Why do Roman Catholics revert to Islam?

[جوري]

Then I was right: "Something is wrong either with the figures or the way you have presented them." The figures weren't universal, but you presented them as if they were.


And Woodrow's argument, thus far, is indeed anecdotal, as it comes from a collection of individual stories, but stories that so far are just isolated snapshots and, as of yet, don't present a whole picture of what is going on and the reasons behind it.

I didn't at all present those as universal figures, given the numerous posts I have made on the number of converts in the U.S alone daily being in the excess of 20,000.
we simply don't know what the figure is in relation to, not whether or not it is inaccurate!

If you aren't going to share your theses, then what contribution do you plan to make to the discussion?

Being in agreement with br. woodrow and offering him my support is as far as I'd like to take it..

all the best

 

[Grace Seeker]

I didn't at all present those as universal figures, given the numerous posts I have made on the number of converts in the U.S alone daily being in the excess of 20,000.

OK. Then I made a mistake in how I read it.



Back to the issue of Roman Catholics converting, I wonder if it could some of what I hear from those that are leaving the Roman Catholic Church to join other Christian groups -- they sense a dryness regarding the nurturing of their soul within the Catholic Church and are simply looking for something else that might give more/better meaning to their life?

That search takes different people in different directions. Some (probably the majority is my guess) end up in a different Catholic Church to begin with, and then others end up in other Christian bodies, still others drop out of church altogether. Some of that group end up in Islam.

If this is the case, it would not be so much that Islam is attracting Roman Catholics, but that the Roman Catholic Church is hemorraging members.

I don't have any way to substantiate this either. All my information is also anecdotal. I just propose it as a theory that fits the limited inforation that I have and cases that I've observed.

 

[Muslim Woman]

We Are More, Then We Must Be Right! (Watch) An Ex-Roman Catholic's Journey to Islam

Growing up, he always considered that since Christianity, by numbers, is the largest religion in the world, and Roman Catholicism is the largest of those groups within Christianity, then he never doubted in the slightest that he, his family, his Church, and his faith were correct. But upon reading the Bible and visiting the Vatican, he was faced with some surprises that he had never expected.

Watch Musa Cerantonio's amazing journey from Roman Catholicism to Islam.


Read more: http://www.readingislam.com/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1262372241950&pagename=Zone-English-Discover_Islam%2FDIELayout#ixzz0e9Xooeqo
​

Read more: http://www.readingislam.com/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1262372241950&pagename=Zone-English-Discover_Islam%2FDIELayout#ixzz0e9XiXIlj
​

 

[Woodrow]

OK. Then I made a mistake in how I read it.



Back to the issue of Roman Catholics converting, I wonder if it could some of what I hear from those that are leaving the Roman Catholic Church to join other Christian groups -- they sense a dryness regarding the nurturing of their soul within the Catholic Church and are simply looking for something else that might give more/better meaning to their life?

That search takes different people in different directions. Some (probably the majority is my guess) end up in a different Catholic Church to begin with, and then others end up in other Christian bodies, still others drop out of church altogether. Some of that group end up in Islam.

If this is the case, it would not be so much that Islam is attracting Roman Catholics, but that the Roman Catholic Church is hemorraging members.

I don't have any way to substantiate this either. All my information is also anecdotal. I just propose it as a theory that fits the limited inforation that I have and cases that I've observed.

Peace Gene,

As I stated earlier, I am just expressing my own observations and that is based only on what I have seen. The majority of reverts to Islam I have seen either in person or on videos have been Catholic.

On a personal basis I did not find the change from Catholicism to be stepping into a strange environment. Much of what I now do as a Muslim has similar counterparts in Catholicism The major differences are in the belief in the Trinity and organization. I do not find Catholics as firmly embedded in trinitarian belief as other Christian denominations, even though the crucifix is the most visible aspect of a Catholic Church, there are very few prayers addressed specifically to Jesus(as), I can only think of one and that is the "Liturgy of the Sacred Heart" which is rarely recited There are groups within Catholicism, such as the Sacred Heart Society, that do pray almost exclusively to Jesus(as) but in most Churches they are a very small number

On a personal basis the biggest difference between Catholicism and Islam is the organization of clergy and Papal Authority. I find little in Islam a Catholic would be in disagreement with, but there are many things in Catholicism a Muslim disagrees with.

