“What's the difference between a Christian and a Catholic?”
This is a very important question, because they are usually mistaken to be the same.
Religion or Faith?
The first difference is that Catholicism is a religion, while Christianity is a faith. Catholics perform a set of rituals during service, or when exercising their religion. An example would be Praying the Rosary. This prayer has a specific order in how to pray to God.
Praying to Who?
Another difference is that Catholics pray to Mary. You might have heard of the “Hail Mary”. In it, they say, “ Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners...”'This is not right, because they are asking Mary to help them ask for forgiveness. When praying the Hail Mary, they are indirectly making Mary the way to God. They are making her the mediator between them and God. They are making her a replacement for Jesus.
And we know the famous Bible verse:
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”(John 3:16)
So, Catholics pray to Mary, and make her their intercessor. Meanwhile, Christians pray in Jesus’ name. When we pray to God, that’s why you hear us say the phrase “In Jesus Name,” to conclude the prayer. Christians don't need any other mediator except Jesus. We should simply pray to God directly.
Being Transformed
In Christianity, we are transformed. When encountering God, we enter into a personal relationship with Him, and don’t go back to our old ways. We don’t need to perform rituals or anything of the sort. We just need to simply accept God, and walk in His ways. Like it says in 2 Corinthians 5:17: