Can people of non-Christian religions go to heaven? What does the Church say?

Q:  Dear Father John, I am confused. Jesus said he is the way the truth and the light, but the Church has moved away from believing salvation lies only in the Church. Even learned people in the Church (my Spiritual Director included) now say that God is bigger than we can comprehend so we need to be open to the possibility that God is calling even those outside the Church. It makes the line very gray as to the purpose of evangelization. Can you comment? Thank you.

A: I hope that the answer to this question will be simpler than you might have thought. This question has generated reams of theological speculation, argument, and even bitter diatribes. In fact, it became so problematic back in the eighties and nineties that the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, under the leadership of then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, actually published (with the full approval of Blessed Pope John Paul II) a thorough treatment of the issue, which you may want to read (give yourself some time and a full pot of tea; it is a rich, but somewhat long and somewhat dense). The document is called Dominus Iesus.

Christ and Bridges

The short answer to your question is this: Anyone who ends up in Heaven is a member of the Church. Heaven is communion with God, it is being a fully mature member of his family. The only bridge to Heaven is Christ – he is the only Savior, and only his self-sacrifice on the Cross opened the gates of Heaven and atoned for human sin. I believe that all the “learned people in the Church” you refer to in your question would agree with those statements. If they don’t, well, you will have to ask them to explain to you how they understand numbers 846 and 847 of the Catechism.

Now, in theory it is possible to cross a bridge without knowing the name of that bridge. You can even cross a bridge, in the fog, for example, without realizing that you are crossing a bridge. This is an image that can help us understand how a person could be saved, could enter heaven and become a full member of God’s family for all eternity, without being a Catholic here on earth. The condition for that, according to Church teaching, is that the person in question, through no fault of their own, “do not know the Gospel of Christ or his Church” but even so “seek God with a sincere heart, and moved by grace, try in their actions to do his will as they see it” (Catechism, #847).

Our Limits and Our Calling

Obviously, you and I are incapable of judging whether some are seeking God with a sincere heart, or whether their non-membership in the Catholic Church is “through no fault of their own.” Furthermore, through God’s Providence, we have come to know the name of the bridge; we have been given, by the sheer gift of God’s grace, the wisdom “for salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.” The greatest act of love we can make towards our neighbor is to share that faith with those haven’t yet received it, or who have lost it. As Pope Benedict XVI affirmed in his first public homily as Pope: “… the purpose of our lives is to reveal God to men… There is nothing more beautiful than to know Him and to speak to others of our friendship with Him.” This is the meaning behind what the Church has always called – and still calls – the “missionary mandate” (Catechism #849): “Having been divinely sent to the nations that she might be ‘the universal sacrament of salvation,’ the Church, in obedience to the command of her founder and because it is demanded by her own essential universality, strives to preach the Gospel to all men.”

Means vs Ends

The main point of recent discussion about these truths has to do more with the way we approach this missionary mandate, not its validity. Since the Second Vatican Council, the Church has made a concerted effort to reach out to people of other religions in a respectful way – respecting them as people, respecting the search for truth and salvation that their religion represents – and not with a condemning tone.

A few years ago, I wrote a couple of short essays on the subject of a Catholic’s view of non-Christian religions, and of non-Catholic Christians. They are available for reading and downloading here. You may want to read them over and reflect on them.

But make no mistake about it. Although we are called to respect all people and their search for religious truth, Jesus Christ alone remains the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and all salvation comes from him “through the Church which is his Body” (Catechism #846).

Why not integrate teachings of other religions with Catholic spirituality?

Q: Dear Father John, The Church has clearly taught that there is truth and good in other religions – so why then is it a problem to integrate the truths found in prayer traditions outside of Christianity with Christian prayer methods?

A: This is a great question, especially for today’s world, in which religious tolerance is spoken about by so many different groups (though not all) as a universal value. Sometimes we can confuse openness and respect for believers in other religious with the sin of religious indifference Religious indifference can consist either in ignoring the authentic demands of religion, or in believing that all religions are the same. This question is also a good one because it shows the connection between doctrine and practice. What we believe about God, ourselves, and the world affects how we behave and the choices we make. So let’s start by clarifying the doctrine a bit, and then finish with some comments on the practical side.

Starting with Some Doctrine

Here is what the Catechism actually says about the “truth and goodness” found in non-Christian religions (#843):

The Catholic Church recognizes in other religions that search, among shadows and images, for the God who is unknown yet near since he gives life and breath and all things and wants all men to be saved. Thus, the Church considers all goodness and truth found in these religions as a preparation for the Gospel and given by him who enlightens all men that they may at length have life.

In other words, human nature is the same for all people, and so all people experience, even in this fallen world, a yearning to reconnect with God, to live in communion with God. And this is why all people also experience the difficulty, the challenge, the obstacles involved in that search: our common human nature is fallen, and we need a savior. These are common elements in every religion. This is why different religions have so many things in common, and why many aspects of non-Christian religious are in harmony with Christianity.

In the very next paragraph, the Catechism makes a clarifying statement (#844):

In their religious behavior, however, men also display the limits and errors that disfigure the image of God in them: [quoting the Second Vatican Council and referencing St Paul’s Letter to the Romans] “Very often, deceived by the Evil One, men have become vain in their reasonings, and have exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and served the creature rather than the Creator. Or else, living and dying in this world without God, they are exposed to ultimate despair.

In other words, although our common, fallen human nature universally searches for the way back to God, that same wounded nature creates a tendency for us to get lost and take dangerous and dead-end paths.

The Christian Difference

This is precisely why God himself intervened. His love and mercy moved him to come to our aid, to lead us along a sure path of return to communion with him and the happiness that we were created for. He did this through what is called revelation: God’s own explanation of himself, the world, and how we can attain salvation. Revelation culminated in the incarnation of the Second Person of the Trinity, Jesus Christ. Christ’s work and teaching differs essentially from every other religion. It is God’s effort to reach out to man, not just man’s effort to reach up to God.

Getting Practical

Consequently, the teaching and practice of the Catholic Church is unique, qualitatively different from those of other religions. Jesus is our standard, our sure standard, by which we judge the truth, goodness, and utility of all other doctrines and traditions. The spiritual life, in other words, is not a smorgasbord. If we just pick and choose whichever practices we happen to like, we have no guarantee that we will avoid dangerous pitfalls (the “limits and errors” referenced by the Catechism).

Prayer traditions from other religions, therefore, may be able to harmonize with Christianity, but in order to do so they need to be purified and appropriately grafted into the authentic spiritual vine, Christ himself. That can only happen with the guidance of the Holy Spirit through his chosen instrument, the Church.

A final observation. It is often frustrating to find Catholics searching energetically for exciting new spiritual practices, but searching everywhere except within the incredibly rich and abundant traditions of their own Catholic Church. This is one reason we started this website, to make at least a small effort to expose some of our Catholic treasures to modern Catholics who feel spurred on to a deeper spiritual life, but don’t know where to find tools that can help them respond.