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You will probably get many answers to the question! As a Lutheran pastor I'll give you one take! (I''ll try to make it short!)
1st: Catholic is Christian. Christians are all those who believe that Jesus is Lord; the son of God, savior of the world. There are many different ways of understanding what that means for our lives. Catholic actually means Universal. Many Christians will tell you they are part of the catholic (small c) church. Catholic (with a capital C) usually refers to the Roman Catholic Church.
A history lesson: Christianity began as a kind of Judaism. After Jesus of Nazareth was crucified, his followers believed that he was resurrected to life by God. He appeared to them and sent them out to share the Good News. As they shared the message of God's love and salvation, the church grew to include many non-jews and became separate from Judaism. At first Christan leaders gathered in councils to solve theological questions. The Nicene Creed used by many denominations grew our of two such councils (One at Nicea and a later one at Constaninople). The Church split into two branches - Eastern (Orthodox) and Western (Roman Catholic). For Roman Catholics, the head of the church is the Pope. They believe the first pope was Simon Peter, the disciple of Jesus.
In the middle ages a number of people tried to reform the western church; they were either put to death (John Hus) or excommunicated (Martin Luther). Eventually, this developed into the Protestant church. The Protestant "principle" is that we are justified (made right) with God, by Christ alone, through faith alone, apart from the works of the law. Again however, there are many denominations (Lutherans, Episcopalians, Methodists, Presbyterians, Baptist, Assembly of God, just to name a few). Trust me - this is a brief explanation!
Different denominations have different understandings of subjects like baptism, communion, the Holy Spirit, etc. Some groups prefer a formal worship service, others like informality (or like the Quakers, silence).
Some protestant Christians believe that their way of worshiping God is the only way, and that people who believe differently aren't Christian. Roman Catholics historically said the same about Protestant Christians. (I can't tell if God is laughing or crying!)
Again - I've left out a LOT. If you have any specific questions, e-mail, pm, or im me and I'll try to help.
I hope this was clearer than mud!
Kathy
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