Religious Indifferentism: No, All Religions DO NOT Lead To God
Table of Contents
What Is Religious Indifferentism?
According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, religious indifferentism “holds that all religions are equally worthy and profitable to man, and equally pleasing to God.”
This is certainly a theological error by itself
However, it is downright heretical if one believes that professing false religions is salvific.
Extra Ecclesiam nulla salus (outside the Church, there is no Salvation) is a Dogma of the Church.
Thus, if one were to say that false religions can lead to Salvation, one would be committing heresy.
All this being said, let’s look at Scripture and the Magisterium to see why the Church condemns religious indifferentism.
The Bible On Religious Indifferentism
Firstly, God the Son, Jesus Christ Himself says this:
Thou shalt not have strange gods before me.
Exodus 20:3
And:
I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No man cometh to the Father, but by me.
John 14:6
These are the most powerful statements on the matter.
These by themselves would seem to clarify that nobody who rejects Jesus Christ can come to the Heavenly Father.
But alas, heretics still somehow think that Salvation is possible for those who reject Christ as Lord.
So let’s look at other Biblical passages condemning religious indifference, shall we?
In the Bible, St. Peter says this:
But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there shall be among you lying teachers, who shall bring in sects of perdition, and deny the Lord who bought them: bringing upon themselves swift destruction.
2 Peter 2:1
Also, St. John says this in the Bible:
Dearly beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits if they be of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. By this is the spirit of God known. Every spirit which confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh, is of God: And every spirit that dissolveth Jesus, is not of God: and this is Antichrist, of whom you have heard that he cometh, and he is now already in the world.
1 John 4:1-3
And:
Whosoever revolteth, and continueth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that continueth in the doctrine, the same hath both the Father and the Son.
2 John 1:9
Moreover, St. Jude says this in the Bible:
For certain men are secretly entered in, (who were written of long ago unto this judgment,) ungodly men, turning the grace of our Lord God into riotousness, and denying the only sovereign Ruler, and our Lord Jesus Christ.
Jude 1:4
And lastly, St. Paul says this in the Bible:
Bear not the yoke with unbelievers. For what participation hath justice with injustice? Or what fellowship hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? Or what part hath the faithful with the unbeliever?
2 Corinthians 6:14-15
And this:
Now the Spirit manifestly saith, that in the last times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to spirits of error, and doctrines of devils
1 Timothy 4:1
Therefore, it should be rather obvious that Christ’s Apostles warned us Christians that heretics would confess that false religions can lead to God.
The Magisterium On Religious Indifferentism
The Catholic Church is clear that there is only one way to God.
And that is through Jesus Christ and His One, Holy, Apostolic, and Catholic Church.
The Ecumenical Council of Florence defines the Dogma of Extra Ecclesiam nulla salus as such:
It firmly believes, professes and preaches that all those who are outside the catholic church, not only pagans but also Jews or heretics and schismatics, cannot share in eternal life and will go into the everlasting fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels, unless they are joined to the catholic church before the end of their lives; that the unity of the ecclesiastical body is of such importance that only for those who abide in it do the church’s sacraments contribute to salvation and do fasts, almsgiving and other works of piety and practices of the Christian militia produce eternal rewards; and that nobody can be saved, no matter how much he has given away in alms and even if he has shed his blood in the name of Christ, unless he has persevered in the bosom and the unity of the catholic church.
Ecumenical Council of Florence, 1438-1461
This should honestly suffice enough, as it shows no false religions lead to Salvation.
What about the Catechisms?
Firstly, according to the Catechism of the Council of Trent, written in AD 1566:
“I am the Lord thy God”
The pastor should use his best endeavours to induce the faithful to keep continually in view these words: I am the Lord thy God. From them they will learn that their Lawgiver is none other than their Creator, by whom they were made and are preserved, and that they may truly repeat: He is the Lord our God, and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand. The frequent and earnest inculcation of these words will also serve to induce the faithful more readily to observe the Law and avoid sin.
