What is the difference between Methodists and Roman Catholics?

Answer 1

The Methodist movement resulted from the machinations of one John Wesley who apparently felt the other movements were off track so he built his own, adopting Protestant basics as the primary vehicle. The Catholics came about through the efforts of Emperor Constantine, when he married a faction of the perverted true church and the idolatry of the Roman people and all the trappings, creating a socio-political organization without peer. Methodists do recognize God as supreme. The Catholic also do but are still lugging idolatry baggage in the form of saints, Mary etc.

Answer # 2The person who answered above is ignorant of Christianity's history and about Catholics in general. The major difference is that the Methodist Religion is a protestant religion so they do not follow the pope in Rome as their spiritual leader. While the Catholics follow the pope as their spiritual leader. The speaker above is incorrect when saying that Constantine "married a faction of the perverted true church and the idolatry of the Roman people and all the trappings, creating a socio-political organization without peer." Constantine only made Christianity legal in ancient Rome. He did not try to combine the ancient Roman religion with Christianity at all. In addition, Catholics do not worship Mary and the saints, though they do ask them for guidance towards God. Catholics are Christians and so are Methodist; they only worship God. Today, you can find Catholics all around the world and it is the largest Christian denomination with a population around 1 billion.

The Methodist religion is base on the teachings of an English man name John Wesley. Wesley was an Anglican preacher who started perching in the early 18th century. Methodists recognize two Sacraments baptism and Holy Communion. Catholics recognize seven Sacraments. In addition, Methodists believe in personal salvation; while Catholics believe that the Church and God would lead to salvation. Methodist clergy could marry while Catholic clergy cannot get marry.

I would say that both the Roman Catholic Church and the United Methodist Church have been engaged for many years in ecumenical talks. They do share much in theology and doctrine. One must keep in mind that John Wesley was a "high church" Anglican Priest and strongly believed in celebrating the Eucharist and was very fond of the Book of Common Prayer. Most of the theology of the Methodist Church can be directly traced to the Church of England, which is Catholic in nature not Protestant.

There are some difference between both denominations. The Roman Catholic Church is headed by the Papacy. The RCC believes that the bread and wine are the actually body and blood of Jesus-called transubstantion! The RCC have priests that celebrate the Mass. They incorporate a greater amount of ritual and formality than the United Methodists do. The RCC is far more conservative on social issue than the Methodists, like abortion and sexual orientation. The United Methodists celebrate 2 sacraments as the Lutherans and Presbyterians:

baptism and Holy Communion. The United Methodist believe that Christ is present during the celebration of the Eucharist. They also share with the RCC the historic creeds, the Nicene and Apostle's creed. Both are not literalists when it comes to the Bible. The RCC and the UMC have been in a dialogue for many years, realizing that both have more similar beliefs than major differences. The UMC shares a strong and historic relationship with the Anglican Church which includes sharing both theological and doctrines of the Church of England. Because of that, it has been relatively easy for the UMC to hold ecumenical talks with the RCC.

Methodists are Protestant. Catholics submit to the Pope, where Protestants don't. Methodists don't have priests--I think they have pastors or ministers. Their ministers can marry, while Catholic priests cannot.

Not many, The Methodist Chuch is considered one of the "Catholic Protestant" churches, along with Lutheranism and Anglicanism. Basically Methodists do not necessarily believe in purgatory, at least in the same way catholics do. Methodists ordain women, Catholics do not. Methodist serve an open table for the Eucharist, Catholics do not. Methodists have two Sacraments: Eucharist & Holy Baptism. Catholcis have seven Sacraments: Eucharist, Holy Baptism, Confession, Penance, Holy Matrimony, Anointing of the Sick (Last Rites). The other Sacraments of the Catholic Church are considered Rites (less important than sacraments, unecessary but encouraged) in the Methodist Church.

Methodists are Protestant and do not recognize the authority of the Pope.

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Catholic AnswerThe Catholic Church is not a denomination. The Catholic Church was started at Pentecost by Jesus sending the Holy Spirit on the Apostles. It has existed as the Bride of Christ through 21 centuries. Jesus, Himself, guaranteed that it would be One, Holy, Apostolic, and Catholic, until the end of time.

