Catholicism and Taoism Comparison Paper

Jessica Yuska

Catholicism and Taoism

Professor Christoffer Lammer-Heindel
November 25, 2012

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Throughout the world there is diversity in beliefs, faiths, cultures, and religions; Taoism
and Catholicism are just a couple of religions that exemplify these. These religions have
differences, but they also have similarities. When I first thought about these two different
religions on opposite sides of the world, sharing ideals and thoughts, I thought there was no way.
Catholicism and Taoism have both made me realize just how similar this world can be if we take
a closer look at just a couple of the religions known to man. This paper will examine some of the
similarities and differences regarding Catholicism and Taoism, and more importantly that both
encourage their people to believe in something greater than themselves.
Catholicism, defined by Thomas Groome, is a rich resource for growing into fullness of
life as a person of God after the way of Jesus. 1 While Catholics look to God, they also look at
the Trinity. The Trinity is, as we have defined in class, three persons in one; the Father, the Son,
and the Holy Spirit. The Trinity represents unity; that which we also see in all of the sacraments
of the Catholic faith. There are seven sacraments: Baptism, First Communion, Reconciliation,
Confirmation, Marriage, Holy Orders, and Anointing of the Sick. In each of these sacraments, we
are becoming united not only with God but with the rest of the Church and Catholic community.
We discussed the Church as being made of the entire body of Catholic Christians. It
embodies everyone that believes and takes part in Gods sacraments. Aquinas believes that the
Church is, an effective symbol that causes to happen what it symbolizes.2 The Church
represents community and uniting others together, and that is exactly what it does. The Church is
one part of the faith that differentiates Catholicism and Taoism from each other. Taoism is more
individualized and central to each individual person. We spoke about how in Chapter One of
Mitchells translation of the Tao Te Ching that, The tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao.
1 Thomas H. Groome, What Makes Us Catholic, (New York: HarperOne, 2003), 5.
2 Thomas H. Groome, What Makes Us Catholic, (New York: HarperOne, 2003), 120.

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The name that can be named is not the eternal name.3 Taoists do not believe in sharing their
beliefs and views of the Tao with each other. Taoists cannot categorize or give characteristics to
the Tao as Catholics can do for God or Jesus. Similarly, though, Taoists believe that the Tao is
through all and around all, just as Catholics believe God is everywhere. Thomas Merton says on
page 124, God, the one center of all, which is everywhere and nowhere.4 God is
everywhere just as the Tao is for Taoists.
We also discussed how Catholicism teaches that God is present in all things using human,
material, and the infinite in order to bring about unity of humankind. This is the simple definition
of Catholicism in its entirety using the three theological principles: Sacramentality, Mediation,
and Communion.
Sacramentality refers to the presence of the divinity in all things. One passage of the bible
comes to mind when defining sacramentality; Acts 2: 1-13. This passage speaks about the Holy
Spirit coming upon the twelve disciples during Pentecost.5 Suddenly the Holy Spirit provides
each disciple a different language, symbolizing their gift and their job to spread the word of God
throughout all of the lands. From this passage, I have gathered that every person is invited into
the Catholic faith; anyone can participate and be accepted into the Church. God is present in all
of us, because we are made in Gods image. Taoists believe that the Tao is through all and around
all, but it is not of all. In class we discussed that to determine what is, we must know what is not.
While we know what we are, we cannot know what we are not without this duality that is at the
center of Taoism.

3 Stephen Mitchell, trans., Tao Te Ching. (New York: Haper Pernnial, 1988), 1.
4 Thomas Merton, Seeds, (Boston: Shambhala Publications, Inc., 2002), 124.
5 Acts 2: 1-13

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Duality, a complimentary and inseparable bond, between light and darkness and the Yin
and the Yang were the main focus of our learning to understand how to grasp the ideas of
Taoism. The Yin and the Yang define this dualistic view that Taoism seems to encompass. The
Yin, the symbol of darkness, passiveness, femininity, and resting, is quite the opposite of the
Yang, a symbol of light, activeness, masculinity. Both the Yin and the Yang are necessary for
everyday life. If we did not have rest, we would be unable to participate in activity; the absence
of light is darkness and the absence of darkness is light. There is no in between because both are
part of the duality that is necessary in life to perform everyday activities. Taoists believe in
balance, within our lives and within our days; which they attempt to do by becoming one with
the Tao. Catholics believe more so in traditions and prayer that help us maintain balance or a
sense of trying to regain balance in their lives. Catholics pray to God to ask for forgiveness or to
help watch over someone, both of which the hope for the end result is to return back to balance.
John 1:1-5 speaks about the light that God has created through his creation of life.6 Life
was the light of the world, because God was in the life he created. This light was to shine through
the darkness to overcome all evils with Gods help. In this passage Catholics make sense of
darkness as evil and sin, with Jesus allowing Catholics to be rid of sin because of his sacrifice;
yet in Taoism evil allows for Taoists to see the light, the light that will guide them along the paths
that they will need to take to become one with the Tao.
Mediation refers to the use by the divine of the human, the material, and the future. In
class we discussed the examples of how the divine, God, uses things in the world for a purpose.
There is a purpose for all things that God has made; one example of this is the Scripture. The
Church mediates the Scripture which is made up of the Old and New Testaments. The Church
uses the scripture and interprets it as a baseline or guideline for what Catholics follow in their
6 John 1: 1-5