Now getting back to why I think Catholic's are more receptive to Islam then other religions is because the majority of what a Muslim would find erroneous about Catholicism, are the same things some Catholics also have trouble accepting

I think there is some other factor besides Catholics becoming dissatisfied with Catholicism that makes the route to Islam being the most logical choice Initially after leaving Catholicism I tried a few Pentecostal/Evangelical/Fundamental type denominations but found even more faults there than I did in Catholicism

I am not the only revert from Catholicism here, perhaps some of the others will give input

 

[Amadeus85]

you haven't put a flaw in the argument though as to why the numbers of converts is so huge especially in this day and age when Islam is so maligned!

all the best

Why the numbers of converts are so high? Actually I am in quite close contact with the news and informations from catholic world and so far I haven't noticed any informations about high numbers of catholics converting to islam. Moreover, I have never met any news about priests or candidates for priests converting to other religions. Every day I spend some time on catholic websites, those traditional, its fact, but I know thinking of these people. I know that they are the last persons to leave their faith and choose other. I have read many books of them, I know how much sacrifices they bare, for following catholicism without any liberal or modernistic additions.

As I said before, typical catholic who leaves his faith and choose another is so called "non practising" believer. He thinks "Oh how my country is immoral, people are drunkards, women are easy, everything is full of sex and lie", he read in internet about other religions, and he sees -"In muslim world there are no drunkards, women are pure, everything is strict, I like it". This is typical attitude.

Someone who read a lot, who has deep knowledge, he knows that nowadays there is no country with true catholic state (last were Spain and Portugal in 60's in XX century). Our countries has nowadays systems foreign to us, coming from completely different way of thinking. So everything what we can do now, is to follow the teachings, commandments, live a good life without sin, spend time with family, work hard, read good books. And pray that one day europeans will reject the systems and philosophies which were condemned by popes many times in past.

So far the fellowship of the ring is not numerous, and the forces of Sauron are countless. But nevertheless we must preserve the seeds of truth, because in future it may be used by next generations.

 

[Grace Seeker]

Now getting back to why I think Catholic's are more receptive to Islam then other religions is because....[/qupte]
Woodrow, is it a true statement that Catholics are in fact more receptive to Islam than to other religions? I don't know. I don't have any numbers to say with certainty one way or the other, do you? But if your statement is true, then that would mean that for every 100 Catholics that leave Catholicism, more of them become Muslim than become some other form of Christian or drop out of faith communities all together. Based on my own personal observations, that is not what I see actually happening. If you do and I don't I wonder if it is because of where we happen to be ourselves. Maybe it would be good to see if we could find any research on this subject that might have been carried out by the Catholic Church as to where their members go when they leave the church?

I think there is some other factor besides Catholics becoming dissatisfied with Catholicism that makes the route to Islam being the most logical choice Initially after leaving Catholicism...

By this statement do you mean that the route to Islam was logical for you and others who ended up there, or that in general it is the more logical route for anyone who would leave Catholicism?



You see, I can understand that there are things that Islam and Catholicism have in common. (There are things that Islam has in common with my beliefs as well.) But there are also things that they do not have in common. Which of those are going to be the directing forces for one who leaves Catholicism is, I suspect, the determining factor in the direction one goes after leaving the Catholic Church. If those things that Islam and Catholicism share are what the person is rejecting in Catholicism, it does not seem very logical that such a person would migrate to Islam. Likewise if one was leaving Catholicism and still seeking the things that it shares with Islam then one might consider Islam, but what if even more of those things were found in a different branch of Christianity? Then it would be more logical to go there instead of Islam.

It seems to me that each person's story is going to be unique to his/her own circumstance, feelings, ideas, ideals, and what they are searching for. For some Islam will be the place they settle, and for some it will be elsewhere. But until we take all of these stories together in aggregate form, I don't know that one can, with confidence, make assertions such as:

Roman Catholics, especially Roman Catholic Priests and Seminarians revert at a higher rate than any other Christian Denomination.

I understand that we can theorize as to why it may or may not be the case from many different perspecitves. But, if you or anyone has them, I would like to see some numbers that indicating to what degree that is a statement of fact rather than of personal opinion.