“Who Brought thee out of the Land of Egypt, out of the House of Bondage”
The next words, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage, seem to relate solely to the Jews liberated from the bondage of Egypt. But if we consider the meaning of the salvation of the entire human race, those words are still more applicable to Christians, who are liberated by God not from the bondage of Egypt, but from the slavery of sin and the powers of darkness, and are translated into the kingdom of his beloved Son. Contemplating the greatness of this favour, Jeremias foretold: Behold the days come, saith the Lord, when it shall be said no more: The Lord liveth that brought forth. the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; but: The Lord liveth that brought the children of Israel out of the land of the north and out of all the lands to which I cast them out; and I will bring them again into their land which gave to their fathers. Behold, I send many fishers, saith the Lord, and they shall fish them, etc. And, indeed, our most indulgent Father has gathered together, through His beloved Son, His children that were dispersed, that being made free from sin and made the servants of justice, we may serve before him in holiness and justice all our days.’
Against every temptation, therefore, the faithful should arm themselves with these words of the Apostle as with a shield: Shall we who are dead to sin live any longer therein? We are no longer our own, we are His who died and rose again for us. He is the Lord our God who has purchased us for Himself at the price of His blood. Shall we then be any longer capable of sinning against the Lord our God, and crucifying Him again? Being made truly free, and with that liberty wherewith Christ has made us free, let us, as we heretofore yielded our members to serve injustice, henceforward yield them to serve justice to sanctification.
“Thou shalt not have Strange Gods before Me”
The pastor should teach that the first part of the Decalogue contains our duties towards God; the second part, our duties towards our neighbour. The reason (for this order) is that the services we render our neighbour are rendered for the sake of God; for then only do we love our neighbour as God commands when we love him for God’s sake. The Commandments which regard God are those which were inscribed on the first table of the Law.
The Above Words Contain A Command And A Prohibition
(The pastor) should next show that the words just quoted contain a twofold precept, the one mandatory, the other prohibitory. When it is said: Thou shalt not have strange gods before me, it is equivalent to saying: Thou shalt worship me the true God; thou shalt not worship strange gods.
What They Command
The (mandatory part) contains a precept of faith, hope and charity. For, acknowledging God to be immovable, immutable, always the same, we rightly confess that He is faithful and entirely just. Hence in assenting to His oracles, we necessarily yield to Him all belief and obedience. Again, who can contemplate His omnipotence, His clemency, His willing beneficence, and not repose in Him all his hopes? Finally, who can behold the riches of His goodness and love, which He lavishes on us, and not love Him? Hence the exordium and the conclusion used by God in Scripture when giving His commands: I, the Lord.
What They Forbid
The (negative) part of this Commandment is comprised in these words: Thou shalt not have strange gods before me. This the Lawgiver subjoins, not because it is not sufficiently expressed in the affirmative part of the precept, which means: Thou shalt worship me, the only God, for if He is God, He is the only God; but on account of the blindness of many who of old professed to worship the true God and yet adored a multitude of gods. Of these there were many even among the Hebrews, whom Elias reproached with having halted between two sides, and also among the Samaritans, who worshipped the God of Israel and the gods of the nations.
Importance Of This Commandment
After this it should be added that this is the first and principal Commandment, not only in order, but also in its nature, dignity and excellence. God is entitled to infinitely greater love and obedience from us than any lord or king. He created us, He governs us, He nurtured us even in the womb, brought us into the world, and still supplies us with all the necessaries of life and maintenance.
Sins Against This Commandment
Against this Commandment all those sin who have not faith. hope and charity. such sinners are very numerous, for they include all who fall into heresy, who reject what holy mother the Church proposes for our belief, who give credit to dreams. fortunetelling, and such illusions; those who, despairing of salvation, trust not in the goodness of God; and those who rely solely on wealth, or health and strength of body. But these matters are developed more at length in treatises on sins and vices.
Catechism of the Council of Trent, First Commandment
Secondly, The Douay Catechism of 1649 says:
Q. WHAT is the first commandment?
The Douay Catechism of 1649 by Henry Tuberville, D.D.
