The Encyclopedia of World Religions

394 S Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy in America

use the more legal language of original SIN , atone ment, and redemption. These are, however, only tendencies. Catholics differ from Protestants on any num ber of points. Protestants accept only the B IBLE as the source of religious truth; Catholics accept church traditions as well. Protestants have tended to emphasize that God’s GRACE saves, not human works; Catholics insist that grace works together with human effort. Protestants have tended to see ritual actions only as signs of religious truth; Cath olics teach that God imparts his grace in the SACRA MENTS . Protestants have tended to focus exclusively on Jesus; Catholics venerate Jesus’ mother M ARY , too, as the vehicle by which God became flesh. They also venerate past SAINTS . PRACTICES Catholics recognize seven sacraments: BAPTISM , confirmation, the E UCHARIST , penance (confession of sins), marriage ( see MARRIAGE AND RELIGION ), ORDI NATION , and the anointing of the sick. The centerpiece of Catholic WORSHIP is the Mass. This is a traditional, liturgical celebration of the eucharist. Since the Second Vatican Council, Catholics have celebrated the Mass in local lan guages rather than in Latin. They have also placed a greater emphasis both on congregational partici pation, such as singing, and the homily (sermon) as a way of instructing the participants. ORGANIZATION Catholics actually recognize two supreme authori ties: meetings of bishops known as councils, and the Pope. The relation between these two has changed throughout history. The Pope governs the church from Rome. He is assisted by an administrative staff, known as the Curia, and a select group of bishops, known as the College of C ARDINALS . The Catholic Church divides the world into territories known as dioceses. A bishop administers each diocese. Within dioceses priests and deacons serve parishes. The church strictly reserves its offices for unmarried men. In addition to bishops, priests, and deacons, the Catholic Church has a long tradition of MONKS

AND NUNS , people who devote themselves to a reli gious life instead of marrying. SIGNIFICANCE Roughly one-sixth of the world’s population is Roman Catholic (in 2004 roughly 1,098,000,000 people). Roman Catholicism has made immense contributions to the cultural heritage of Europe. It is also an important part of life for many people around the globe. Further reading: Thomas Bokenkotter, A Concise History of the Catholic Church (New York: Doubleday, 2004); James T. Fisher, Catholics in America (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000); Richard P. McBrien, Catholicism (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1994); Richard P. McBrien et al., eds., The HarperCollins Encyclopedia of Catholicism (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1995). Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy in America The practice of the religion centered on J ESUS in the Western Hemisphere. This entry focuses on only two of the three major branches of Christianity, R OMAN C ATHOLICISM and E ASTERN O RTHODOX C HRISTIANITY . A separate entry discusses P ROTESTANTISM IN A MERICA . Columbus brought Catholicism to the Western Hemisphere. He captained a ship named the Santa Maria (Saint Mary). He named the first island he encountered San Salvador (Holy Savior). His dis coveries began an era of Spanish and Portuguese colonization that had a well-formulated religious policy: Make the Indians Christians. As a result, indigenous Americans from Mex ico to Tierra del Fuego became Catholic Christians. But they did not simply surrender their own reli gious traditions. They developed a rich Catholi cism that combined earlier religions with Christi anity. A good example is the cult of the Virgin of Guadalupe. At Guadalupe in 1531 the Virgin Mary CATHOLICISM IN NORTH AND SOUTH AMERICA