Christianity · macro
Roman Catholicism
A personal, transcendent God known through revelation and reason together, mediated by a sacramental church with teaching authority. Humanity is wounded and rescued by grace, which reaches people through sacraments rather than around them.
What makes it unusual
The axes on which this tradition sits furthest from the middle of the matrix — which is to say, the positions that actually distinguish it.
- C3 The human conditionfallen and in need of rescueFurther toward "fallen and in need of rescue" than most traditions in the matrix.
- E2 Origin of the cosmosan intentional actFurther toward "an intentional act" than most traditions in the matrix.
- D1 Mechanism of the ultimate goodleaning given as graceFurther toward "given as grace" than most traditions in the matrix.
- B1 Source of truthrevealed and fixedFurther toward "revealed and fixed" than most traditions in the matrix.
All seventeen positions
Each cell carries a centre, a dispersion — how much internal variation the tradition genuinely tolerates — and the source the position rests on. Disagree with one? Say so; corrections are public and recorded.
The same seventeen values as a single shape, read clockwise from A1 at the top. The outline is where the tradition sits; the wider band around it is the variation it genuinely tolerates, so a tight outline is a tight tradition.
- position
- tolerated variation
A · The divine
| Axis | Position | Value | ±σ |
|---|---|---|---|
| A1 Divine realitynothing beyond the natural → a divine reality certainly exists | a divine reality certainly existsCatechism of the Catholic Church (2nd ed., 1997) | 1.00 | 0.03 |
| A2 Personhoodimpersonal principle or order → a personal being one can address | a personal being one can addressCatechism of the Catholic Church (2nd ed., 1997) | 0.95 | 0.05 |
| A3 Pluralitystrictly one → many powers and spirits | leaning strictly oneCatechism of the Catholic Church (2nd ed., 1997) | 0.20 | 0.10 |
| A4 Locuswholly beyond the world → fully present within it | between wholly beyond the world and fully present within itCatechism of the Catholic Church (2nd ed., 1997) | 0.55 | 0.12 |
B · Knowledge and authority
| Axis | Position | Value | ±σ |
|---|---|---|---|
| B1 Source of truthrevealed and fixed → reason and direct experience | revealed and fixedNicene-Constantinopolitan Creed (381) | 0.15 | 0.10 |
| B2 Reading of sacred textliteral and binding → metaphorical, or no text at all | leaning literal and bindingCatechism of the Catholic Church (2nd ed., 1997) | 0.35 | 0.14 |
| B3 Institutional authorityclergy and tradition decide → individual conscience decides | clergy and tradition decideCatechism of the Catholic Church (2nd ed., 1997) | 0.05 | 0.06 |
C · Self and destiny
| Axis | Position | Value | ±σ |
|---|---|---|---|
| C1 Survival of the selfends at death → continues in some form | continues in some formCatechism of the Catholic Church (2nd ed., 1997) | 0.98 | 0.02 |
| C2 Shape of timeone life, then judgment → cyclical return | one life, then judgmentCatechism of the Catholic Church (2nd ed., 1997) | 0.02 | 0.03 |
| C3 The human conditionfallen and in need of rescue → ignorant but fundamentally sound | fallen and in need of rescueCatechism of the Catholic Church (2nd ed., 1997) | 0.15 | 0.10 |
D · Practice
| Axis | Position | Value | ±σ |
|---|---|---|---|
| D1 Mechanism of the ultimate goodgiven as grace → achieved by effort or insight | leaning given as graceCatechism of the Catholic Church (2nd ed., 1997) | 0.20 | 0.12 |
| D2 Centrality of ritualessential and prescribed → optional or absent | essential and prescribedCatechism of the Catholic Church (2nd ed., 1997) | 0.05 | 0.05 |
| D3 The bodyto be disciplined → to be celebrated | leaning to be disciplinedCatechism of the Catholic Church (2nd ed., 1997) | 0.35 | 0.14 |
E · World and others
| Axis | Position | Value | ±σ |
|---|---|---|---|
| E1 Exclusivityone true path → many valid paths | leaning one true pathCatechism of the Catholic Church (2nd ed., 1997) | 0.25 | 0.15 |
| E2 Origin of the cosmosan intentional act → beginningless or natural | an intentional actCatechism of the Catholic Church (2nd ed., 1997) | 0.02 | 0.03 |
| E3 Locus of belonginga people, inherited → an individual choice | between a people, inherited and an individual choiceCatechism of the Catholic Church (2nd ed., 1997) | 0.45 | 0.15 |
| E4 Standing of naturecreation, given for use → animate and itself sacred | between creation, given for use and animate and itself sacredCatechism of the Catholic Church (2nd ed., 1997) | 0.42 | 0.14 |
Further reading
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, Part One — The doctrinal positions behind almost every cell above, stated in the church’s own voice.
- Aquinas, Summa Theologiae I, qq. 1–13 — Why this tradition scores unusually high on reason for a revealed religion.
Compared with
The questionnaire places your own answers on these same seventeen axes and reports how close you are to this tradition and to 64 others. Take it — eight to fourteen questions, nothing transmitted.