A denomination, on the other hand, is any protestant group, or derivation from them, that originally broke away from the Church and started their own brand of Christianity. There have only been "denominations" since the 16th century, of which the Methodist are one, albeit one of the originals, from the 16th century.

Protestant Answer

The "Catholic" Church is the invisible Body of Christ that has existed since God extended grace to sinners : grace extended to the believers in Jehovah's Messiah preceding the Advent of Jesus Christ, the Son of God and to the believers in Jesus Christ --since the Day of Pentecost. " Catholic " means the universalchurch and it

is inclusive of all true believers (including those who are attached to the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic bodies) -- to all who have been born again by the Spirit of God and who are led of Him ( cf. John 3:3,6 ; Rom. 8:9,13,14)

Answer 2

The Methodists, being a Protestant religion, do not recognize the Pope. They do not have the traditions that the Catholics have. Methodists emphasize the individual relationship that the believer has with God; intermediaries (like the priesthood), are not required.

Answer 3

Absolutely! For starters, both groups are Christian Churches.

Although denominations from the Methodist tradition -- by far the largest of which is The United Methodist Church -- are Protestant, Methodist and Catholic churches honor baptisms performed in each other's congregations.

Concerning the other Protestant sacrament of Holy Communion (Catholics celebrate seven sacraments), Methodist churches welcome all baptized Christians to celebrate. Catholic churches officially are directed not to allow non-Catholics to celebrate, but a few priests ignore the direction and serve non-Catholics as well.

Methodists also have reworded many of their rites to recover language lost since the Protestant Reformation but maintained in the Catholic Church.

One other similarity is that each group has bishops that preside over episcopal areas or dioceses. (Catholics also have archbishops who oversee within their archdiocese the ministry of diocese bishops; the archbishop, or cardinal, elected to be the archbishop of Rome becomes the Pope.) These bishops decide where and when individual clergy will be sent to serve in parish ministry.

Answer 4

Methodist church has only two sacraments whereas the catholic church has seven sacraments. Besides, the catholic church is hierarchical with the pope as the head, whereas the Methodist church is representative and has no church head.

Answer 5

Methodism does not require adherence to a specific creed or creeds, such as transubstantiation. It recognizes only Communion and Baptism as sacraments. It does not require individual confessions, nor does it expect its members to follow the opinions of a pope or other clergy. (Indeed, there is no one single leader in the United Methodist church; rather, the church has a council of bishops.)

Methodists are expected to work out questions of faith on their own, with help from clergy and from the four corners of the Wesleyan quadrilateral - scripture, reason, tradition and experience.

Not many, The Methodist Church is considered one of the "Catholic Protestant" churches, along with Lutheranism and Anglicanism.

Basically Methodists do not necessarily believe in purgatory, at least in the same way catholics do. Methodists ordain women, Catholics do not.

Methodist serve an open table for the Eucharist, Catholics do not.

Methodists have two Sacraments: Eucharist & Holy Baptism. Catholics have seven Sacraments: Eucharist, Holy Baptism, Confession, Penance, Holy Matrimony, Anointing of the Sick (Last Rites). The other Sacraments of the Catholic Church are considered Rites (less important than sacraments, unnecessary but encouraged) in the Methodist Church.

Several things differ. Catholicism is older. Methodism is derived from the Anglican church which is derived from the Catholic Church.

In the Methodist church, you have a hierarchy set up with Bishops and Archbishops, like the Catholic Church, but the Methodist church has no Pope. The church leader in a Methodist church is usually called a preacher, while in a Catholic church, he is called a priest. In the Methodist church, preachers are allowed to marry, but in the Catholic church priests are not allowed to marry. The Methodist church also allows women to serve as preachers, but the Catholic church does not allow female priests. The Catholic church has nuns and monks, but the Methodist church does not.

Like the Catholic Church, Methodists also take part in the Eucharist/Communion/Lord's Supper. In the Catholic Church, you must be Catholic to take part in this rite; however, in the Methodist church, anyone who believes in Jesus, regardless of denomination, may take part. In the Catholic church, wine is usually taken from the same cup, while Methodists drink Grape Juice from individual cups.