A. I am the Lord thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, and out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt not have strange gods before me. Thou shalt not make to thyself a graven thing, nor the likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or in the earth below, or of those things that are in the waters under the earth. Thou shalt not adore nor worship them; I am the Lord thy God, mighty, jealous, visiting the sins of the fathers upon their children, to the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; and showing mercy to thousands of those that love me, and keep my commandments. Exod. xx.
Q. What are we commanded by this precept?
A. To serve, love, adore, and worship one only, true, living, and eternal God, and no more.
Q. What are we forbidden by this precept?
A. Not to worship any creature for a God, or give to it the honour which is due to God.
Q. What is the honour due to God?
A. A supreme and sovereign honour, which is called by divines Latria; by which we honour him as the great master of life and death, as our creator, redeemer, preserver, and last end.
Q. How do men sin against this commandment?
A. By worshipping idols and false gods, by erring or doubting in faith, by superstition and witchcraft.
Q. How else?
A. By communicating with infidels or heretics, by believing dreams, &c.
Q. How do you prove it a great sin to go to church with heretics?
A. Because by so doing we outwardly deny our faith, and profess their false faith.
Thirdly, the Baltimore Catechism, written in the late 19th century, states:
The First Commandment
1 Q. Why is it said at the commencement of the Commandments: I am the Lord thy God?
A. It is said at the commencement of the Commandments: I am the Lord thy God, to show us that God being our Creator and Lord, can command whatever He wills, and that we, being His creatures, are bound to obey Him.2 Q. In the words of the First Commandment: Thou shalt not have strange gods before Me, what does God command us?
A. By the words of the First Commandment: Thou shalt not have strange gods before Me, He commands us to acknowledge, adore, love and serve Him alone as our Sovereign Lord.3 Q. How do we fulfil the First Commandment?
A. We fulfil the First Commandment by the practice of internal and external worship.4 Q. What is internal worship?
A. Internal worship is the honour which is given to God with the faculties of the soul alone, that is with the intellect and the will.5 Q. What is external worship?
A. External worship is the homage that is given to God by means of outward acts and of sensible objects.6 Q. Is it not enough internally to adore God with the heart alone?
A. No, it is not enough internally to adore God with the heart alone; we must also adore Him externally with both soul and body, because He is the Creator and absolute Lord of both.7 Q. Can there be external worship without internal worship?
A. No, in no way can there be external worship without internal, because unless external worship is accompanied by internal, it is destitute of life, of merit, and of efficacy, like a body without a soul8 Q. What is forbidden by the First Commandment?
A. The First Commandment forbids idolatry, superstition, sacrilege, heresy, and every other sin against religion.9 Q. What is idolatry?
A. Idolatry is the giving to any creature, for example, to a statue, to an image, or to a man, the supreme worship of adoration that belongs to God alone.10 Q. How is this prohibition expressed in Holy Scripture?
A. This prohibition is expressed in Holy Scripture in these words: Thou shalt not make to thyself a graven thing, nor the likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or on the earth beneath; and thou shalt not adore them or serve them.11 Q. Do these words forbid every kind of image?
A. Certainly not; but only those of false divinities, made to be adored, as idolaters adore them. So true is this, that God Himself commanded Moses to make images, as, for example, the two statues of the Cherubim for the Ark, and the Brazen Serpent in the desert.12 Q. What is superstition?
A. Superstition is any devotion that is contrary to the teaching and practice of the Church; as also the ascribing to any action or any thing whatever a supernatural virtue which it does not possess.13 Q. What is a sacrilege?
A. A sacrilege is the profanation of a place, of a person, or of a thing consecrated to God and set apart for his worship.14 Q. What is heresy?
A. Heresy is a culpable error of the intellect by which some truth of faith is obstinately denied.15 Q. What else does the First Commandment forbid?
