Many Asian countries follow Buddhism as their core religion and Catholicism is followed globally by a mass of people. Religion influences people and their culture.
Key Takeaways
- Catholicism is a monotheistic religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, while Buddhism is a nontheistic religion based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha.
- Catholicism emphasizes the role of God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit in human salvation, whereas Buddhism focuses on personal spiritual development and attaining enlightenment.
- Buddhist practice includes meditation and adherence to the Eightfold Path, while Catholicism involves sacraments, prayer, and adherence to the Ten Commandments.
Catholicism vs Buddhism
Catholicism is a monotheistic religion that refers to the traditions, beliefs, and behaviors of the Catholic Church. Buddhism is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It is non-theistic and rejects the notion of a Creator God.
Catholicism is largely followed by the people of Non-Asian countries. It is based upon the omnipotent god namely Jesus Christ who started the catholic religion in the 1st century AD during the era of the Roman Empire.
People of the Buddhism religion do meditation as a prayer practice and try to achieve the Nirvana stage according to the teaching of Lord Gautam Buddha.
Comparison Table
| Parameters of Comparison | Catholicism | Buddhism |
|---|---|---|
| Teachings | Catholicism mainly follows the teachings of Jesus Christ. | Buddhism mainly considers the teachings of the Gautam Buddha. |
| Holy Books | Catholicism mainly observes Bible as their Holy Book. | Buddhism has Sutras, Pali Canon, and word of mouth as religious text along with Tripatika as Holy Book. |
| Elements | Catholicism has grace elements to focus on. | Buddhism puts more emphasis on personal efforts. |
| Leader | Catholicism has an omnipotent god as an ancestral leader. | Buddhism is further divided into many categories, therefore, no concept of omnipotent. |
| Foundation | Catholicism was founded by Jesus christ as per sacred tradition. | Buddhism was founded firstly by Siddhartha. |
What is Catholicism?
Catholicism is mainly observed in western countries as a primary religion. People who follow Catholicism are prominently called Christians. They follow the teachings of Lord Jesus primarily.
They offer payers in churches and Chapels where the head priest is present as Father. To show the gesture of respect and love they light up candles in Church.
In Catholicism, the way to connect to God is through prayer. To pass on the teachings of Jesus they read Bible as their religious text.
Catholicism is a denomination of Christianity. Catholics follow their ritual, traditions, and beliefs systematically. They strongly trust their priest to confess their sins for the absolutions.
What is Buddhism?
It is a largely followed religion in Asian countries. They offer their prayers in Monastry and follow the path of Gautam Buddha.
They consist of 500-600 million followers around the world. discourses, discipline, and commentaries are the main three categories under the religious text of Tripatika that belongs to Buddhism.
The core Buddist do not marry and stay away from the concept of lies and sins. The objective of this religion is to overcome mental illness and to connect with the inner soul through meditation.
The 3 primary guidance of Buddhism Religion is as follows: 1. The Four Noble Truths, 2. The three Universal Truths, and lastly The Noble Eightfold Path.
Main Differences Between Catholicism and Buddhism
- Concept: Catholicism largely emphasizes Salvation and Buddhism follows the concept of liberation that relates to nirvana.
- Gesture to pray: Catholicism religion light up a candle at the time of prayer and in Buddhism they ring a bell in a circular movement.
- Reincarnation: Catholicism does not believe in the concept of after-death reincarnation whereas Buddhism believes in the same concept.
- Place of Prayer: In Catholicism, the place where prayers are performed is called the church on the contrary Buddhism perform their prayer in Monastery.
- Practise Followed: Catholicism, strongly believes in Karma and Buddhism strongly believes in sin that is purely negative.
Last Updated : 13 July, 2023
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Chara Yadav holds MBA in Finance. Her goal is to simplify finance-related topics. She has worked in finance for about 25 years. She has held multiple finance and banking classes for business schools and communities. Read more at her bio page.
