Catholicism: An Introduction

by Peter Stanford

This is a comprehensive guide to the Catholic faith. It begins by focusing on the essential beliefs of Catholicism before delving into the history of the Catholic church and the roots of its traditions and practices.

Genres: Nonfiction, Religion, Christianity

256 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2008

Reviews

[Paige · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super interesting read and the perfect book I needed coming into learning more about Catholicism as a general overview. Loved that they focused a lot on history and the hard line aspects of the church, while also lightly touching on some more contemporary debates.

[Brian Want · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a concise and reasonably comprehensive overview of Catholicism directed at a general audience. I read it specifically for a brief review of Church history (before diving into some other more detailed history books), but I found the other sections to be informative as well. As an introductory text, this book provides a sound and straightforward jumping-off point.

I suspect some of the lower ratings and negative reviews are from people who were looking for something on how to *be* a Catholic, whereas this book is really a more of a basic, neutral-toned reference on Catholicism as a religion: history, major figures, core beliefs and practices, structure, current issues, etc.

[Kat]

I finished this book in a few days. It was a great overview of Catholicism. It was unbiased and gave me a better understanding of Catholicism as a whole. It covered every area that I still had questions about.

[Shaun · Rating 1 out of 5]

Painfully, and woefully secular slanted. Now I completely understand why the book doesn't bear the Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur. If you are a Seeker this is NOT the book for you.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gives a good account on what Catholicism is. Does exactly what the book says.