Is Catholic and christian the same thing?

Answer 1

All Catholics are Christians but not all Christians are Catholics!

Anyone following Jesus Christ, and accepting him as their Lord and saviour, is a member of the Christian Religion.

This Christian Religion is split into many branches called denominations. Denominations include the Orthodox Church, the Methodists, Baptists, Anglicans. Pentecostals ans so on. One such denomination is the Roman Catholic Church.

Therefore the Catholics are all Christians but not all Christians are Catholics as they might belong to a different denomination (like Methodist, Baptist etc).

Answer 2

Yes, Christian and Catholic are exactly the same thing, unless you are not Catholic and using the word "Christian" to refer to others outside the Catholic Church. This is only right if you are referring to someone who has been validly baptized and accepts the Nicene Creed in its traditional interpretation.