Why We're Catholic: Our Reasons for Faith, Hope, and Love

by Trent Horn

How can you believe all this stuff? This is the number one question Catholics get asked - and, sometimes, we ask ourselves. Why do we believe that God exists, that he became a man and came to save us, that what looks like a wafer of bread is actually his body? Why do we believe that he inspired a holy book and founded an infallible Church to teach us the one true way to live?

Ever since he became Catholic, Trent Horn has spent a lot of time answering these questions, trying to explain to friends, family, and total strangers the reasons for his faith. Some didn't believe in God or even in the existence of truth. Others said they were spiritual but didn't think you needed religion to be happy. Some were Christians who thought Catholic doctrines overcomplicated the pure gospel. And some were fellow Catholics who had a hard time understanding everything they professed to believe on Sunday.

Why We're Catholic assembles the clearest, friendliest, most helpful answers that Trent learned to give to all these people and more. Beginning with how we can know reality and ending with our hope of eternal life, it's the perfect way to help skeptics and seekers (or Catholics who want to firm up their faith) understand the evidence that bolsters our belief - and brings us joy.

Genres: Catholic, Religion, Faith, Christian, Christianity, Nonfiction, Theology

Audible Audio

Published February 22, 2019

About the author

After his conversion to the Catholic faith, Trent Horn pursued an undergraduate degree in history from Arizona State University. He then earned a graduate degree in theology from Franciscan University of Steubenville and is currently pursuing a graduate degree in philosophy from Holy Apostles College.

Trent is a regular guest on the radio program Catholic Answers Live, a lecturer who speaks across the country on issues related to the Catholic faith, and the author of two books, Answering Atheism and Persuasive Pro-life.

Reviews

[Amora · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book quite succinctly explains Catholic dogma. For many months I’ve been struggling to understand Catholic principles and this book did a wonderful job explaining them. This book makes the case for justification through faith and work, the papacy, Christ being present at the Eucharist, and immaculate conception. This book also makes the case against Sola Scirptura, which is what classic Protestants like Martin Luther and John Calvin argued for. Anyone interested in understanding Catholic philosophy should give this a read!

[Steven R. McEvoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book right after reading Why I Am Catholic (and You Should Be Too) by Brandon Vogt. In some ways there is a number of similarities, and both speak specifically about the example of Saint Damien of Molokai. This was also the 10th book by Trent Horn that I have read this year. With each of his books that I read I am more impressed with his writing, his faith, his knowledge and his love of sharing these three things. Now having read a number of his books in such a short time, there were a number of times where I felt like I had read this passage before. He uses some of the same examples or arguments as his other books. But to be honest this book was a wonderful read.

The chapters in this book are:
Introduction: Why We Believe . . . Anything
1. Why We Believe in Truth
2. Why We Believe in Science
3. Why We Believe in a Creator
4. Why We Believe in God
5. Why We Believe God Conquers Evil
6. Why We Believe in Jesus
7. Why We Believe in the Resurrection
8. Why We Believe in the Trinity
9. Why We Believe in the Bible
10. Why We Aren’t Bible-Only Christians
11. Why We Belong to the Catholic Church
12. Why We Have a Pope
13. Why We Have Priests
14. Why We Go to Mass
15. Why We Baptize Babies
16. Why We Believe in Spite of Scandal
17. Why We Believe that Faith Works Through Love
18. Why We Believe in Purgatory
19. Why We Pray to the Saints
20. Why We Honor Mary
21. Why We Protect Life
22. Why We Cherish Our Sexuality
23. Why We Defend Marriage
24. Why We Believe There’s a Hell
25.Why We Hope for Heaven
How to Become Catholic
How to Go to Confession
Common Catholic Prayers
Endnotes

Two sections in the book immediately struck a chord with me; first the section on Saint Damien or Molokai, of whom I have been reading about and researching for over a decade now. And second Father Emil Kapaun, whom I only discovered last year. Both of these men have inspired me and finding them both called out as examples in this book hit me. But let’s go back to the beginning, in the introduction Trent states:

“I don’t look at people who’ve left the Catholic Church or who aren’t Catholic as potential “customers.” They’re just people. They have things they love and things they hate. They may differ from me in lots of ways, but they almost certainly have one thing in common with me: they don’t want to be ignorant and they do want to be happy. I became Catholic in high school because 1) I thought it was true, and 2) finding answers to my deepest questions about existence and purpose made me happy.