Baltimore Catechism
A. The First Commandment also forbids all dealings with the devil, and all association with anti-Christian sects.
Fourthly, in the Catechism of St. Pius X written in 1908, Pope St. Pius X writes:
Q. 1140. What is the first Commandment?
A. The first Commandment is: I am the Lord thy God: thou shalt not have strange gods before me.
Q. 1141. What does the commandment mean by “strange gods”?
A. By strange gods the commandment means idols or false gods, which the Israelites frequently worshipped when, through their sins, they had abandoned the true God.
Q. 1142. How may we, in a sense, worship strange gods?
A. We, in a sense, may worship strange gods by giving up the salvation of our souls for wealth, honors, society, worldly pleasures, etc., so that we would offend God, renounce our faith or give up the practice of our religion for their sake.
Q. 1143. How does the first Commandment help us to keep the great Commandment of the love of God?
A. The first Commandment helps us to keep the great Commandment of the love of God because it commands us to adore God alone.
Q. 1144. How do we adore God?
A. We adore God by faith, hope, and charity, by prayer and sacrifice.
Q. 1145. By what prayers do we adore God?
A. We adore God by all our prayers, but in particular by the public prayers of the Church, and, above all, by the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
Q. 1146. How may the first Commandment be broken?
A. The first Commandment make be broken by giving to a creature the honor which belongs to God alone; by false worship; and by attributing to a creature a perfection which belongs to God alone.
Q. 1147. What is the honor which belongs to God alone?
A. The honor which belongs to God alone is a divine honor, in which we offer Him sacrifice, incense or prayer, solely for His own sake and for His own glory. To give such honor to any creature, however holy, would be idolatry.
Q. 1148. How do we offer God false worship?
A. We offer God false worship by rejecting the religion He has instituted and following one pleasing to ourselves, with a form of worship He has never authorized, approved or sanctioned.
Q. 1149. Why must we serve God in the form of religion He has instituted and in no other?
A. We must serve God in the form of religion He has instituted and in no other, because heaven is not a right, but a promised reward, a free gift of God, which we must merit in the manner He directs and pleases.
Catechism of Saint Pius X
But it’s not just the Council of Florence and the Catechisms that condemn religious indifferentism.
No, several Popes condemn religious indifferentism in their encyclicals (credit to David Rodriguez from The Fatima Center for these quotes).
Firstly, Pope Leo XII wrote in 1824, On His Assuming the Pontificate:
(#12): A certain sect has unjustly arrogated to itself the name of philosophy, and has aroused from ashes the disorderly ranks of practically every error. Under the gentle appearance of piety and liberality this sect professes what they call tolerance or indifferentism. It preaches that … God has given every individual a wide freedom to embrace and adopt, without danger to his salvation, whatever sect or opinion appeals to him on the basis of his private judgment. The apostle Paul warns us against the impiety of these madmen.
(#13) Of course this error is not new … this indifferentism seemed absurd to St. Augustine, and rightly so, but in his day it did acknowledge some limits. But a tolerance which extends to Deism and Naturalism, which even the ancient heretics rejected, can never be approved by anyone who uses his reason. Nevertheless – alas for the times; alas for this lying philosophy! – such a tolerance is approved, defended and praised by these pseudo-philosophers
(#19) In virtue of our apostolic office, We too exhort you to try every means of keeping your flock from those deadly pastures.
Ubi Primum
Secondly, Pope Gregory XVI wrote in 1832, On Liberalism and Religious Indifferentism:
(#13) Now We consider another abundant source of the evils with which the Church is afflicted at present:
indifferentism. This perverse opinion is spread on all sides by the fraud of the wicked who claim that it is possible to obtain the eternal salvation of the soul by the profession of any kind of religion, as long as morality is maintained. Surely, in so clear a matter, you will drive this deadly error far from the people committed to your care. With the admonition of the apostle that “there is one God, one faith, one baptism” may those fear who contrive the notion that the safe harbor of salvation is open to persons of any religion whatever. They should consider the testimony of Christ Himself that “those who are not with Christ are against Him,” and that they disperse unhappily who do not gather with Him. Therefore “without a doubt, they will perish forever, unless they hold the Catholic faith whole and inviolate.”(#14) This shameful font of indifferentism gives rise to that absurd and erroneous proposition which claims that liberty of conscience must be maintained for everyone. It spreads ruin in sacred and civil affairs. … Then truly “the bottomless pit” is open from which John saw smoke ascending which obscured the sun, and out of which locusts flew forth to devastate the earth. Thence comes transformation of minds, corruption of youths, contempt of sacred things and holy laws — in other words, a pestilence more deadly to the state than any other.
