be talking about the culture of the South Mountain Community Church. I decided to talk about this community because I have many friends who are part of the church and have invited me to attend and listen to the service. During the service they mainly focus on the study of Jesus’s life.

The Pastor of this church is actually a very good friend of mine, that’s why I wanted to explore more about this community. Him and his wife are facilitators for the community and serve as counselors and provide a shoulder for all the members of their church.

This church is a multisided church, which means that it has multiple locations around the state. I will be attending to the international campus in West Jordan UT. This campus offers a service to as many as 60 thousand habitants from the Hispanic Community.

Inside, the setting of the rooms or conference rooms change depending on the number of people attending the service. The main service provided in the church is in Spanish, many Latino families attend every week. The attendance is similar between men and women, but 37% of the attending population are children.

Religious or Cultural Function

Christian religious practices are somewhat different from what I am used to in the catholic church. Although, we all come from Christianity and believe in Jesus some other beliefs are different. For example: Catholics believe in many saint and we praise them and pray to them, and Christians in the other hand don’t believe in these saints.

The word given about the bible also has a different interpretation for both churches. Since I am not very religious both interpretations are very similar to me. The service, which we call mass in the catholic church, is very different, Catholics kneel a lot and pray many times throughout the mass, while Christians sing a lot and just listen to what the pastor. At the end all comes from the same belief, what God teachings are for its people, and how we want to interpret and follow the scriptures is up to each of us.

Value Theory

The theory used in each service changes depending on the topic that is being discussed. The Pastor is constantly using his hands while he talks and walks from side to side of the stage, this to make sure to attract the public’s attention. Songs are sing regularly praising God, many people also talk about their testimony of how God change their lives, some cry others laugh.

I assume this as a form of nonverbal communication, as people are touched by what the pastor or others share and act on it without words. The language use is emphasized on the community, how they can be save by God and through him you can have a better life. People seem happy when giving their testimony, they are very religious, and they call each other as brothers and sisters, and you feel the familiarity they have with the newcomers.  

        The service is given in Spanish and people comprehend and like the sermon, as the words spoken by the Pastor are very religious but easy to understand. The Pastor is always very energetic, the tone of his voice changes as he emphasized in certain words more than others given them more importance. He likes to give common examples of regular life to explain his sermon, I think this makes it very easy for the people to understand the service and the teachings that the Pastors wants to give with God’s word. While the church priest God by singing I noticed a couple people that were dancing as they sing, this was probably a sign of joy from them praising God.

        Related to the lecture “Belief Comparisons of the World’s Major Religions” The word that has the most power to them is the word of God. When they refer to God, they do it with respect, reverence and benevolence, as all religions do. The blessing is also a moment of respect, people bow their heads and close their eyes, while praying to God in silence for whatever they may want or need, or just to thank Him for the given favors.

The Pastor is the leader of the church, his community respects him and ask for his advice, they see him as an authority, that leads him on God’s path. they do not see him as a judge because he listens and helps his community. He considers these people as if they were part of his family, and this is how people see him too. The language in this community is fraternal and kind, here everyone talks with love and respect for one another.

Analysis

        Christianism and Catholicism differ in how the celebration is carried out, but many of the biblical theories and explanations remain the same, the believe of only on God and in Jesus his son, the teachings given by God to all the humanity and what we should follow to enter the salvation, are very similar between both churches. Below I will provide some insight on characteristics of Christianism and what they celebration looks like.

• Service are usually performed on Sunday.
• Activities during the service (Sundays)

•  Music: Gospel, there is a music band with a director of praise. The duration is of 15 to 20 min.
• Prayer: Thanks are given to God in action of benevolence. The duration is of 10 min.
•  Introduction to the topic of the day: This topic was chosen by a congress of Pastors of the church, this is planned four months ahead. The duration is of 5 min.
• The sermon: During this segment the topic is discussed and explained by the Pastor, using bible references and the interpretation of these. The duration is of 40 to 60 min.
• Closing prayer: This prayer is more specific, you can ask God for anything you need. The duration is of 10 min.
• Closing song: The duration is of 5- 7 min

• Parallel activities during the service:

• Sunday school for children, divided into 3 groups:

• 0 – 5 years old
• 5 – 9 years old
• 10 – 13 years old

• Sunday school provides children with biblical quotations recreated with didactic tools.

• There are a series of church activities provided during the week.

• Youth groups on Monday: Children over 9 years of age meet to play games and have activities related to what they learn on Sunday school.
• Connection groups: Different days a week, and locations. These are study groups for adults to discuss what was learned during the service on Sunday.

Reflection

        Before attending the Christian church, I was a little nervous and skeptical. It was a good experiment for me to attend to the service and learn about the church. It was also surprising to me to see how devoted people were attending to this celebration, people were filled of joy and gratitude towards God and I was able to sense that.