It would be selfish of me to keep to myself the peace and joy I receive from being Catholic, so I share this “good news” with others. My aim in this book is simple: to explain why Catholics believe what they believe. I haven’t given every explanation I can think of, because most people aren’t in a rush to read a book that is so thick it can double as a step stool. Instead, I’ve presented the reasons that made the biggest impact on me during my conversion to the Catholic faith.”

This book is designed to strengthen your faith, and help you be able to explain it and defend it. It is not all encompassing but it does a great job of covering many of the basics. Throughout the book there are ‘side boxes’ pieces that explain deeper, or give examples of what is being talked about in that section of the book. Another great feature is that each chapter ends with three or more bullet points reinforcing what Catholics believe from the topic of that specific chapter. One of the most powerful side boxes is:

WHO STARTED YOUR CHURCH?
• Calvary Chapel, 1965: Chuck Smith
• Mormon church, 1830: Joseph Smith
• Disciples of Christ, 1809: Thomas Campbell
• Baptist church, 1609: John Smyth
• Presbyterian church, 1560: John Knox
• Calvinist church, 1536: John Calvin
• Lutheran church, 1517: Martin Luther
• Eastern Orthodox church, 1054: Eastern Patriarchs
• Catholic Church, 33: Jesus Christ

And at the end of the book is a mini prayer book of common prayers. These eight prayers are the basis of so many popular Catholic devotions, or parts of a plan of life. And then there is an extensive section of end notes with quotes, and sources to go deeper.

I have read just shy of 200 books so far this year, of those 200, 105 were Catholic and this is one of the best out of all of that reading. Another incredible book from Catholic Answers, and written by Trent Horn. Pick it up you will be challenged, become more firmly rooted and prepared to answer hard questions about your faith!

Read the review on my blog Book Reviews and More and reviews of other books by Trent Horn.

Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: 2017 Catholic Reading Plan!

[Danielle · Rating 2 out of 5]

I struggle with reviewing this because it comes out as a review of the Church or my faith, as opposed to a review of the book itself. My main issue with the book is that in its brevity, it does little more than answer questions about Catholicism with "because the Bible says so". I suppose I expected something more profound from this little 240 page book, which perhaps is a problem of expectations and not the book itself.

[John Schafer]

This is an excellent overview of the core beliefs of the Catholic Church and serves as a reference guide to clearly and concisely articulate the reasoning behind these beliefs.

[Susie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very enlightening

I enjoyed this book. It explains many things I did not fully understand about Catholicism as a Methodist. I found it to be logical, sincere and well expressed. We have more in common than I previously thought. Thank you for this book

[Audrey Monahan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book taught me a bit about Catholicism that I didn't know and did a great job articulating some of the ideas that I knew and understood internally but wouldn't know how to express to others. I would highly recommend this book to any Catholics who struggle with their relationship with the Catholic Church, anyone thinking about becoming Catholic, or anyone who is curious about the teachings and practices of the Catholic Church.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good beginning introduction for someone who doesn't know much about the Catholic faith and wants a jumping off point from the biggest "hot topics." Anyone who is interested in the faith or wants a refresher on how to talk beginning apologetics should read this. Great resource!

[Adriana · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

This book goes over a lot about the Catholic faith including what we believe about God, Jesus, the Bible, the Church, the Sacraments, Saints, sins, morality, and the afterlife. I felt like I was reintroduced to some topics and even learned some new things about my faith. It reaffirmed my belief that being born into a Catholic family has been one of the best gifts given to me. There was one passage on sexuality that I honestly haven't been convinced of as of yet. Otherwise, I enjoyed reading Why We're Catholic and I believe I'll be going back to it from time to time because it is a great resource on the Catholic faith.

[Yas · Rating 5 out of 5]

very enlightening and informative! I can’t stress enough how much everyone needs to read this, Catholic or Non-Catholic. It answered and discussed the many questions I had and has made me grow closer to Him❤️

[Brandi Garcia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was given to me by a Catholic relative. I often have questions for this relative concerning Catholicism. I am not surprised that I agreed with many of the beliefs held by the Catholic Church. ie: The Trinity, Virgin Birth, Resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Sanctity of Life, Biblical Sexual Ethic and so on.

