This varies considerably among Orthodox Jews. Some feel other branches are legitimate; others feel other branches are illegitimate. Still others feel other branches are “good training” for more traditional lifestyles which would be the goal. In all cases, Orthodox Jews accept Jewish people born of Jewish mothers as Jewish (that is, part of the Jewish people/ethnically Jewish) whether they consider them “Torah true” (ortho-praxis) Jews or not.…

The answer is neither and both. Judaism strongly opposes the wanton destruction of a fetus and at the same time permits abortion in a range of circumstances and therefore champions the civil rights that allow the Jewish legal decision-making process to operate freely. It is for this reason that in the United States, Jewish leaders have favored leniency in the law at the expense of a religiously-driven agenda.
The system of Jewish law, “halachah,” is not easily given to grand public policy decisions. It is more the sum of its parts, the collective works of rabbinic authorities produced throughout the generations. The focus of Jewish law is not to determine the rights of the individual, but rather…

Unlike in Catholicism, there is no head of the Jewish religion. There are chief rabbis of various countries, but they function more as spokespersons on behalf of the Jewish community, rather than as final legal authorities for the Jewish community (though sometimes they are final authorities for micro-communities).
When looking for advice on how to practice Judaism, or how to act in a certain situation, ultra-orthodox Jews consult rabbinic authorities of their specific community. Modern orthodox Jews go to rabbis of their communities who in turn usually refer to the writings of one of four major orthodox rabbis “of the generation.”
Conservative and Reform rabbis have rabbinic committees…

Question: Do all Jews believe that the bible is literally true or is that the belief of Orthodox Jews only?
Most Orthodox, and some Conservative Jews believe the bible was dictated from the mouth of God, written down verbatim by the hand of Moshe (Moses) on Mount Sinai.
Other Conservative Jews and Reform and Reconstructionist Jews tend to understand the bible as either:
1. Not literally dictated to Moshe, but inspired by God.
2. A human account of encounters with God, and therefore an account of holy happenings which makes the account itself holy.
3. A product of human striving to understand God in history (and therefore holy, as it represents a holy endeavor of the Jewish people).…

This varies widely from movement to movement.
The vast majority of Reform and Reconstructionist rabbis recognize same-sex unions as sacred under their interpretation of Jewish practice and values. Conservative rabbis have a range of responses to this issue. Most recognize same sex marriage as “righteous” (and as of 2006, Conservative rabbis can perform them), but not “the height of holiness”.
Most Orthodox communities do not recognize gay marriages as legitimate under Jewish law. There are a number of Orthodox gay couples who choose civil marriage, or who live together as if they are civilly married. These men and women often prefer the orthodox way of Jewish living—they keep kosher, celebrate…

Jews value life over just about all things. The life of the mother is valued, as is the life of the fetus. That said, different rabbis follow different teachings on when life begins. The majority of rabbis (Orthodox through Reform) see the fetus as a potential life, whose (potential) life is valued but not yet as valued as the actual (full) life of the mother. So the answer to the question of whether or not abortion is permitted is — it depends on the situation.
If the mother’s life is in danger, abortion is permitted — actually required, at any stage before the actual birth is fully underway and the baby has partially emerged.
Even among the most traditional communities, there are different rulings…

The Passover Seder is a celebration which can last for several hours, during which the Jewish people commemorate and re-live, as a family of faith, their liberation from slavery in Egypt under Pharaoh.
The most important moment of the Seder is the account of God’s liberation of his people from Egypt “with a strong hand and outstretched arm” and it is commonly called Haggadah, a term that means “telling”.  Over time,  the text of the Passover ritual came to be known as the Haggadah. According to scholars, the Haggadah as it is known today as a liturgical text, was first drawn up around the seventh century of the common era, and was first printed in Spain in 1482.
The New Testament…

Q: What is the best way to decide what faith to be if you believe in different parts of all faiths?
A. Where do you find the most truth? I think that’s the question, because as you rightly observe, there is truth in all faiths. And we’re impelled by nature and bound by moral obligation to seek the truth, especially religious truth. Once we come to know it, we’re bound to adhere to it and direct our lives in accordance with its demands. We’re obliged to honor and bear witness to it
What’s the best way to decide where most truth is to be found? Study, dialogue, prayer, and discernment. The desire for God is written in the human heart, because we have been created by God for God, and God never ceases to draw us to God’s…

Q. There are so many names for God, Allah, Yazad, Harvesp-Tavaan ect. why is my God or your God better than someone else’s God? Who is the true God?
A. It’s not surprising that different cultures of the world in different historic contexts come up with different names for God. Words — names for God — are essentially just pointers to the Divine. Words and their meaning are shaped by culture and historic context. What is significant, though, is that Jews, Christians, Musims, Zoroastrians, all agree that there is only one God. So it is not that my God or your God is better than someone else’s God. It is rather that each religion has the conviction that it has received a special, fuller revelation from…

If by “confession” you mean acknowledgement of wrongdoing and seeking of forgiveness, other religions do have confession. In Judaism, for example, it’s called Teshuva or “repentance”, apology, return, going back to who you are meant to be. Teshuva is the gesture of returning to God, of letting go of your arrogance, your waywardness, your sinfulness and going back to your ultimate Source. It represents the possibility that even the most degenerate sinner can be reunited with God. Teshuvah is the dominant theme during the ten days between Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year, a day of awakening) and Yom Kippur (the day of Atonement and asking forgiveness) in the early Fall.
I was…