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everyday lives. Thomas Merton says, At the center of our being is a point of nothingness which
is untouched by sin and by illusionfrom which God disposes of our lives, which is inaccessible
to the fantasies of our own minds or the brutalities of our own will. This little point of
nothingness and of absolute poverty is the pure glory of God in us.7 This mediation of God
through Christians allows them to see what they are to become. God created each person in his
image, each with a purpose that is unknown. Only God knows this purpose because God has a
plan and each person is part of that plan.
Unlike Taoism, the Catholic faith has a hierarchy. This hierarchy is made of a Pope,
Cardinals, Bishops, Archbishops, Priests, Deacons, and then the congregation. All of these parts
make up the whole; every single person matters to the Church and each person follows the
decisions that the Pope makes. The Catholic Church is about coming together in unity, if there
was no mediation then unity wouldnt occur; every church and every person would do their own
thing. This differentiates with Taoism. Taoism is not mediated and each Taoist has individual
guidelines, rituals, and beliefs. Taoism is not about coming together and becoming unified, but
going on a journey with the Tao to become one with the Tao.
In Taoism, Taoist read the Tao Te Ching, while in Catholicism, Catholics read the Bible.
Both are texts that outline the religion they practice; yet the Tao Te Ching is a spiritual text and
the Bible is a religious text or scripture. In my previous paper regarding the Tao Te Ching, I
mentioned that in class we spoke about how Magno believes that Taoism is not a religion
because there are no traditions, no formulas for prayer, no authority figures, no religious factors,
no doctrine of faith and no divine revelation. On the contrary, while looking into Catholicism, I
notice that there are traditions, formulas for prayer, authority figures, religious factors, doctrines
of faith, and a divine revelation. Catholics have strict yet relaxed, in comparison to other
7 Thomas Merton, Seeds, (Boston: Shambhala Publications, Inc., 2002), 116.

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Christian beliefs, traditions; the Ten Commandments for example. The Ten Commandments give
Catholics guidelines on how to be a faithful and loving servant of God; you should love no other
gods besides God, you should not use the Lords name in vain, you should honor your mother
and father, you should not kill, you should not commit adultery, you should not steal, you should
not bear false witness to your neighbor, you should not steal your neighbors wife nor your
neighbors belongings. Taoists read the Tao Te Ching to become one with the Tao. Both,
Catholicism and Taoism, allow their followers to lead lives that will guide them to where they
would like to be, either in Heaven or to become one with the Tao.
Taoists believe that the Tao immanent, through all, in all, and around all. Joseph Magno
quotes Poem 34 of the Tao Te Ching, The great Tao flows everywhereit pours itself into its
work. Magno then proceeds to explain that unlike the view of Catholics believing God created
his works, the Tao doesnt create, but by self-expression the world just came to be as it is.8 We
touched on this in class, and spoke of how the world is a burst of the Tao expressing itself as the
world. Catholics believe that God is not only immanent, but transcendent. God created the world
in his vision, but sends the Holy Spirit to watch his people and guide them through life.
Communion refers to the unity of human kind. As stated before, Catholicism is about
unity and bringing the Church together as one body and one spirit of God. We share this sense of
community and togetherness through the Eucharist, which is one of the holy sacraments and also
referred to as communion. In the Eucharist we share the body and blood of Jesus Christ, thereby
bringing us together and uniting us. This bread and wine is symbolic of the Jesus body and
blood that he sacrificed for the Catholic Church. Catholics believe that Jesus died for their sins
and that without this sacrifice acceptance and forgiveness would not be able to occur. I have been
8 Joseph A. Magno, The Spiritual Philosophy of the Tao Te Ching, (Chicago: Pendragon
Publishing Inc., 2004), 7-8.

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taught that Catholics come together to share in this sacrament to become closer to not only Jesus
but with God. With this communion and belief in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, that Jesus was
resurrected from his burial tomb and raised up to heaven. This symbolizes how Catholics are to
live for God and do what he has taught them to do. Not only should they give what they can to
God, but because God is in everyone and everyone is Gods creation, that we should give
everything to each other. One of Gods messages is that everyone should love one another as
they would love themself. Merton says, They do not know that reality is to be sought not in
division but in unity, for we are members one of another.9 It may be difficult to understand
that Gods will is to unite under all circumstances, not just the tragic, but through all times. For
Magno explains that in Poem 27 of the Tao Te Ching, God loves everyone and will not judge nor
deny anyone of that love.10 The Catholic Church should always show compassion for others;
some individuals may being having a rough day, week, or even year; if they do not show
compassion in their everyday lives and activities, those struggling individuals may never find
happiness or reassurance in something greater.
Taoists believe that to become the best you can be, you must become one with the Tao. While
this is somewhat similar to Catholics, it is rather different. Catholics believe that becoming the
best person you can be, means that one must live by Gods word and commandments, while
loving others as they would themselves. Catholics do not have to become one with God to live a
happy life. The journey of the Catholic faith, through the sacraments and Eucharist allow for
them to know someone greater is protecting them and guiding them along the path that is willed
for them. In similarity, Taoists believe that the Tao will guide them through life and allow for
9 Thomas Merton, Seeds, (Boston: Shambhala Publications, Inc., 2002), 118.
10 Joseph A. Magno, The Spiritual Philosophy of the Tao Te Ching, (Chicago: Pendragon
Publishing Inc., 2004), 135