As far at the writing of this book, I think it was put together really well. The chapters were short and written in a way that anyone would understand; laymen’s terms so to speak. However, when a person is trying to make a case for something, it irritates me when they state something and follow with, “so, we can only conclude…” I feel like it’s a form of manipulation and at best a logical fallacy.

In the end, the writer did not convince me to convert to Catholicism, but I did appreciate learning what Catholics believe and why they believe it.

[Maryann Masci · Rating 4 out of 5]

Why we're Catholic

I found this book an easy read about my faith and an easy understanding of a way to he'll explain our Catholic faith.

[Savannah Prieto · Rating 5 out of 5]

It took me so long to finish this book but I’m excited to finally start reading other books!!!

[Will K · Rating 5 out of 5]

Trent Horn accurately describes Catholic beliefs, and his case in favor of Catholicism is fair, logically structured, and I believe he dedicates a reasonable amount of time examining counter arguments.

Highly recommend to anyone who is curious about Catholicism, or to anyone atheist, protestant or otherwise who wishes to debate Catholicism; Trent is one of our best modern apologists.

Viva Christo rey!

[Patty Betts · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book along with the Holy Scriptures and other studies have had such an impact on our family in which the Lord has used to lead us to become Catholics. I highly recommend all to read this book along with Gods WORD if you have questions about Catholicism. I was born Catholic but left when I was a teen to follow the non-denominational church and at the age of 47 I am finally coming home with all the questions answered. Thank you Jesus for using this book and so many others who help us understand…I highly recommend!!

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Trent Horn begins at the beginning: why do we believe in God? Then he goes on to Jesus and the Bible - why do we believe Jesus is God, and that the Bible is the inspired word of God? Then he moves on to the Church and her sacraments. Why the Catholic Church? Why the Pope? Why priests and the Mass? Then he moves on to some of the "hiccups" for Protestants - the saints, Mary, purgatory, etc. Finally, he concludes with morality: abortion, sex, marriage, heaven, and hell.

I found this book to be kind of a basic foundation of the Faith. I can see how it would be very helpful to:

A) someone who is curious about Catholicism and wants to understand it better (or has a loved one who is Catholic and just wants to understand them better);
B) someone who is considering converting to Catholicism;
C) a new convert who is not solid on the basic foundations of their faith;
D) someone who needs easy definitions to central Catholic beliefs to share with others.

There were a few parts in here that were pure gold from an apologetics stand-point. Certain things about the Church can be so difficult to explain to non-Catholics, but Mr. Horn lays it out with clarity, in such a way that it is easy for anyone to grasp. He covers a wide range of topics, but doesn't necessarily go into great depth. This book will equip you with a basic foundation of knowledge about Catholicism.

[Coleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did not need to read this book to find out why I'm a Catholic. Born into a Catholic family, baptized when I was two weeks old, attending Catholic school until I graduated from high school, married a Catholic, etc. these and more all made me a Catholic.

But I wanted to read the book because I was interested in what the REASONS for being a Catholic are: the reasons for faith, hope and love, as indicated in the subtitle of the book.
Yes, I must admit that much of the book's reasoning is fairly sound and I would agree with what was written. But I found myself arguing with some of the author's logic and reasoning and asking myself if what he wrote there in the book was what I really believed.

So I thought that perhaps I was just playing the Devil's Advocate in trying to force Trent Horn to persuade me that he was correct. Honestly, I did not think that I agreed with him about some of his premises, and I wondered if I would be a Catholic if I had to rely on his explanations.

This is not to say that I do not believe in the Creed and the main teachings of the Catholic Church because I do, but reading this book - I'm not sure I would have been convinced.