Interfaith dialogue does not involve being untrue to one’s own convictions of faith. On the contrary, it invites the partners to join together in a common seeking of the truth. In that process, they will share their own understanding in an honest and respectful way. For Catholics, the “uniqueness” and “universality” of Christ are understood to mean that by and in Jesus, God effected a self-manifestation in a manner that is decisive for all and can neither be surpassed or repeated.
The place Jesus Christ occupies in Christianity is central. No other religion attributes such a unique place to its founder. For Islam, Muhammad is the depository of the divine message, the prophet through whom God speaks.…

The theological bases for approaching followers of other religions with respect and esteem are found dispersed throughout the various documents of the Second Vatican Council. For example:
God wills the salvation of all.
The whole human race is united in its origin and destiny.
God is active in the hearts of human beings, drawing them to God’s self.
God is active in the different religious rites which give corporate expression to the human response to God.
Human beings have been created with free will and must respond freely to God according to the dictates of their conscience, while always searching for the truth.
These teachings form the basis for interreligious/interfaith dialogue founded on mutual…

The goals of the work for Christian unity (ecumenism) and interfaith dialogue are different. The goal of interfaith dialogue is not unity in faith and worship as is the goal with other Christians, but mutual understanding and respect, and mutual enrichment enabling us all to respond more fully to God’s call. It includes collaboration wherever possible in response to the societal problems we commonly face. For this reason, the purpose of theological dialogue will not be to prove that one side is right and the other is wrong, but rather to explore respective positions in order to understand them better. When this is done, many prejudices, built on half-truths, will fall by the wayside.…

The Missouri Synod’s website identifies three main areas of difference between the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS) and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA):
1.The doctrine and authority of Scripture — The LCMS believes that the Bible is without error in all that it says. The ELCA avoids making such statements, holding that Scripture is not necessarily always accurate on such matters as history and science. Differences between the LCMS and the ELCA on the authority of Scripture also help to explain why the LCMS does not ordain women (based on 1 Corinthians 14:33-36, 1 Timothy 2:11-14), sees homosexual behavior as contrary to God’s will (Romans 1:18-28, 1 Corinthians 6:9), and…

There are some significant differences in the membership of the Lutheran Church. Three of the different denominations that consider themselves Lutheran include:
Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS)  
Lutheran Church — Missouri Synod (LCMS)
and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA)
According to the Handbook of Denominations in the United States (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2010), here are some facts and figures:
 
The ELCA has 4.7 million members in 10,400 congregations. “The ELCA promotes the Lutheran theological and liturgical tradition while allowing greater freedom for laity and clergy to address contemporary social and intellectual concerns than most other…

Question:
As a baptized Roman Catholic who is now a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, can I still receive communion in the Catholic Church without disrespecting the Church’s policy?
The sensitivity you express in the phrase “without disrespecting the (Catholic) Church’s policy” is admirable. As you have witnessed, the various denominations do have different policies. Why? Because they attach different significance/meanings to receiving Holy Communion.
For example, for Catholics as well as for Eastern Orthodox, sharing in the one bread and cup is an expression of unity in faith, worship, mission, and governance. For most Protestants, sharing the Eucharist with…

Question: I saw some reference to “A Common Word” letter from Muslims addressed to Christians. What’s the “common word” refering to?
In October 2007 a group of 138 leading Muslim scholars from many parts of the world presented an “Open Letter” titled “A Common Word Between Us and You” to Christian leaders calling for peace and understanding between these two religious communities on the basis of the core principles of Islam and of Christianity. Every major Islamic country or region in the world is represented in the message, which is addressed to the leaders of all the world’s churches and to all Christians everywhere.
The main message of their text is that the most fundamental common…

Question: I have a sister who recently converted to Mormonism. I have heard several different things about it and most things are not good. What is the church’s official stance on the matter and how do I approach the matter?
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormon) is not considered an orthodox Christian church by the Catholic Church or by other mainline Protestant churches. This is largely due to it’s addition of new scriptural books such as the Book of Mormon, The Pearl of Great Price, and the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, and certain ways that it has changed the traditional understanding of the Trinity as three persons in one God. The Latter Day Saints have an active missionary program…

Jesus appears often in the Qur’an (in a total of 93 verses scattered throughout 15 suras or chapters), but with significant differences. The Qur’an refers to him as the “messiah,” but the word has a different theological import than in Christian thought. In Muslim understanding, Jesus was not more than a creature, a human being. He is not divine. He did not die on the cross (it was a look-alike, possibly Simon of Cyrene or an apostle) nor rise from the dead. The Qur’an seems to indicate that God caused him to ascend after his apparent death. Tradition has it that he will return at the end of time to usher in an age of justice and, after 40 years, will die and be buried in Medina with Muhammad, then rise in the general…

Can you give me a brief description of how marriage prep works in the following situations where a Catholic is marrying a non-Christian? For example,

a)  Catholic marrying a Jew
b)  Catholic marrying a Muslim
c)  Catholic marrying a Buddhist

What rituals can be performed for the wedding that encompasses both faiths but still be valid in the eyes of the Catholic church?

The marriage preparation process is usually at the discretion of the pastor of the parish in which the Catholic is a member. Sometimes the diocese has programs like Pre-Cana or Engagement Encounter in place for couples from all the parishes. Whether participation in such programs is required may vary from place to place. 
The process will…