 

[Supreme]

Woodrow, it's funny. I can't understand exactly what Catholicism and Islam have in common all that much. Other than the strict rules of both religions. Rather, I'd say my religion, Protestant Christainity, is closer. And here's why:

1) Protestants pray to God like Muslims. No Virgin Mary or saint 'middle man' so to speak.
2) Protestant churches and Islamic mosques to do not tolerate idols of God or prophets/saints in them.
3) Textual criticism- Protestants, especially liberal ones, reject the Catholic idea that the Bible is an infallable word of God, an idea not to be found in Catholicism.
4) Fantics- both Protestants and Muslims have their fair share of these.
5) Dynamcy- The most dynamic religions in the modern world today are popular Protestantism and resurgent Islam.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam_and_Protestantism

 

[جوري]

Why the numbers of converts are so high? Actually I am in quite close contact with the news and informations from catholic world and so far I haven't noticed any informations about high numbers of catholics converting to islam.

care to share your secret sources in a verifiable statistical fashion?
I know that any institution in order to keep its integrity has to dispense with certain 'facts' to its followers to quell them from the changes in the tide..


all the best

 

[sur]

...... especially Roman Catholic Priests and Seminarians revert at a higher rate than any other Christian Denomination.
...

I noticed that too when i would watch videos of converts, most of them were Catholics before...

When I searched about differences b/w Protestants & Catholics, I found that Catholics keep "Apocrypha" as part of bible, including "Gospel of Barnabas" (Correct me if I am wrong)..... & somewhere in these books, Prophet Muhammad(saww) has been mentioned by name... Also they mention Barnabas saw Jesus(Eesa) smiling on a tree while jews were crucifying his look-alike....


So one reason of more Catholics converting, i thought was that Catholics read those books that have been thrown out by Protestants ...

 

[Woodrow]

Now getting back to why I think Catholic's are more receptive to Islam then other religions is because....[/qupte]
Woodrow, is it a true statement that Catholics are in fact more receptive to Islam than to other religions? I don't know. I don't have any numbers to say with certainty one way or the other, do you? But if your statement is true, then that would mean that for every 100 Catholics that leave Catholicism, more of them become Muslim than become some other form of Christian or drop out of faith communities all together. Based on my own personal observations, that is not what I see actually happening. If you do and I don't I wonder if it is because of where we happen to be ourselves. Maybe it would be good to see if we could find any research on this subject that might have been carried out by the Catholic Church as to where their members go when they leave the church?

Peace Gene,

I just realized I am actually discussing 3 separate topics.

Topic One: Most reverts to Islam are former Catholics.

That is only my own observation and based only on the people I know. I should have clarified that with my first statement and a better choice would have been to say: "Most reverts to Islam, I know, are former Catholics."


Topic Two: Most Catholics that leave Catholicism revert to Islam.

I can see how my responses brought that about. But, that is something I actually have no opinion nor any supporting facts about. Something I had no business bringing up.




Topic Three: Why do Roman Catholics revert to Islam.

That is what it was original intent to discuss. I gave my opinions and am seeking the views and opinions from others. I know why I myself reverted and I know why I found it to be easy. I would like to learn if other reverts feel the same.

By this statement do you mean that the route to Islam was logical for you and others who ended up there, or that in general it is the more logical route for anyone who would leave Catholicism?

To me the acceptance of Islam was very easy and looking back I see it was the most logical choice for me. For myself I find Islam to be the Completion of what Catholicism was supposed to be. I did try other paths, but I only found Islam to be complete.

You see, I can understand that there are things that Islam and Catholicism have in common. (There are things that Islam has in common with my beliefs as well.) But there are also things that they do not have in common. Which of those are going to be the directing forces for one who leaves Catholicism is, I suspect, the determining factor in the direction one goes after leaving the Catholic Church. If those things that Islam and Catholicism share are what the person is rejecting in Catholicism, it does not seem very logical that such a person would migrate to Islam. Likewise if one was leaving Catholicism and still seeking the things that it shares with Islam then one might consider Islam, but what if even more of those things were found in a different branch of Christianity? Then it would be more logical to go there instead of Islam.

I believe you are correct here. I also agree that would be a very interesting study. While I feel that many other reverts from Catholicism see Islam as being a very normal choice and is a fulfillment. It is a very interesting thought to see how many have left Catholicism, but chose paths other than Islam.

It seems to me that each person's story is going to be unique to his/her own circumstance, feelings, ideas, ideals, and what they are searching for. For some Islam will be the place they settle, and for some it will be elsewhere. But until we take all of these stories together in aggregate form, I don't know that one can, with confidence, make assertions such as:

Roman Catholics, especially Roman Catholic Priests and Seminarians revert at a higher rate than any other Christian Denomination.

I understand that we can theorize as to why it may or may not be the case from many different perspecitves. But, if you or anyone has them, I would like to see some numbers that indicating to what degree that is a statement of fact rather than of personal opinion.

I also would be interested in seeing that.