[Aidan Bravo · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book to me was okay I know a lot about my faith already so reading this didn’t really expand it much further like I thought it would. Even though the book wasn’t very educational it was still a good read for myself to reflect on myself as a growing young man. Trent horn made this book to help teach you more in depth about the readings and Gospels to dive down deeper into scripture. “ the fourth pope speaks, at the end of the first century, the fourth Pope, Clement, reminded the Christians in the city of Corinth about the reality of apostolic succession.” This quote stood out to me because Pope clement had done many things for the Catholic Church and in sixth grade my teacher taught us a lot about him. One fun fact about him was that he survived the Bubonic Plague while six of his cardinals passed away from it. Overall the book by Trent Horn, was well written if you want to learn more about God. He did a good job of relating the stories back to each other and matching them well together.

[BoB Lever · Rating 5 out of 5]

I gave this five stars because the book is exactly what it intended to be. I couldn’t say I enjoyed it so much - I didn’t learn anything new. The book is an easy read and full of valuable information, arguments and references. If you’re a regular listener to Catholic Answers Live you’ve probably heard Trent Horn speak most of what he’s written here. This book would be great for one who is unfamiliar with The Catholic Church. It touches on nearly all aspects of the faith completely in a clear and concise presentation.

[Josh Kelley · Rating 1 out of 5]

If Trent Horn wrote this book as an attempt to convert non-believers to Catholicism, he’s done a terrible job. I would give this book negative stars if I could. He does good enough when explaining his belief in a higher power and while I don’t agree with his views on that, I can at least see his reasoning behind it, but then we get to Jesus and it all goes downhill from there.

“Jesus believed he was God, and we can trust him”
-Actual quote from page 46 of the book

Everything from then on is just different ways of saying “Because the Bible says so”. Don’t waste your time with this book.

[Cole Peaden · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a Protestant, I felt that this was an excellent introduction to the core beliefs of Catholicism. It cuts right through the noise of incoherent debates, and gets directly to the heart of the beliefs. I thoroughly enjoyed the sources listed that were from scientific articles, secular newspapers, Protestant reformers, Church Fathers, and many more. You can tell that the author wrote the book in a way to convey the points logically and allow the reader to come to their own conclusion. I really enjoyed this book and am coming away with questions about Protestantism to say the very least.

[Kayla Weaver]

I read this for education only, and I learned a lot! My own faith has grown. Overall, it was interesting to learn about Catholicism and the differences between Protestantism and Catholicism.

[Jenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I grew up Baptist and now attend a Catholic church with my Catholic husband.

As someone who is pretty well trained in Protestant apologetics (thank you private christian school), I was intrigued by a podcast by author Trent Horn where he talks about tenants of the Catholic faith with some Protestant pastors. After googling, I found this book and really enjoyed it.

Each chapter is titled "Why We Believe ____" and is a short synopsis on some tenant of the Catholic faith. The first few chapters Truth, Science, God, Jesus, etc I skimmed through, because as previously mentioned, I too took christian apologetics 101.

I enjoyed his arguments on why Catholics are not sola-scriptura, the pope, Mary, and purgatory. Most of his arguments or explanations made sense at least in the logical sense. However, I found that as the book went on (specifically when he was talking about sexuality, birth control, and hell) his analogies were far fetched (and frankly misogynistic... birth control is not the same as not wanting your cousins to come to your wedding!!).

This book gave me some insight into the Catholic faith. And while I have a greater respect for it, maybe for me it should be titled "Why I'm not Catholic."

[Martin Hovnik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall lepa, kompaktna knjiga. Površinsko razloži temeljne katoliške razloge za vero v obstoj Resnice, Boga, Jezusa do moralnosti in usode. Poglavja so ločena na 5-7 strani in ne deep-dive-a v teme. Knjiga služi bolj kot a quick summary, saj poskuša zajeti vse pomembne aspekte katoliške vere v 200ish straneh.

[Lauren Gornto · Rating 4 out of 5]

A super quick and simple read. Apologetics 101

[Julia Thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Concise and biblically supported explanations of the faith

[Jonah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good stuff! Especially important because of dignitas infinita

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Why We’re Catholic is a great book if you’re looking for an introduction to Catholic theology on a variety of topics. I appreciate Trent’s approach to this book as it’s not written in a way that’s coming off as if he is trying to snag as many converts as he can, but rather just laying it all out there for folks to get an understanding of what Catholics believe and cutting through the noise of common misconceptions.

