Non-institutional churches of Christ and the Catholic Church disagree profoundly on authority and ecclesiology, yet they also share several instincts that separate both from much of modern evangelical Protestantism.
| Topic | Non-institutional churches of Christ | Catholic Church |
|---|---|---|
| Baptism | Normally teaches baptism as necessary and connected to forgiveness/new life. | Teaches baptismal regeneration and ordinarily requires baptism for Christian initiation. |
| Lord’s Supper | Central weekly act of worship. | The Eucharist is the center of Sunday worship. |
| Faith alone | Rejects salvation by faith alone understood as mental assent without obedient response. | Rejects justification by faith alone when it excludes interior renewal and grace-enabled obedience. |
| Church unity | Strong concern for one Church and restoration of apostolic Christianity. | Strong claim that Christ founded one visible, apostolic Church. |
| Tradition | Typically suspicious of post-apostolic tradition and creeds. | Receives apostolic Tradition together with Scripture as one deposit of faith. |
| Authority | Scripture interpreted within autonomous congregations. | Scripture and apostolic Tradition authentically interpreted by the Church’s teaching office. |
This comparison is intentionally concise. Individual congregations and Catholics may describe some points differently; fuller articles should document each claim with primary sources.