Islam surpasses Roman Catholicism as world's largest religion

[Keystone Phil]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080330/ap_on_re_eu/vatican_muslims

Disappointing. I loved being the biggest religion in the world. 

[Хahar 🤔]

WTF?

Roman Catholicism is a religion?

[Keystone Phil]

WTF?

Roman Catholicism is a religion?

Excuse me?

[afleitch]

WTF?

Roman Catholicism is a religion?

Excuse me?

Phil will you just calm down

Xahar is correct; Catholicsm is a branch of Christianity. It is not a stand alone religion. It is wrong for you to assume it is (and you're doing a disservice to non-Catholic Christians) . It is merely the largest church of the Christian faith.

[Keystone Phil]

WTF?

Roman Catholicism is a religion?

Excuse me?

Phil will you just calm down

Xahar is correct; Catholicsm is a branch of Christianity. It is not a stand alone religion. It is wrong for you to assume it is.

Yes, it's a branch of Christianity but it is also a single religion with it's own doctrines, leadership, etc.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

No, it's a Christian denomination. If you say Catholicism is a religion you are saying Catholics aren't Christian.

Anyway this is a rather pointless comparison, Christianity is still the world's largest religion, and Catholicism still the world's largest denomination as I assume it's still larger than Sunni Islam.

[afleitch]

WTF?

Roman Catholicism is a religion?

Excuse me?

Phil will you just calm down

Xahar is correct; Catholicsm is a branch of Christianity. It is not a stand alone religion. It is wrong for you to assume it is.

Yes, it's a branch of Christianity but it is also a single religion with it's own doctrines, leadership, etc.

Er...no it's not Phil

[Keystone Phil]

WTF?

Roman Catholicism is a religion?

Excuse me?

Phil will you just calm down

Xahar is correct; Catholicsm is a branch of Christianity. It is not a stand alone religion. It is wrong for you to assume it is.

Yes, it's a branch of Christianity but it is also a single religion with it's own doctrines, leadership, etc.

Er...no it's not Phil

Er...then argue with the countless people who keep the data and refer to Roman Catholicism as the "largest single religion."

[afleitch]

Er...then argue with the countless people who keep the data and refer to Roman Catholicism as the "largest single religion."

So your saying Catholicsm is a religion. Is Anglicanism a religion? Is Presbyterianism a religion?  No all three are part of the one bloody religion; Christianity, Phil.

As I've said before talking about Catholicism is a stand alone religion does a disservice to non-Catholic Christians who understand that they are part of a wide and varied faith.

[Keystone Phil]

Er...then argue with the countless people who keep the data and refer to Roman Catholicism as the "largest single religion."

So your saying Catholicsm is a religion. Is Anglicanism a religion? Is Presbyterianism a religion?  No all three are part of the one bloody religion; Christianity, Phil.

As I've said before talking about Catholicism is a stand alone religion does a disservice to non-Catholic Christians who understand that they are part of a wide and varied faith.

Ok, you ignored how countless people disagree with you but whatever.

Yes, I believe Anglicanism, Presbyterianism, etc. are religions that are part of a larger faith community and the umbrella religion of Christianity.

[Verily]

Oh, this is Sunni and Shia against Catholicism. So it's a stupid measure. Catholicism is still the world's largest religious denomination, outnumbering Sunnis about 1.1 billion to 900 million (last I saw), or else Christianity is the world's largest religion, outnumbering Islam about 2.3 billion to 1.1 billion.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Oh, this is Sunni and Shia against Catholicism. So it's a stupid measure. Catholicism is still the world's largest religious denomination, outnumbering Sunnis about 1.1 billion to 900 million (last I saw), or else Christianity is the world's largest religion, outnumbering Islam about 2.3 billion to 1.1 billion.

Yeah, exactly what I said.

[afleitch]

Er...then argue with the countless people who keep the data and refer to Roman Catholicism as the "largest single religion."

So your saying Catholicsm is a religion. Is Anglicanism a religion? Is Presbyterianism a religion?  No all three are part of the one bloody religion; Christianity, Phil.

As I've said before talking about Catholicism is a stand alone religion does a disservice to non-Catholic Christians who understand that they are part of a wide and varied faith.

Ok, you ignored how countless people disagree with you but whatever.

Yes, I believe Anglicanism, Presbyterianism, etc. are religions that are part of a larger faith community and the umbrella religion of Christianity.

So they are religions that are part of another religion? What!?! They're denominations Phil

[Keystone Phil]

Oh, this is Sunni and Shia against Catholicism. So it's a stupid measure. Catholicism is still the world's largest religious denomination, outnumbering Sunnis about 1.1 billion to 900 million (last I saw), or else Christianity is the world's largest religion, outnumbering Islam about 2.3 billion to 1.1 billion.

Yeah, exactly what I said.

I didn't notice that. Good news.

Er...then argue with the countless people who keep the data and refer to Roman Catholicism as the "largest single religion."

So your saying Catholicsm is a religion. Is Anglicanism a religion? Is Presbyterianism a religion?  No all three are part of the one bloody religion; Christianity, Phil.

As I've said before talking about Catholicism is a stand alone religion does a disservice to non-Catholic Christians who understand that they are part of a wide and varied faith.

Ok, you ignored how countless people disagree with you but whatever.

