IS CATHOLICISM AND TAI CHI INCOMPATIBLE

QUESTION? / COMMENT!

I was considering and exercise program called Tai Chi. Is that a sound exercise plan or is this to much like yoga? 

ANSWER! / COMMENT!

The fact that you are asking this question means that your Catholic Moral Conscience is being pricked by the Holy Spirit and you are being told that there is something wrong with the practice of Tai Chi. Your "sensus fidei" is alerting you that there is something dangerous that revolves around Tai Chi. Objectively, we do know that Tai Chi comes from Buddhism and Hinduism which are pagan religions.

Before I get involved in something like Tai Chi I would at least read up on it on wikipedia. The Holy Spirit will enlighten your understanding as you read it and you will be able to detect whether this is compatible with our Catholic faith.

Here is a good article that covers Tai Chi and other martial arts. In an article written about the different forms of the martial arts, B. J. Oropeza, a professor at the C. P. Haggard School of Theology at Azusa Pacific University CA, names Aikido, Ninjitsu, and Tai Chi as the most incompatible with Christianity...Tai Chi is off-limits because it involves the practice of Taoism. "In order to achieve physical well-being, the Tai Chi student must be attuned to the universe by concentrating below the navel section of the body - which is said to be the body's psychic center," Prof. Oropeza writes. "Tai Chi cannot be reconciled with Christianity" - https://womenofgrace.com/blog/what-about-karate-and-the-martial-arts. 

Catholic Answers provides one of the clearest, most balanced official-style responses from a major Catholic source. They state that Tai Chi as pure physical exercise or martial discipline is acceptable (Catholics have no monopoly on certain body movements, and it can aid balance, health, etc.). However, it becomes incompatible when it involves:

Belief in “chi/qi” as a harnessable life-force energy you control.

Pantheistic ideas (an impersonal force or “energy” pervading the universe, making “we are all god” or “God is the universe” notions).

Taoist religious/philosophical framework.

This mirrors the Catechism on superstition (CCC 2111) and echoes the Vatican document Jesus Christ, the Bearer of the Water of Life (which critiques New Age “impersonal energy” as a false “god”). They compare it to yoga: strip away the religious intent, and basic movements may be fine—but most classes blend in the worldview. While the physical motions alone aren’t forbidden, embracing the Taoist concept of chi or pantheism directly contradicts Catholic belief in a personal, transcendent God who created and sustains all things.”

Women of Grace (founded by Johnnette Benkovic Williams on EWTN) has directly addressed Tai Chi in articles like “Why Tai Chi and Catholicism Don’t Mix.” They explain that Tai Chi seeks to balance yin/yang and circulate qi (life-force energy) for physical and spiritual well-being. This is rooted in pantheism—an impersonal energy pervading nature—which the Vatican document calls a “New Age god,” very different from the personal Trinity. They note that accepting these teachings is often “a matter of belief or faith rather than evidence-based science,” and warn of the risk of opening doors to incompatible spiritual influences. Johnnette Benkovic’s Women of Grace ministry, dedicated to authentic Catholic womanhood and warning against New Age practices, emphasizes that the core philosophy of Tai Chi promotes an energy force incompatible with Christianity’s personal God. They recommend avoiding the spiritual components entirely.

Fr. Pacwa (EWTN host, biblical scholar, and former enneagram proponent who later critiqued it) is a leading voice against New Age and Eastern mystical practices that sneak into Christian contexts. His research work on Eastern mysticism, occult influences, and practices involving “energy” or altered states (e.g., his critiques of enneagram, yoga-adjacent mysticism) consistently warns that seemingly innocent exercises can lead people deeper into non-Christian worldviews. In one context, he linked early martial arts/tai chi interest to a path toward oriental mysticism and other experiments. His approach stresses testing everything against Scripture and Catholic doctrine. Fr Pacwa would likely caution that Tai Chi’s mystical elements can subtly draw practitioners toward Eastern pantheism and away from dependence on Christ and the sacraments.”

Randy England (author of The Unicorn in the Sanctuary: The Impact of the New Age on the Catholic Church) is frequently cited in discussions of yoga, Tai Chi, and similar practices. He and similar New Age researchers warn that postures, breathing, and “energy work” in these disciplines can function as gateways, even if the practitioner starts with purely physical intentions. The book highlights how such practices entered Catholic spaces and carry occult or pantheistic risks.

Catholic researcher Randy England, in his work on New Age infiltration, groups Tai Chi with practices that risk introducing incompatible spiritual energies or mindsets into the lives of believers.