 

[Woodrow]

I noticed that too when i would watch videos of converts, most of them were Catholics before...

When I searched about differences b/w Protestants & Catholics, I found that Catholics keep "Apocrypha" as part of bible, including "Gospel of Barnabas" (Correct me if I am wrong)..... & somewhere in these books, Prophet Muhammad(saww) has been mentioned by name... Also they mention Barnabas saw Jesus(Eesa) smiling on a tree while jews were crucifying his look-alike....


So one reason of more Catholics converting, i thought was that Catholics read those books that have been thrown out by Protestants ...

That is a plausible thought. While the Catholic Bible does have books not in the KJV the NT for both are basically the same.

While the Gospel of Barnabas is not part of the Catholic Bible, many Catholics have read it, I know as a seminarian it was one I had to read for familiarization and possible critique, refutation.

For Catholics who have read the Gospel of Barnabas, it could easily be a starting point onto the road of Islam

 

[Woodrow]

I was asked to clarify what I meant by Pilgrimage in an earlier post.

Catholics are strong believers in making pilgrimages.

Here is a link to the best known sites for Pilgrimage:

http://www.sacred-destinations.com/sacred-sites/catholic-shrines.htm

 

[Grace Seeker]

I finally found a study Religious Conversion in 40 Countries. The countries studied are:

Australia
Austria
Belgium
Bulgaria
Belarus
Canada
Switzerland
Chile
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Spain
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
U.K. (Britain)
Greece
Croatia
Hungary
Ireland
Iceland
Israel
Italy
Japan
Lithuania
Latvia
Netherlands
Norway
New Zealand
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Russia
Slovak Republic
Slovenia
Sweden
Ukraine
United States​

The results include survey nearly 70,000 people. Of that sample, 29,456 were raise Catholic and 26,866 are currently Catholic. The sample had only a small number of Muslim respondants, but did report a healthly increase as of the 485 current Muslims surveyed, only 458 reported that they had been raised Muslim, a net increase of 5.9%.


Of the survey's respondents who reported changing their religious affiliation, the survey reported that 4091 left Catholicism for something else and 1501 chose to become Catholic that had not be raised that way, for a net loss of 2590, or a 8.8% decrease. Of the 4091 who left Catholicism for something else, by far, the vast majority (3386, 82.7%) simply dropped religion altogether. The next biggest place that former Catholic found themselves was in protestant churches, 421 or 10.3% of Catholics who left Catholicism found themselves in protestant churches. Only 4 of the 4092 people who left the Catholic Church in this survey of nearly 70,000 people in 40 countries reported that they had reverted to Isalm, a figure representing less than 0.1% of all Catholics who left the Catholic faith.

The some total of all who were not raise Muslim but reverted to Islam was 55. Of this group, the largest faction came from those who had no prior religious afflication, 35 individuals or 63.6% of new Muslims had belonged to no previous religion. Among those who had a faith background, people of Jewish background were among those most likely to convert to Islam; there numbers were matched by protestant converts, each group reporting 7 who left their ranks to become Muslims. Each group them made up roughly12.7% of all new Muslims in the survey, but given that the number of Jewish adherents from which to draw is less than 1/10th ofthe number of protestant (and that aggregate Catholic numbers are larger than protestant figures), this means a significantly larger percentage of Jews converting to Islam than any other religious group. With regard to Catholicism, the actual number of new Muslims who reported that they had been raised Catholic was 4, or 7.3% of those new to Islam.


My review of the sampling process for this survey indicates that there was a bias to western cultures. So, there may be higher conversion rates among Catholics raised in non-western cultures, but certainly for those of us reporting from Europe and the Americas the reality is that what has been reflected by the personal observation of those who have noticed a larger number of Catholic reverts in their personal lives and on YouTube is going to have to find another explanation, for the reality is that Catholics in these countries are reverting to Islam at a lesser rate than all other Christians (except the Orthodox), and that it is those of no previous faith who are the majority of those adopting Islam as reverts from outside of the Ummah.


-----------------------------------------------
Oh, and I've included a link to the survey if anyone wants to read it. My college major included writing similar papers, so I was familiar with the terminology and techniques used to produce the analysis that they did. It didn't really go to the point of this thread and so I spent more than an hour re-working and analyzing the data to make it productive for the purposes of our discussion here. I say that as a warning, that if anyone wants to challenge these results they had better be able to back it up with data (not opinion, conjecture, or simply another person story) of their own.

