A god wouldn’t necessarily wait until you’re dead to punish or reward your behavior. In the Old Testament, God seems to prefer to provide feedback for the living.
The catholic God in particular does most of his control by alleged threats after death. Punishment and reward in during life appears to be minimal. (This differs vastly from the descriptions of other gods and even the belief of past, particularly pre-christian, believers in the same god.)
Catholicism in particular has doctrines that hinge very strongly on the existence of an afterlife. If a person who identifies as Catholic professes not to believe in an afterlife, my confidence that they adhere to other common Catholic doctrines is reduced.
A god wouldn’t necessarily wait until you’re dead to punish or reward your behavior. In the Old Testament, God seems to prefer to provide feedback for the living.
The catholic God in particular does most of his control by alleged threats after death. Punishment and reward in during life appears to be minimal. (This differs vastly from the descriptions of other gods and even the belief of past, particularly pre-christian, believers in the same god.)
Catholicism in particular has doctrines that hinge very strongly on the existence of an afterlife. If a person who identifies as Catholic professes not to believe in an afterlife, my confidence that they adhere to other common Catholic doctrines is reduced.
Hence ‘Catholic’ in scare quotes, yes.