Yes, I believe Anglicanism, Presbyterianism, etc. are religions that are part of a larger faith community and the umbrella religion of Christianity.

So they are religions that are part of another religion? What!?! They're denominations Phil

Then explain to me why these denominations are analyzed as "single religions" for recording purposes.

[afleitch]

Then explain to me why these denominations are analyzed as "single religions" for recording purposes.

You answered your own question - for recording purposes only. In the same way the UK Census and the police have different ethnicity and religious labels. For recording purposes.

Catholicism is church within the Christian religion. Simple as that.

[Хahar 🤔]

It's the Catholic Church. It has a very Eurocentric Weltanschauung. It analyzes Christian denominations as religions but not Muslim deominations because Christianity is "important" enough to justify it while Islam is not.

[Keystone Phil]

Then explain to me why these denominations are analyzed as "single religions" for recording purposes.

You answered your own question - for recording purposes only.

Why refer to it as a religion then?

I consider my Catholic church to be a religion with it's own beliefs, leadership, etc. within the larger faith of Christianity. Just because I consider myself Catholic doesn't mean I don't consider myself part of the larger Christian faith.

[Хahar 🤔]

Then explain to me why these denominations are analyzed as "single religions" for recording purposes.

You answered your own question - for recording purposes only.

Why refer to it as a religion then?

I consider my Catholic church to be a religion with it's own beliefs, leadership, etc. within the larger faith of Christianity. Just because I consider myself Catholic doesn't mean I don't consider myself part of the larger Christian faith.

So you are differentiating between two types of religion, which we can call the "greater religion" (Christianity), and the "lesser religion" (Catholicism). That makes sense, I guess. But shouldn't Islam be compared to the greater religion, rather than the lesser religion?

[dead0man]

A religoius argument turning into a semantics argument?  NEVER!

[afleitch]

Then explain to me why these denominations are analyzed as "single religions" for recording purposes.

You answered your own question - for recording purposes only.

Why refer to it as a religion then?

I consider my Catholic church to be a religion with it's own beliefs, leadership, etc. within the larger faith of Christianity. Just because I consider myself Catholic doesn't mean I don't consider myself part of the larger Christian faith.

So you are differentiating between two types of religion, which we can call the "greater religion" (Christianity), and the "lesser religion" (Catholicism). That makes sense, I guess. But shouldn't Islam be compared to the greater religion, rather than the lesser religion?

Good point. Im assuming your talking about the Abrahamic faiths as a whole?

[Keystone Phil]

Then explain to me why these denominations are analyzed as "single religions" for recording purposes.

You answered your own question - for recording purposes only.

Why refer to it as a religion then?

I consider my Catholic church to be a religion with it's own beliefs, leadership, etc. within the larger faith of Christianity. Just because I consider myself Catholic doesn't mean I don't consider myself part of the larger Christian faith.

So you are differentiating between two types of religion, which we can call the "greater religion" (Christianity), and the "lesser religion" (Catholicism). That makes sense, I guess. But shouldn't Islam be compared to the greater religion, rather than the lesser religion?

I really don't care what it is being compared to.

A religoius argument turning into a semantics argument?  NEVER!

A libertarian laughing at the silly religious animals? NEVER!

[Хahar 🤔]

Then explain to me why these denominations are analyzed as "single religions" for recording purposes.

You answered your own question - for recording purposes only.

Why refer to it as a religion then?

I consider my Catholic church to be a religion with it's own beliefs, leadership, etc. within the larger faith of Christianity. Just because I consider myself Catholic doesn't mean I don't consider myself part of the larger Christian faith.

So you are differentiating between two types of religion, which we can call the "greater religion" (Christianity), and the "lesser religion" (Catholicism). That makes sense, I guess. But shouldn't Islam be compared to the greater religion, rather than the lesser religion?

I really don't care what it is being compared to.

What? You seem to be comparing it to Islam, which is apples and oranges.

[Keystone Phil]

Then explain to me why these denominations are analyzed as "single religions" for recording purposes.

You answered your own question - for recording purposes only.

Why refer to it as a religion then?

I consider my Catholic church to be a religion with it's own beliefs, leadership, etc. within the larger faith of Christianity. Just because I consider myself Catholic doesn't mean I don't consider myself part of the larger Christian faith.

So you are differentiating between two types of religion, which we can call the "greater religion" (Christianity), and the "lesser religion" (Catholicism). That makes sense, I guess. But shouldn't Islam be compared to the greater religion, rather than the lesser religion?

I really don't care what it is being compared to.

What? You seem to be comparing it to Islam, which is apples and oranges.

Comparing what to Islam? The argument here has been about whether or not Catholicism is a "religion".

[Frodo]

This would be more news-worthy if it had read instead, 'Islam surpasses Christianity as World's Largest Religion'. 

[Person Man]

Yeah, you can't compare the Catholic Church to the Religion of Islam.  They are totally different levels. Catholicism is a denomination while Islam is a religion. Then again, one could argue that the biggest religion is the religion of Jehovah, which has 3.4 billion (50% of the population world-wide). The next biggest would probably be Confucianism, followed by Buddhism and Hinduism. With Judaism, that's 5.815 billion people. That leaves the next billion as Seculars and Pegans, which probably are about 500 million a peice.