Catholics go to confession to ask for forgiveness for their sins. Do other religions require that or are Catholics the only ones?

Admitting what you did wrong to other people is one thing. Coming clean is always better than holding tight to wrongdoing and never telling anyone about it. Going into a closed booth and telling a priest your sins and asking him to forgive you and give you penance or whatever it is they do (I'm not Catholic so it's just what I've seen in the movies) is a formal requirement of the faith I believe and I just wondered if any other religion demanded/expected that Autumn.  Thank you for your reply and Happy Friday! :)

Rosie, I did a bit of research and this is what I found out about the catholic practice of confessing as opposed to what the bible says: is the rite of reconciliation, including auricular confession (personal confession into the ear of a priest), as taught by the catholic church scriptural?
The manner in which the priest is addressed 
the traditional formula, still often used, is: " bless me, father, for i have sinned. It has been  (length of time)since my last confession."- u.s. Catholic magazine, October 1982, p. 6

Matthew 23:1,9, catholic version Jerusalem bible: "jesus said,...'you must call no one on earth your father, since you have only one Father, and he is in heaven. 

Sins that can be forgiven
"The church has always taught that every single sin,, no matter how serious, can be forgiven." -the catholic encyclopedia 1976, p. 554 
Jerusalem bible translation:Hebrews 10:26, "if after we have been given knowledge of the truth, we should deliberately commit any sins, then there is no longer any sacrifice for them."
Mark 3:29, jb: "let anyone blaspheme against the Holy Spirit and he will never have forgiveness: he is guilty of an eternal sin."

How penance is to be shown 
Frequently the confessor directs that the penitent say a specified number of "our fathers" and "hail marys."
Matthew 6:7, jb:" in your prayers do not babble  [that is, utter in a meaningless repetitious manner as the pagans do, for they think that by using many words they will make themselves heard."
Matthew 6:9-12, jb:" you should pray like this:' our Father in heaven...forgive us our debts."(nowhere in the bible are we commanded to pray to or through Mary. ( philippians 4:6)
Romans 12:9, jb:"do not let your love be a pretense, but sincerely prefer good to evil."
Did not jesus authorized his apostles to forgive sins?
John 20:21-23, jb: " as the  Father sent me, so am I sending you. After saying this he breathed on them and said:'receive the Holy Spirit. For those whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven; for those whose sins you retain, they are retained."

How did the apostles understand and apply this?
There is no record in the bible of a single instance in which an apostle listened to a private confession and then pronounced absolution. However, the requirements for being forgiven by God are set out in the bible. The apostles, under the direction of holy spirit, could discern whether individuals were meeting such requirements and could on this basis declare that God had either forgiven them or not forgiven them. For examples, see acts 5:1-11, also 1corinthians 5:1-5 and 2corinthians 2:6-8.

Viewpoints of scholars as to the origin of auricular confession differ
The catholic encyclopedia, by r.c. broderick, states:"since the fourth century auricular confession has been the accepted method." -p. 58

The new catholic encyclopedia says:"many contemporary historians, both catholic and protestant, trace the origins of private penance as a normal discipline to the churches of Ireland, Wales, and Britain, where the sacraments, including penance, were administered usually by the abbot of a monastery and his priest-monks. With the monastic practice of confession and public and private spiritual direction as the model, repeated confession and confession of devotion seem to have been introduced for the laity... however,  it was not until the 11th century that secret sins were absolved at the time of confession and before the fulfillment of penance." -(1967), volume X1, p.75.

Historian a.h. sayce reports:"the ritual texts show that both public and private confession was practiced in Babylonia. Indeed, private confession seems to have been the older and more usual method."-the religions of ancient Egypt and babylonia (Edinburg, 1902), p.497. All the best to you!! This post was edited by Autumnleaves at July 2, 2017 3:45 AM MDT

THE OLDER MEN?  Oh what great role models in your mind.  The OLDER MEN. 

Women have no place in giving advice or being leaders in virtue.  Just the older men.   The least trusted humans on the planet.

Women were specifically excluded by the men who ran the churches Shar. There are books that feature them that were excluded from the Bible when the church men gathered together at the various councils over the years to decide what SHOULD be in the bible and what SHOULD NOT be in the bible.. The men feared the women and kept them out. It was not the fault of the women. They never had a chance to be role models or looked up to or revered except for the Virgin Mary and that was simply because she gave birth to a man. Women were and are still are viewed as second-class citizens. I don't know if that will ever change. Just my two cents' worth.

"Older men" in the Christian Greek scriptures is referring to positions of responsibility in the Christian congregation.  In a few texts the "older men" are called "overseers "(greek,e pisko poi; bishops', king James)     

Thanks, Autumn.  That was appreciated and most helpful.  

Squirrel in church reminds me of louse in lady's bonnet. In 1786 poet Robert Burns wrote "To a louse on seeing one on a lady's bonnet in church". The famous line is "O wad some power the giftie gie us to see oursels as ithers see us" with which I'm sure you're familiar. Thank you for your reply Maurice and Happy Saturday! :).

Madonna and God. Strange coupling. Thank you for your reply Shar and the graphic and Happy Saturday. :)

Funny you should mention that my friend. I always wondered about that. Prurient interest mayhap? Living vicariously through another's confession of transgression? Thank you for your reply Lulu'sMom! :)

I wondered that too.
Maybe they just want to see how the rest of the world lives.