Methodists do not make the sign of the cross when they pray. Methodists also do not use the crucifix to help them pray. Methodists also do not pray to Saints to intervene to God on their behalf.

Methodists believe in the universal catholic church. However, this catholic church is not capitalized because it is different from the Catholic Church headed by the Pope. When Methodists say they believe in a universal catholic church, they are using catholic as an adjective to mean Christian. In other words, Methodists believe in a universal Christian church. Methodists believe that it does not matter what denomination you are, as long as you believe Jesus.

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Catholic AnswerThe Catholic Church was founded by Our Blessed Lord on His Apostle, Peter (see St. Matthew 16:17-19), it was born from His Side as He hung dead on the cross and was pierced by the soldier's lance. It was then shown to the world 53 days later, on Pentecost, when He send the Holy Spirit to guide it into all truth. The Catholic Church is the Mystical Body of Our Blessed Lord, and His Bride. He will be with it "all days until the end of the world" and, under the successors of St. Peter - the Popes, He has guaranteed it. The Catholic Church is One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic, and is the only sure way given by God to salvation.

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The Methodist is an heretical sect which broke away from the Anglicans, who, in turn, were an heretical sect which broke away from the Catholic Church. They have no foundation on Our Blessed Lord, and no guarantee from God, thus they are called "protestant" as they were formed fifteen centuries after Christ in protest against the established Church. They are called Methodist as they were founded on a "method" to follow God.

Answer 6

The founders of the Anglican Church established it as a moderate Calvinism, and codified their thinking in the Prayer Book of 1662 and the 39 Articles of Religion. The 1662 Prayer Book and Ordinal [manual for ordinations] and the Articles are still taken as standards for Orthodox Anglican thought and practice. The phrase often heard is 'via media' and nowadays is quoted to indicate that Anglicanism was intended to be the 'middle way' between Protestantism and Catholicism. This is not correct. The phrase was originally coined to indicate that Anglicanism was the middle way between Calvinism and Lutheranism, two very Protestant faiths. The Anglican Church maintained the use of the word priest, although Ab. Cranmer [the primary author of the Prayer Book] made it plain that this was a matter of custom and that there was no difference between an Anglican priest and any other minister; the Church also maintained Apostolic Succession, but again Cranmer made it clear that Apostolic Succession indicated a faithfulness to the teaching of the Apostles and didn't have anything to do with the laying on of hands as a transmission of especial grace and/or office. Elizabeth helped to support these changes for various reasons - keeping the trappings kept the more catholic elements positively involved in the new national Church, and as a monarch she knew that bishops were important symbols of, as well as conduits of, monarchical power.

The confusion between Anglicanism and Catholicism, while always simmering in the background, didn't really heat up until the 1800's with something called the Oxford movement. It was a movement headed by Newman, Keble and Pusey primarily that began in Oxford University. These men promoted Catholic thought and doctrine within the Church of England, arguing that this was the heritage of the English Church. The primary spokesman was Newman, who followed this thinking to its logical conclusion and eventually converted to Roman Catholicism, being made a bishop and later a cardinal. Many revere him as a saint and icons, etc. are readily avialble of him because of his ongoing popularity. This sparked a whole movement within the English Church and many began, not simply to re-work the meaning of the Articles to suit themselves, but to actively marganilize them. As a result, many Anglicans now consider themselves to be Anglo-Catholic, which over the last century or so has caused no little confusion within Anglicanism and beyond.

Pope Leo XIII in 1896 produced the bull Apostolicae Curae, which he clearly stated that this bull was being issued to settle the matter once and for all, declaring Anglican Orders to be invalid. That is why Roman Catholics may not reveive the Eucharist at an Anglican parish, and any priest that is accepted as a candidate for the priesthood by the Roman Church must be re-ordained What is the difference between Anglicans and Roman Catholics?

As the previous writer has truly said,'The answer depends on who you ask?"