From the book: "I don't look at people who've left the Catholic Church or who aren't Catholic as potential "customers." They're just people. They have things they love and things they hate. They may differ from me in lots of ways, but they almost certainly have one thing in common with me: they don't want to be ignorant and they do want to be happy. I became Catholic in high school because 1) I thought it was true, and 2) finding answers to my deepest questions about existence and purpose made me happy.

It would be selfish of me to keep to myself the peace and joy I receive from being Catholic, so I share this "good news" with others. My aim in this book is simple: to explain why Catholics believe what they believe. I haven't given every explanation I can think of, because most people aren't in a rush to read a book that is so thick it can double as a step stool. Instead, I've presented the reasons that made the biggest impact on me during my conversion to the Catholic faith."

I know Trent has said this book is his “favorite because it has done the most good”, and you can see why with its quick and easy-to-read chapters that would help people dip their toes into the faith. I appreciate that his writings are filled with footnotes that you can reference as well.

Great resource for Catholics wanting a refresher or any inquiring minds!

[Aliyah Coleman · Rating 1 out of 5]

An insane amount of circular reasoning, poor analogies, and the phrase "It logically follows..." The author is no different than any other person in the world acting as if they know everything. Using the Bible and Catechism to "prove his points" means nothing to a nonbeliever.

He also complains about Sesame Street not defining marriage the way he would, which baffled me.

Some of the most idiotic quotes from the book:

"If we expect fathers to be responsible and pay child support for the children they create, then shouldn’t we expect mothers to be equally responsible for those same children? Shouldn’t they provide “child support” through bodies that are naturally designed to care for those children?"

"[Sex] is an expression of the love that only exists between men and women, and that reaches its fullness in the creation of a new human life." - On same-sex relationships. I guess infertile people don't exist?

"The Church opposes IVF because children have a right to be conceived and grow in the wombs of their mothers. They should not be manufactured in a laboratory by technicians who treat them like a product."

"The embarrassing detail about women discovering the empty tomb was included in the story simply because that’s what really happened." - How embarrassing for a woman to give a testimony.


I really wanted to like this book, but it was a grueling read that caused nothing but scoffs and eye-rolls. This isn't a critique of Catholicism but rather Trent Horn's insufferable book.

[Nick Gilbert · Rating 2 out of 5]

Several of my Catholic friends have been encouraging me to consider converting to Catholicism. I was searching for books to further introduce me to the faith and stumbled upon "Why We're Catholic." I was hoping to get a bit of a primer on the Catholic Church and understand why Catholicism may be the way to go, but I don't think that's what I got out of this book. It felt like most of the arguments for Catholicism in this book were essentially "we believe X because it isn't Y" or "it's okay to not prove X because Y isn't proven." For example, he does not provide any biblical evidence for purgatory but rather states there's no biblical evidence for heaven immediately after death. I know there are strong arguments for becoming Catholic, but I didn't feel like those were present in this book. He uses a lot of analogies and attempted logic that don't really fit. One example is when he states that time could not be infinite because today exists (a finite point in time). Just like a 2 points that make a line to infinity in either direction, though, you can have finite points within infinity. I did find some analogies to be helpful, such as when comparing original sin to someone who inherited dirty money unknowingly. Overall, I think this book left me with more questions than answers about the Catholic faith, but I will continue to pursue those answers in other texts.

[Peter Nguyen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Trent Horn set off on a nigh-impossible task: to concisely explain belief in the Catholic faith in a simple-to-read manner. And unfortunately, I think this book falls short in several areas.

Horn tries to tackle several topics in this work: philosophical belief in God (as a first-principle), belief in the Christian God and the Catholic faith, and responding to contemporary moral and social issues. For an irreligious audience, I don't think he sufficiently responds to the jump from philosophical belief in God to belief in the Christian God, glossing over other religious claims. He also delves off into tangents that I didn't think we're necessary, such as only mentioning the Eastern Catholic Churches in relation to the discipline of clerical celibacy (without defining the the distinctions/diversity but ultimate unity within the Catholic Church).

For my criticisms, however, I think it's a decent enough primer in describing Catholic beliefs and practices. Could be a good read for a high schooler/younger adult without firm beliefs or with shallow beliefs on God (which I guess does describe a pretty large contemporary audience). Just wasn't my cup of tea.