Mirari Vos
Thirdly, Pope Blessed Pius IX wrote in 1863, On Promotion of False Doctrines:
(#7) It is again necessary to mention and censure a very grave error entrapping some Catholics who believe that it is possible to arrive at eternal salvation although living in error and alienated from the true faith and Catholic unity. Such belief is certainly opposed to Catholic teaching….
(#8) Also well known is the Catholic teaching that no one can be saved outside the Catholic Church. Eternal salvation cannot be obtained by those who oppose the authority and statements of the same Church and are stubbornly separated from the unity of the Church and also from the successor of Peter, the Roman Pontiff…
Quanto Conficiamur Moerore
Also, Pope Blessed Pius IX wrote in 1864, the “cover letter” for the Syllabus of Errors:
(#6) Amidst, therefore, such great perversity of depraved opinions, we, well remembering our Apostolic Office, and very greatly solicitous for our most holy Religion, for sound doctrine and the salvation of souls which is entrusted to us by God, and (solicitous also) for the welfare of human society itself, have thought it right again to raise up our Apostolic voice. Therefore, by our Apostolic authority, we reprobate, proscribe, and condemn all the singular and evil opinions and doctrines severally mentioned in this letter, and will and command that they be thoroughly held by all children of the Catholic Church as reprobated, proscribed and condemned. [emphasis added highlighting papal infallible authority is being invoked].
Quanta Cura
And here is the Syllabus of Errors itself condemning religious indifferentism:
(#15) Every man is free to embrace and profess that religion which, guided by the light of reason, he shall consider true.
(#16) Man may, in the observance of any religion whatever, find the way of eternal salvation, and arrive at eternal salvation.
(#17) Good hope at least is to be entertained of the eternal salvation of all those who are not at all in the true Church of Christ.
(#18) Protestantism is nothing more than another form of the same true Christian religion, in which form it is given to please God equally as in the Catholic Church.
The Syllabus Of Errors
Fourthly, Pope Leo XIII wrote in 1884, On Freemasonry:
(#16): If those who are admitted as members are not commanded to abjure by any form of words the Catholic doctrines, this omission, so far from being adverse to the designs of the Freemasons is more useful for their purposes. First, in this way they easily deceive the simple-minded and the heedless, and can induce a far greater number to become members. Again, as all who offer themselves are received whatever may be their form of religion, they thereby teach the great error of this age — that a regard for religion should be held as an indifferent matter, and that all religions are alike. This manner of reasoning is calculated to bring about the ruin of all forms of religion, and especially of the Catholic religion, which, as it is the only one that is true, cannot, without great injustice, be regarded as merely equal to other religions.
Humanum Genus
(Note: Pope Leo XIII wrote a couple other encyclicals worth checking out on the error of religious indifferentism: Libertas Praestantissimum and Immortale Dei).
Fifthly, Pope Saint Pius X wrote in 1910, in his Apostolic Mandate, on the Sillon, who practiced religious indifferentism:
(#36): Here we have, founded by Catholics, an inter-denominational association that is to work for the reform of civilization, an undertaking which is above all religious in character; for there is no true civilization without a moral civilization, and no true moral civilization without the true religion: it is a proven truth, a historical fact.
