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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/46866
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Show his religious _practices_ more and his _explicit beliefs_ less. What does a devout Catholic _do_? Probably he _doesn't_ spend all day talking about his beliefs; instead he _lives_ them. He tithes. He fasts on Fridays. He attends mass daily before going to work (or wherever he spends his days). He teaches in Sunday school. He studies self-defense but it's the "passive redirection" styles, not the "active beat-up-your-opponent" styles. He says grace before eating. He tries to avoid swearing and never says "oh my God" in response to something trivial. He prioritizes Sunday mass over the big game on TV.

Missionaries and evangelists preach, sometimes to anybody who doesn't say "no" forcefully enough, but you're not writing that kind of character so you have to be more careful in what words you put in his mouth. He can talk about his beliefs, but he shouldn't break character in doing so.

I'm far from an expert on Catholicism, but the Catholics I know are not generally pushy when it comes to religion -- but if you ask them questions at least the more learned are happy to answer. Depending on the needs of your plot and character ensemble, you might be able to get some of that by having an outsider character. I've read Christian-themed fantasy fiction that uses outsider characters (someone from a neighboring realm, elf, etc) to provide those conversational prompts. Use it sparingly since that's not your primary purpose in writing, and you should be fine.

(As an example where the religious discourse _is_ a primary function, see -- with a different religion -- _Conversations with Rabbi Small_, where most of the book involves a vacationing rabbi answering questions from a very curious non-Jew. The book is about the conversation more and the vacationing characters less; this is not what it sounds like you're doing.)

Original score: 49