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whatever is going to happen to happen. Also, as Catholics go on their journey of faith, for Taoists
to become one with the Tao they must go on a journey as well. In Mitchells translation of the
Tao Te Ching in Chapter 64, The journey of a thousand miles starts from beneath your feet
Therefore the Master takes action by letting things take their course. He remains as calm at the
end as at the beginning. He has nothing, thus has nothing to lose.11 The Taoists must leave all
things for the Tao. Simplicity is the only way that they can become one with the Tao. God wants
the same thing for Christians; simplicity. In Luke 10:25-37, God speaks about how a Good
Samaritan looked after a man that had been robbed, beaten, and stripped of his clothes.12 The
Good Samaritan took a stranger to an inn and took care of him; giving the man a place to
recover. This passage shows that God wants his people, the Church, to be generous and give
what they can for their neighbors, fellow brothers and sisters of God. If Catholics are to give
everything they can to help others, they are answering to Gods call to love one another.
Our class discussed the definition of good and evil within Taoism and Catholicism. In Taoism,
everything is of the Tao and that Nature itself has no good or bad. Catholics, on the other hand,
believe that sin is a choice. Groome says, God never causes human evil or natural suffering
but allows them out of respect for human freedom and the dynamics of nature.13 Sin occurs
because of human freedom. There is a lot of conflict throughout the Catholic faith involving the
belief that the natural disasters, war, and conflicts are due to sin. God does not use suffering as a
quid pro quo punishment for sinsinful choices often bring suffering, but from the natural
sequence of cause and effect, not from punitive God, (Groome, 91).14 Natural disasters are not
11 Stephen Mitchell, trans., Tao Te Ching. (New York: Haper Pernnial, 1988), 64.
12 Luke 10:25-37
13 Thomas H. Groome, What Makes Us Catholic, (New York: HarperOne, 2003), 91.
14 Ibid

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Gods purpose, but they allow everyone to see the good that God has done. This creates much
conflict because some would state that God created bad to show that he has power. Catholics
must address the mysteries of God but not try to reason or explain them. God does not want to
punish human beings, but rather provide his people with wonderful things. God is in no way,
directly or indirectly, the cause of moral evil. [God] respects the freedom of creatures and,
mysteriously, knows how to derive good from it, (Groome, 91).15 Again, some Catholics would
believe that the more sin that is committed by an individual the farther away from God that
individual becomes, which in return can cause natural disasters and the awful things in the world.
Real faith is required, however, to see beyond them, in spite of them, to the goodness of life in
the world, (Groome, 92).16 By this, Groome is reinforcing that by truly understanding God,
Christians will be able to see the goodness that God has provided without having to question
whether or not God would force negatives upon the world. The negatives in the world are caused
by Gods acceptance of peoples free will; thereby allowing individuals to learn from not only
others mistakes, but their own.
Diversity within religions allows for individuals to express themselves in different ways,
therefore allowing the world to become as complex at it is. Through studying just a couple of the
different religions I have concluded that the religions in the world are more alike than different,
in that all of the individuals within those religions believe in something greater than themselves.
Specifically for this paper, Catholics and Taoists believe that their creator, whether it is through
self-expression or a process of creation, had a purpose and a journey for each individual. While
Catholics may be centered more so on traditions and rituals, prayers and commandments, Taoists
are more independent and self-progressing. Taoists must travel on the journey alone to become
15 Ibid
16 Thomas H. Groome, What Makes Us Catholic, (New York: HarperOne, 2003), 92

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one with the Tao and become a master, while Catholics prefer coming together in unity and going
on the journey with others of the Church. Differences are crucial to understanding each religion,
but similarities help us understand the true meaning of these differences; it is a sense of duality
that occurs throughout life, which requires a sense of balance that is only achieved when we
allow ourselves to fully understand our place in the world or the divines creation.

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Bibliography
1. Groome, Thomas H. What Makes Us Catholic. New York: HarperOne, 2003. 5, 91,
92, 120.
2. Magno, Joseph A. The Spiritual Philosophy of the Tao Te Ching. Chicago: Pendragon
Publishing Inc., 2004. 7, 8, 135.
3. Merton, Thomas. Seeds. Boston: Shambhala Publications, Inc., 2002. 116, 118, 124.
4. Mitchell, Stephen, trans. Tao Te Ching. New York: Harper Perennial, 1988. Ch. 1, 64.
5. New American Bible, revised edition. Washington, D.C.: Confraternity of Christian
Doctrine, 2010.