 

[Woodrow]

I finally found a study Religious Conversion in 40 Countries. The countries studied are:

Australia
Austria
Belgium
Bulgaria
Belarus
Canada
Switzerland
Chile
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Spain
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
U.K. (Britain)
Greece
Croatia
Hungary
Ireland
Iceland
Israel
Italy
Japan
Lithuania
Latvia
Netherlands
Norway
New Zealand
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Russia
Slovak Republic
Slovenia
Sweden
Ukraine
United States​

The results include survey nearly 70,000 people. Of that sample, 29,456 were raise Catholic and 26,866 are currently Catholic. The sample had only a small number of Muslim respondants, but did report a healthly increase as of the 485 current Muslims surveyed, only 458 reported that they had been raised Muslim, a net increase of 5.9%.


Of the survey's respondents who reported changing their religious affiliation, the survey reported that 4091 left Catholicism for something else and 1501 chose to become Catholic that had not be raised that way, for a net loss of 2590, or a 8.8% decrease. Of the 4091 who left Catholicism for something else, by far, the vast majority (3386, 82.7%) simply dropped religion altogether. The next biggest place that former Catholic found themselves was in protestant churches, 421 or 10.3% of Catholics who left Catholicism found themselves in protestant churches. Only 4 of the 4092 people who left the Catholic Church in this survey of nearly 70,000 people in 40 countries reported that they had reverted to Isalm, a figure representing less than 0.1% of all Catholics who left the Catholic faith.

The some total of all who were not raise Muslim but reverted to Islam was 55. Of this group, the largest faction came from those who had no prior religious afflication, 35 individuals or 63.6% of new Muslims had belonged to no previous religion. Among those who had a faith background, people of Jewish background were among those most likely to convert to Islam; there numbers were matched by protestant converts, each group reporting 7 who left their ranks to become Muslims. Each group them made up roughly12.7% of all new Muslims in the survey, but given that the number of Jewish adherents from which to draw is less than 1/10th ofthe number of protestant (and that aggregate Catholic numbers are larger than protestant figures), this means a significantly larger percentage of Jews converting to Islam than any other religious group. With regard to Catholicism, the actual number of new Muslims who reported that they had been raised Catholic was 4, or 7.3% of those new to Islam.


My review of the sampling process for this survey indicates that there was a bias to western cultures. So, there may be higher conversion rates among Catholics raised in non-western cultures, but certainly for those of us reporting from Europe and the Americas the reality is that what has been reflected by the personal observation of those who have noticed a larger number of Catholic reverts in their personal lives and on YouTube is going to have to find another explanation, for the reality is that Catholics in these countries are reverting to Islam at a lesser rate than all other Christians (except the Orthodox), and that it is those of no previous faith who are the majority of those adopting Islam as reverts from outside of the Ummah.

Peace Gene,

Needless to say that shot a big hole in my Theory. But verifiable facts are facts even if they are different from what I expected. I do appreciate your effort and Thank You for your time.

Now I am curious to find why most reverts I personally know are former Catholics. Nearly all reverts I know personally are from the Dakotas, Minnesota and Texas none of which seem to have a high Catholic Population,
Yet except for 8 Native American Reverts I know, every revert I know was at one time Catholic.

 

[Grace Seeker]

Peace Gene,

Needless to say that shot a big hole in my Theory. But verifiable facts are facts even if they are different from what I expected. I do appreciate your effort and Thank You for your time.

Now I am curious to find why most reverts I personally know are former Catholics. Nearly all reverts I know personally are from the Dakotas, Minnesota and Texas none of which seem to have a high Catholic Population,
Yet except for 8 Native American Reverts I know, every revert I know was at one time Catholic.

I have a theory, and again it is only a theory, that most people are attracted to like-minded people as themselves, people with whom we have things in common. In your case, as a person who has made the transition from Catholicism to Islam, it maybe be that you are going to naturally find people who have a similar background to you.

But I think there is a second issue that is perhaps even more pertinent. Have you ever had the experience of buying a new (or at least new to you) car? I'm always amazed that it doesn't matter what model I buy, but there are immediatley more of them on the road the day after. Now, I don't really suppose that everyone is running out the same day I am buying the same model car I am. Rather, I suspect that I suddenly become more aware of it because I now own that model. I wonder if you had come to Islam out of some other faith background than Catholicism if you wouldn't be amazed at how many of those folk you ran into.