(#38) But stranger still, alarming and saddening at the same time, are the audacity and frivolity of men who call themselves Catholics and dream of re-shaping society under such conditions, and of establishing on earth, over and beyond the pale of the Catholic Church, “the reign of love and justice” with workers coming from everywhere, of all religions and of no religion, with or without beliefs, so long as they forego what might divide them – their religious and philosophical convictions, and so long as they share what unites them … It will be a tumultuous agitation, sterile for the end proposed, but which will benefit the less Utopian exploiters of the people. Yes, we can truly say that the Sillon, its eyes fixed on a chimera, brings Socialism in its train.
(#40) … the great movement of apostasy being organized in every country for the establishment of a One-World Church which shall have neither dogmas, nor hierarchy, neither discipline for the mind, nor curb for the passions, and which, under the pretext of freedom and human dignity, would bring back to the world (if such a Church could overcome) the reign of legalized cunning and force, and the oppression of the weak, and of all those who toil and
Notre Charge Apostolique
suffer.
Sixthly, Pope Pius XI wrote in 1928, On Religious Unity:
(#2) Certainly such attempts can nowise be approved by Catholics, founded as they are on that false opinion which considers all religions to be more or less good and praiseworthy, since they all in different ways manifest and signify that sense which is inborn in us all, and by which we are led to God and to the obedient acknowledgment of His rule. Not only are those who hold this opinion in error and deceived, but also in distorting the idea of true religion they reject it, and little by little, turn aside to naturalism and atheism, as it is called; from which it clearly follows that
one who supports those who hold these theories and attempt to realize them, is altogether abandoning the divinely revealed religion.(#3) But some are more easily deceived by the outward appearance of good when there is question of fostering unity among all Christians.
(#9) This being so, it is clear that the Apostolic See cannot on any terms take part in their assemblies, nor is it anyway lawful for Catholics either to support or to work for such enterprises; for if they do so they will be giving countenance to a false Christianity, quite alien to the one Church of Christ.
(#15) So, Venerable Brethren, it is clear why this Apostolic See has never allowed its subjects to take part in the assemblies of non-Catholics: for the union of Christians can only be promoted by promoting the return to the one true Church of Christ of those who are separated from it, for in the past they have unhappily left it. To the one true Church of Christ, we say, which is visible to all, and which is to remain, according to the will of its Author, exactly the same as He instituted it.
Mortalium Animos
Finally, Pope Pius XII wrote in 1950, On Human Origin:
(#27) Some say they are not bound by the doctrine, explained in Our Encyclical Letter of a few years ago, and based on the sources of revelation, which teaches that the Mystical Body of Christ and the Roman Catholic Church are one and the same thing. Some reduce to a meaningless formula the necessity of belonging to the true Church in order to gain eternal salvation. Others finally belittle the reasonable character of the credibility of Christian faith.
Humani Generis
As you can see, these Popes are consistent with the teachings taught in the Bible.
Moreover, since the spread of Judeo-Freemasonry, the source of religious indifferentism, these Popes consistently rejected the spread of this virus into our beloved Catholic Church.
Religious Indifferentism – Final thoughts
Unfortunately, after the Modernist usurpation of the visible Church hierarchy beginning in the mid-20th Century, religious indifferentism has been pushed by even members of the hierarchy under the guise of “ecumenism”.
Of course, true ecumenism is the mission to bring back all Christian schismatics into the Holy Catholic (universal) Church.
And we should embrace reconciling with the other Apostolic Churches: Eastern/Oriental/Assyrian/etc.
Just as long as we don’t compromise our Faith when bringing them back into the fold.
However, the problem is the Judeo-Freemasonic religious indifferentism that masquerades as a “false ecumenism” that attempts to reconcile false religions into the Church.
And as Catholics, we should resist this latter tendency as the heresy it is, even if Priests, Bishops, and even Popes push for it.
No one, not even a Pope, can command you to assent to error, heresy, or other sins.
So resist and denounce religious indifferentism as the abomination that it is, even while loving those that push it.
And pray that God sends us good leaders, like Popes Leo XII through Pius XII again, so that this confusion in the Church is decisively terminated for good.
Please share this article to everyone you can. Take care, and God bless, my friends!