Is Catholicism Polytheistic?
I grew up in the Catholic faith but was was intrigued when I went to college to hear about the theological discussion that the most important tenet of Catholicism is polytheistic.
So there a lot of different sources/references in the Bible that talk about or explain the Trinity (the most prominent being found in Matthew, though plenty of spiritual advisers and philosophers have also addressed it.
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19).
One of the arguments for Catholicism being polytheistic is that if something is worthy enough to be prayed to, then in essence it is a god or worthy of god-status. Therefore Catholicism is polytheistic with its prayers to saints and holy days for them. Protestants see prayer as worship, whereas Catholics see prayer as talking to someone, a simple conversation to get guidance or to let go of emotions.
Part of the confusion comes from the Athanasian Creed. This says that God the Father is a wholly separate person, that God the Son is a wholly separate person entity, and that God the Holy Spirit is also a distinct entity. And yet their divine presence is never and can never be divided.
The two other Abrahamic religions (Islam and Judaism) do not see Catholicism as strictly polytheistic and there blasphemous in the name of God. Even other sects of Christianity challenge the notion of the Holy Trinity and Saints because these can be seen as promoting false idolatry. The Catechism says, however, that these three pieces of God hold all of his tenets but promote them in different ways and are actually pieces fitting of each other.