And then there is the other thing that I learned in studying statistics. The odds of flipping a coin and having it land heads is only 50% on each and every flip. So, even the odds of it landing heads 10 times in a row is less than .1%, if it has already landed heads the last 9 times in a row, the odds of it landing heads the next time and making 10 in a row is still exactly 50%. And if you flip a coin long enough, you are going to have that one time out of a thousand that you end up with a streak of 10 heads in a row. So, you might be just that lucky person that happens to know Catholic reverts, because, given enough different options, it is going to happen to someone sometime.

 

[Woodrow]

I have a theory, and again it is only a theory, that most people are attracted to like-minded people as themselves, people with whom we have things in common. In your case, as a person who has made the transition from Catholicism to Islam, it maybe be that you are going to naturally find people who have a similar background to you.

But I think there is a second issue that is perhaps even more pertinent. Have you ever had the experience of buying a new (or at least new to you) car? I'm always amazed that it doesn't matter what model I buy, but there are immediatley more of them on the road the day after. Now, I don't really suppose that everyone is running out the same day I am buying the same model car I am. Rather, I suspect that I suddenly become more aware of it because I now own that model. I wonder if you had come to Islam out of some other faith background than Catholicism if you wouldn't be amazed at how many of those folk you ran into.

And then there is the other thing that I learned in studying statistics. The odds of flipping a coin and having it land heads is only 50% on each and every flip. So, even the odds of it landing heads 10 times in a row is less than .1%, if it has already landed heads the last 9 times in a row, the odds of it landing heads the next time and making 10 in a row is still exactly 50%. And if you flip a coin long enough, you are going to have that one time out of a thousand that you end up with a streak of 10 heads in a row. So, you might be just that lucky person that happens to know Catholic reverts, because, given enough different options, it is going to happen to someone sometime.

I believe your first paragraph may be what I am seeing.

I have a theory, and again it is only a theory, that most people are attracted to like-minded people as themselves, people with whom we have things in common. In your case, as a person who has made the transition from Catholicism to Islam, it maybe be that you are going to naturally find people who have a similar background to you.

Reflecting over the reverts I know best, we do have very similar back grounds and likes and dislikes.

Also, we tend to be a bit of extroverts and those around us are very much aware of what our views are. Might be that some of us former Catholics are very vocal about telling people we are former Catholics.

 

[Italianguy]

Could explain why I am here......I was Raised Roman Catholic, with a sprinkle of Orthodox.

 

[Saghas]

I am a Roman Catholic (a traditionalist no less). I am comfortable with Islam in many ways because like some have said before in this thread-it is not much of a leap. Especially from a traditionalist perspective.

We pray at least three times a day.
Fast and do penance often.
Ritually cleanse ourselves before prayer (sign of the cross w/ holy water)
Women must be covered and wear head covering in church
Set roles of women and men
Importance of Scripture. etc

But I am not comfortable with Islam in many other ways because especially within the traditionalist community, many see Islam as the biggest threat to the Church and the faithful in the world. They see Islam as being a demonic force in the world that will cripple the Church unless it is stopped. I have been hearing this for three years now and it is a minor miracle I am looking into Islam again now because last week I agreed with them...

I am struggling right now though. I am begging any and all former Catholics on here that have become Muslim to either respond here or PM me and tell me how and why they became Muslim. I need some help. I am torn, I want to follow God but I cannot tell whether Catholicism or Islam is correct. I do not want to end up in Hell...I just want to please God.

pax vobiscum

 

[Muslim Woman]

Salaam/Peace

..I am not comfortable with Islam in many other ways

Did u read holy Quran ? What's your main doubt / objection about it ?

I pray that God will help you to find out the truth .

 

[Italianguy]

Woodrow, it's funny. I can't understand exactly what Catholicism and Islam have in common all that much. Other than the strict rules of both religions. Rather, I'd say my religion, Protestant Christainity, is closer. And here's why:

1) Protestants pray to God like Muslims. No Virgin Mary or saint 'middle man' so to speak.
2) Protestant churches and Islamic mosques to do not tolerate idols of God or prophets/saints in them.
3) Textual criticism- Protestants, especially liberal ones, reject the Catholic idea that the Bible is an infallable word of God, an idea not to be found in Catholicism.
4) Fantics- both Protestants and Muslims have their fair share of these.
5) Dynamcy- The most dynamic religions in the modern world today are popular Protestantism and resurgent Islam.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam_and_Protestantism

As a former traditional Roman Catholic, I still pray in prostrate just like my family from the old country. I am protestant and can not agree with number 3. Your right, no Idols! Fanatics are everywhere in every faith, that's undeniable. Last one is true.

God be with you brother!