Now I find this intriguing:
From CNA
Now, AFAIK, Lee was protestant, and Chiang Kai-shek, too (well, sort of). It is nice to live in a country with no “official religion”, and I know that this religion labeling is not really that important on this island, but I can find no other reference to confirm this statement. Wedding pictures, anyone?
ps.
If Mods think this should go in History/Culture or Religion and Spirituality, please move accordingly.
IIRC, during the campaign someone asked Ma about his religion and he ducked the question. But I haven’t been able to find the source for that.
Don’t forget CCK, Ma’s mentor, who was also at least officially a Christian (but Methodist, not Catholic).
Yes, he is Catholic, according to the China Post. Doesn’t surprise me. When I applied for my first job in Taiwan, I made sure I put my Catholic school names on my resume. 
I knew lots of the top bureaucracy in Taiwan are Catholic.
Fascinating.
Thanks, Feiren and Cranky. Other department head has also confirmed this piece of data. Chewy, you’re evil. 
I learn something new every day.
for me, that’s the biggest copout about being a catholic. you can get forgiven for anything at all, no problems. plus, you’re not working for a better life here, but towards a permanent spot in heaven (none of this rapture stuff), so that basically means you can do pretty much whatever shit you want and have no responsibility to the present. extremely handy for rationalising actions if you’re a politician.
[quote=“urodacus”]for me, that’s the biggest copout about being a catholic. you can get forgiven for anything at all, no problems. plus, you’re not working for a better life here, but towards a permanent spot in heaven (none of this rapture stuff), so that basically means you can do pretty much whatever shit you want and have no responsibility to the present. extremely handy for rationalising actions if you’re a politician.[/quote]Funny, the actual seriously practicing Catholics I’ve talked to haven’t believed that at all.
Ma’s spokesperson said that although he was baptised a Catholic, by the time he entered junior high, he no longer attended mass on a regular basis. He further stated that in practice, Ma does not observe Catholicism or any other branches of Christianity and in fact, does not observe any particular religion at all.
At most, Ma’s a nominal Catholic but is willing to shift where the votes will take him.
I know that too.
my trolls are normally better handled than that one.
Sorry, President Ma. ah, or should that be Mr Ma.
I assume you mean Roman Catholic as all Christianity comes under the catholic (meaning universal) banner
[quote=“DopeyWesterner”]I assume you mean Roman Catholic as all Christianity comes under the catholic (meaning universal) banner[/quote]Local English usage tends to be a bit different, with a common question being “Are you Christian or a Catholic?” 
You must be thinking of Protestants, particularly Baptists who believe that “all will be judged and all will be found wanting” and that salvation comes only through faith.
Catholics put more emphasis on salvation through good works, and non-Catholics have even gained sainthood (via martyrdom, not confession, of course).
So what’s the Sacrament of Confession all about then? It grants immediate absolution, now, without waiting for the death and final judgment part.
I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you’re actually looking for information rather than trolling.
Penance is a major part of Catholicism, but not such a major part of Protestant churches.
As for “what it’s about”, forgiveness is about giving people who have made serious mistakes in the past a reason and a way to move forward. Otherwise, people using reductionist logic similar to that you put forward a few comments earlier might say, “Screw it. I’m damned anyway, so I might as well lie, steal, kill as I please.”
I believe that’s often an Americanism, stemming from the fact that quite a lot of American evangelicals don’t consider Catholicism to be Christianity. I’ve never really encountered people not from America who make the distinction between Catholicism and Christianity. Catholicism is considered a different demonination or sub-branch of Christianity.
I believe that’s often an Americanism, stemming from the fact that quite a lot of American evangelicals don’t consider Catholicism to be Christianity.[/quote]
Certainly not in mainstream America. I’ve only heard people who belong to certain fundamentalist sects refer to Catholicism as not being Christianity, but then it would not be in terms of a question like “Are you Christian or Catholic?”
I never heard that distinction until I came to Taiwan. I’m from the US and my family is Catholic. I would have noticed.
“Are you Catholic or Christian?” – I believe it is mostly a linguistic confusion, where Protestanism is translated as 基督教 (lit: Christ religion) and Roman Catholicism is translated as 天主教 (lit: heavenly lord religion). Believers of the ‘Christ religion’ are obviously Christians while believers of ‘heavenly lord religion’ are (as the dictionary tells them) Catholics. Just as the word ‘catholic’ is commonly used as a stand-in for ‘Roman Catholic’ amongst English speakers, the word ‘Christian’ is a common stand-in for ‘Protestant’ amongst Chinese speakers speaking English.
I’ve heard the distinction from Americans of evangelical bent here. When I’ve said (from an outsider’s point of view) that it’s all about splitting hairs, they’ve been quite adament that Catholics aren’t Christians. I’d never heard anyone claim this before in other English speaking countries, but I’ve encountered a few of these guys over here, which is why I thought it might be an American evangelical thing. Other Americans haven’t said it to me.
Well, I guess that if you’re a Catholic, you’re damned to hell and eternal fire and brimstone for worshipping that Mary goddess, and we all know that Moses said that God told him not to worship those false golden calf thingies.