Why Do You Think Your Religion is the Correct One?

Posted on May 9, 2024 by Father Joe

Krystal Smith poses this question at STAPLER CONFESSIONS and states: “Religious people tend to subscribe to just one religion and reject the others. Theists who are impartial to any specific religion might share the same sentiment as atheists in this regard. They might acknowledge the similarities between some world religions and suggest that which exact one a person follows isn’t as important as recognizing there is a God and praying. Atheists tend to believe that a person’s choice of religion is based solely on what culture they were born into, and is thus arbitrary.”

Atheists are right that most people tend to join the majority religion of the culture and family into which they are born. However, we are not creatures of fate and many either change their affiliation or lose faith entirely. Further, given the missionary mandate of Christianity, many are moved by the preaching of the Church and the grace of God to become Christian or Catholic.

Catholicism views itself as the Church directly instituted by Christ and as the true religion. There is a historical bond between Judaism (the first People of God) and the consummation of the covenant by Christ for the Catholic Christian community, the new People of God, or the Church. Judaism and Islam are both natural religions with a belief in one God. Christianity is a supernatural faith given the belief in the mystery of the Trinity: three divine Persons in one divine Nature.

Just as scientific theories vary, so does religion. But the truth is still what it is. The many religions of the world are an expression of how we were made for God and search out ultimate meaning. Many are regarded by Christianity as wrong or incomplete. We reject the negation of Buddhism and the polytheism of Hinduism. While certain Protestant affiliations emphasize a personal or individualized faith; Catholicism also insists upon the corporate faith. The Church is not merely for fellowship but is the essential sacrament of salvation. Christ is the Mediator and is the one and only Savior. There is also no salvation outside the Catholic Church. It is for this reason that we intercede in prayer for those believers outside her fold.

We would claim that Catholicism best answers the longings of the human heart and the need for meaning and answers about suffering, death and our place in creation. The problem of pain finds resolution in a profound solidarity with Christ where there is redemption. Sacrificial love becomes a hallmark of Christian self-donation and identity. We have not been orphaned by God. We have a purpose and no one need live and die in vain. The Christian faith offers the gift of HOPE and LIFE while atheism can only grant a temporary respite for some, despair for the many and ultimately oblivion for all.