Catholicism

American  

[kuh-thol-uh-siz-uhm] / kəˈθɒl əˌsɪz əm /

noun

1. the faith, system, and practice of the Catholic Church, especially the Roman Catholic Church.

2. (lowercase) catholicity.

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Catholicism British  

/ kəˈθɒlɪˌsɪzəm /

noun

1. short for Roman Catholicism

2. the beliefs, practices, etc, of any Catholic Church

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Catholicism Cultural  

1. The beliefs and practices of the Roman Catholic Church.

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Other Word Forms

• anti-Catholicism noun
• pro-Catholicism noun

Etymology

Origin of Catholicism

First recorded in 1600–10; Catholic + -ism

Example Sentences

Religious scholars say the tradition of Guadalupe, which mixes Indigenous beliefs with Christian ones, helped solidify Catholicism’s dominance in Mexico.

From Los Angeles Times

Mary was widowed by the age of 18 and returned to Scotland to rule as queen at a time when her Catholicism was viewed with suspicion.

From BBC

Most dramatically, the Catholicism animated by an accurate reading of Vatican II is found in sub-Saharan Africa, where orthodoxy is creating what will soon be the demographic center of the church.

From The Wall Street Journal

"For me, in Catholicism, Jesus was born in a manger. He wasn't born in a tent with faceless parents, with nothing."

From Barron's

Even Vance’s relatively recent conversion to Catholicism is tied up in this.

From Salon