8.171. Didn’t Pope Benedict XVI say Muslims, Christians, and Jews all worship the same God? Isn’t that true since we all believe in one God?
Yes, in his Regensburg Address (Sept. 12, 2006), Benedict XVI stated:
“Muslims, like Christians and Jews, worship the one merciful God.”
At first glance, this may appear ecumenical or diplomatically generous. But in reality, it is a theologically scandalous and deeply misleading claim that denies the very essence of the Christian Faith.
The Catholic Church has always taught that we worship the one true God—Father, Son, and Holy Ghost—revealed by Jesus Christ. This is not a philosophical abstraction or a shared cultural concept of “monotheism.” It is a dogmatic truth, grounded in divine revelation. The Holy Trinity is the very identity of God. Anyone who explicitly rejects the Trinity—as Muslims and modern Jews do—does not worship the true God, no matter how sincere or monotheistic they may be.
To say that Muslims and Christians worship the same God is to deny the uniqueness of the true God and to suggest that belief in God apart from Christ is sufficient. This is heresy and a form of religious indifferentism, solemnly condemned by pre-Vatican II popes.
As Pope St. Pius X taught in Pascendi Dominici Gregis (1907), modernists reduce faith to a religious feeling or common experience, instead of fidelity to the truth revealed by God. Benedict XVI’s statement is exactly that: a modernist blending of false and true religions, ultimately leading to the denial of Christ.
| Category | Traditional Catholic Teaching | Benedict XVI / Vatican II View | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nature of God | One God in Three Persons—Father, Son, and Holy Ghost | “The one merciful God” worshiped by Jews, Muslims, Christians | False religions reject the Trinity—thus they reject the true God |
| Jesus Christ | God Incarnate; the only way to the Father | One prophet or historical figure among others | To reject Christ is to reject the Father (1 John 2:23) |
| Islam and Judaism | False religions that deny Christ and the Trinity | “Abrahamic faiths” that share belief in the same God | This is ecumenical doublespeak condemned by the Magisterium |
| Salvation | Only in Christ and through the Catholic Church | Implied as possible through sincere belief in any monotheism | Contradicts dogma *Extra Ecclesiam Nulla Salus* |
| Fruits | Evangelization, martyrdom, clarity of truth | Religious relativism, syncretism, loss of faith | “By their fruits you shall know them” (Matt. 7:16) |
Summary:
Benedict XVI’s claim that Muslims and Christians worship the same God is not an innocent expression of interfaith respect—it is a grave doctrinal error that denies the dogma of the Trinity and leads souls into indifferentism. It reduces the worship of the true God—revealed fully in Jesus Christ—to a vague monotheism shared across world religions.
This is not the Catholic Faith. The Church has always taught that those who reject Christ reject God, and that salvation comes only through Him and His one true Church.
As Our Lord Himself declared:
“He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father who hath sent Him.”
The God of Islam is not the God of Christianity. Neither is the post-Christian god of modern Judaism. To say otherwise is to blaspheme the Holy Trinity and to betray the Catholic Faith.
Further reading:
Pascendi Dominici Gregis (On the Doctrine of the Modernists) by Pope Pius X - 1907