Catholicism For Dummies. Rev. Kenneth Brighenti
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Introduction
Three great religions trace their roots to the prophet Abraham: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. And one of those religions, Christianity, is expressed in three different traditions: Catholicism, Protestantism, and Eastern Orthodoxy. You may already know that. You may also already know that currently, more than 1 billion Catholics occupy the earth. That’s approximately one-fifth of the world’s population.
Whether you’re Catholic or not, you may be totally clueless about or just unaware of some aspects of Catholic tradition, history, doctrine, worship, devotion, or culture. No sweat. Regardless of whether you’re engaged, married, or related to a Catholic; your neighbor or co-worker is a Catholic; or you’re just curious about what Catholics really do believe, this book is for you.
Catholicism For Dummies, 4th Edition, realizes that you’re smart and intelligent, but maybe you didn’t attend Blessed Sacrament Grade School, St. Thomas Aquinas High School, or Catholic University of America. This book’s goal is to give you a taste of Catholicism. It’s not a Catechism or religion textbook but a casual, down-to-earth introduction for non-Catholics and a reintroduction for Catholics. It gives common-sense explanations about what Catholics believe and do in plain English, with just enough why and how thrown in to make solid sense.
Although Catholicism For Dummies, 4th Edition, is no substitute for the official Catechism of the Catholic Church, our hope is that it’ll wet your whistle. We don’t cover everything about Catholicism, but we do discuss the basic stuff so that the next time you’re invited to a Catholic wedding, Baptism, funeral, Confirmation, or First Communion, you won’t be totally confused. And you may have an edge on other people in your life who are less informed about Catholicism than you.
About This Book
This book covers plenty of material on Catholicism — from doctrine to morality and from worship and liturgy to devotions — but you don’t need a degree in theology to comprehend it. Everything is presented in an informal, easy-to-understand way.
This book is also a reference, unlike the schoolbooks you had as a kid. You don’t have to read the chapters in order, one after the other, from front cover to back cover. You can just pick the topic that interests you or find the page that addresses the specific question