I was taught when I studied, that the Church came to Britain within a few years of Christ's death and this was accepted by the medieval Latin Councils of the West. In 750 Bede spoke of the Ecclesia Anglicana, or the Church of the English and it was again used in the Magna Carter and indeed all through the middle ages in correspondence with overseas writers! It was not founded on a moderate Calvinism, it was founded on the Revelations of Christ once revealed to the saints as S.Jude ,Our Lord's brother tells us! [Jude 3.] Further the Church in Britain played a very respectable part in the work of the early Church and was commended by Constantine the Great and by S. Athansius of Alexandria both, for the purity of the British Faith! British Bishops, at least one, attended the Council of Nice. The 39 Articles are not basic to the faith held by Anglicans, they are no more than lines drawn in the sand beyond which the wildmen, both papalist and Calvinist cannot go without doing serious damage to not only their faith, but the faith of the Catholic Church here in England. They were meant to be studied through the lenses of the Seven Ecumenical Councils, these seven being infallible because of the work of the Holy Ghost through them. By the way, the term Roman, according to some, in the articles refers to the specific teachings of the Council of Trent!

When we study the Church and its teaching, we should be careful not to forget that authority in the English / Anglican, Catholic Church doesn't stem from one human being, or one apostle, it stems from Christ , the Apostolical College and the Bishops in Council! Many Anglicans through the years have not accepted authority and developed their own theories becoming of course little better than protestants themselves.

The Church has also striven mightily to preserve the Apostolic Succession in its original form, Theology as well as the laying on of hands. As I have already said Christ passed on to the apostles the idea of an apostolic college with all the apostles having a voice in the findings. Later on this developed in to Councils, there are several mentioned in Acts. At the greatest one S.James the brother of Our Blessed Lord was at the head. He spoke of the presence of the Holy Ghost,' It has seemed good to the Holy Ghost and to us!" Acts 15. This System of Councils and Synods the Church in England has subscribed to for some two thousand years.

At the reformation, very little was changed and the only things that were dropped or changed were medieval additions to the Deposit of faith. The Church was forced for political reasons to take under her wing the Calvinist Separatists. The alternative was to follow the rule of Queen

Mary 1st, or the Continental Catholics and use terror, such as the inquisition or the gallows, the garotte and fire! The Church to its credit chose the Way of the Cross, in other words it chose to try to convert the protestants. It didn't work to well. The calvinists were virile and positive,it was thought a long hard winter would clear the elderly leadership away, whilst the Bishops, the descendants of the apostles would bring the light of Christ to those who had fallen from grace! It didn't work. perhaps we should have followed the lead of the Roman Catholics after all!

Between Anglicans and Roman Catholics?

Herbert Thorndyke, a priest of the Interregnum, speaking of the Roman Reformation, said,' The Counter Reformation was not the mending of the old Church but the making of a new one! '

Bishop Field in his magisterial book, 'Of the Church', and other writers of the Church ,'have always written of the Council of Trent as the great papal agent in severing the papal communion formally and specifically from that which was Catholic and stamping it Papal and Roman!'

It was as a result of Trent that Rome split away from the English Church in the time of Eliza! Anglicans didn't breakaway from Rome , even when the head of the new Roman Church started playing in English politics.

In many respects, there are no differences between the two churches. They are both Christian churches, springing from the same ancient source as the Eastern Orthodox churches. As such, Anglicans and Roman Catholics read the Bible with not only the two Testaments but also the Apocrypha, those books of the Hebrew Bible written in Greek. Both churches recite the Nicene and Apostles Creeds. Both administer Baptism and Confirmation, and celebrate the Holy Communion, as well as the four other sacramental rites of Penance, Matrimony, Anointing of the Sick, and Holy Orders. Their clergy are ordained deacon first, then priest, unless they are called to be perpetual deacons. From the priests bishops are chosen and consecrated by no fewer than three bishops belonging to a scrupulously conserved line of bishops that reaches back to the earliest churches.

There are Roman Catholic and Anglican shrines to Mary. Some Anglicans pray the rosary. Both churches maintain calendars of saints, with special prayers and readings for their feast days. Both churches have orders of men and women religious, vowed celibates who live in monasteries and convents.

If you were to visit an Anglican parish (they both use the term for a congregation) and then a Roman Catholic parish, you would observe many other similarities. In the United States, at least, the liturgies are almost identical, as are the customary vestments worn by the clergy and lay assisting ministers.

The differences are in the details, for the most part. These differences flow from one central issue: who is in authority. The Roman Catholic Church has over the centuries steadily increased the power and prestige of the Pope, the Bishop of Rome. In our day, the combination of an extraordinarily gifted pope, John Paul II, with the mass media and globalization, have raised the office of pope to its highest level ever. The peripatetic pontiff has traveled far more than any of his predecessors. When he visits a country, it is to speak, not to listen, however. His bishops around the world act more as his prefects than as overseers of the regional Christian community. St Augustine's famous saying, Roma locuta causa finita est (Rome has spoken and that settles the matter) has never been more true than today.

Despite the attempts of Vatican II to create local synods at the diocesan and national levels, they serve still in a purely advisory capacity. No other body has any authority over the pope, either. For example, when Pope Paul VI issued the encyclical Humanæ Vitæ forbidding Birth Control, he ignored the recommendations of the commission he had appointed to advise him. The Vicar of Christ holds all the reins. Authority flows from him down and outward.

The churches of the Anglican Communion have resolutely sought to disperse that absolute authority among several places. A famous report on authority in Anglicanism spoke of this peculiarly Anglican view of authority, which flows, it says, from the edges to the center. Each Anglican Church belongs to the Anglican Communion because it is in communion with the Archbishop of Canterbury and seeks to uphold the catholic faith and reformed order inherited from the Church of England. Yet each one is independent. The Archbishop has no legal authority outside of the Diocese of Canterbury. He serves as spiritual leader and symbol of unity.

The laity have real power at all levels of the Anglican churches (though with local variations). Anglicans look to their diocesan and national synods of bishops, clergy and laity to interpret matters of faith and order. Unlike the Church of Rome, with its admirable clarity of decision-making, the Anglican churches are messy and often disagree with each other. For instance, some churches ordain women to all three orders of ministry. Many do not at all, and the Church of England ordains women to the diaconate and the priesthood, but not the episcopate at this time of writing. Women bishops were present at the 1998 Lambeth Conference, the worldwide gathering of Anglican bishops every ten years. But since the decisions of Lambeth have no authority other than as recommendations, their presence was not disruptive.

This 'messiness' means that Anglicans have greater latitude officially than Roman Catholics do both individually and in their dioceses and national churches. In general, the laity are expected to use the resources of the church, especially regular common worship, in developing a Christ-like character, and ability to reason morally. The different emphases present in Christianity find their adherents among Anglicans. Thus some Anglicans have elaborate liturgies modeled on medieval English worship. Others emphasize evangelistic preaching and relatively simple worship. Still others show the influence of the Pentecostal movement, or the iconography of the Eastern churches. Some Anglicans are mystic; others are intensely concerned with social justice. Moreover, each national church adapts the faith and order to its own culture.

Since Roman Catholics tie membership in their church to the person and authority of the pope, they do not ordinarily allow intercommunion. They do not recognize the validity of Anglican Orders, and so re-confirm and re-ordain Anglican converts. Anglicans on the other hand tend to practice open communion, and do not re-confirm or re-ordain Roman Catholic converts, because they recognize Roman Orders as valid. The difference is being in communion with the pope for Roman Catholics, and for Anglicans, it is adhering to the catholic faith as it has been inherited from the earliest Christians. One permanent feature of Anglicanism has been seeking to restore the faith and order of the primitive church. This is the principle of its reformation, while Rome's counter-reformation was to restore and enhance the medieval concept of papal authority.

In the most recent document of the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Consultation (the ecumenical body devoted to helping the two churches come closer), entitled The Gift of Authority, Anglicans are asked to consider the role of the Bishop of Rome in the life of their churches, while Roman Catholics are asked to begin to take seriously the collegiality of synods called for in Vatican II. Perhaps this too emphasizes in a nutshell the differences between these two churches, both branches of the early church, so close and yet so far.

Answer 7

Catholics follow the rule of the Pope in Rome. Methodists, being a protestant sect of Christianity, have nothing to do with the Roman papacy.