In fact, they are very different.
Fortunately, if you search on-line you can still find information about the principles of critical thinking if you know what to look for. You'll see information about argument theory, the concepts of proof and falsification, evidence and justification, the numerous logical fallacies, propositional logic, predicate logic, modal logic, and how all these things and more provide the foundations for mathematics, statistics, computing, engineering, science, ethics, and law.
Armed with critical thinking skills we can make better decisions, both by distinguishing good arguments from bad arguments, and also by constructing good arguments when we need them. Coming to understand logic and critical thinking can be incredibly rewarding and liberating. I've watched young first year university students - who sadly in New Zealand do not seem to get any significant grounding in these subjects at school - revel in a newfound ability to examine and evaluate claims and arguments.
On the other hand, critical theory and it's off-shoot terms (e.g. critical race theory, critical pedagogy, critical beings, to name a few), are very specific political and social theories which are at the foundations of much of the "woke" ideology we see across the English-speaking world. Critical theory is heavy on unsupported assertions and generalizations and has connections with post-modernism - which is in part a rejection of the principles of rationality and objectivity (the latter being seen as tools of the oppressor class).
The contrast between critical thinking and critical theory is profound. It is the very reason for the maxim that we should teach students how to think (which is what critical thinking is all about), and not what to think - which is what critical theory seeks to do. We should certainly teach about things such as critical theory (at an appropriate age) - but we should not be teaching the ideas in critical theory as fact, and certainly not to young children. Ironically, those who now want to teach critical theory as fact, not too long ago would themselves have objected to religious beliefs being taught in schools as fact.
The naming of "critical theory" may or may not have been chosen to be easily conflated with the term critical thinking, but conflation - a collapsing of the distinction - is certainly happening now. It is inevitable that with the growing awareness of critical theory in the mainstream the two terms will be confused and used interchangeably - and critical theory activists will exploit this if not encourage it. The following is from a news article from University of Cambridge Education Department:
"Freire, whose centenary is this year, was a Brazilian teacher, educationalist, and one of the most influential social scientists in history. One of his books, Pedagogy of the Oppressed, became a template for international education reforms in the 1970s … His ideas, which stressed teaching critical thought in schools so that citizens can challenge undemocratic forms of power" [1] (emphasis mine)
"It represents a shared set of beliefs in the emancipatory role of education and critical pedagogy." [1] (emphasis mine)
In a recent news item from the University of Auckland regarding new appointments to the Royal Society of New Zealand, the word "critical" (or variations) appears 4 times. About one person it says this:
"Braun's 2005 paper was the first to critically question the discourse, practice and implications of female genital cosmetic surgery" [2] (emphasis mine)
and in relation to a different person:
"Her work in historical musicology achieves impact through deepening knowledge, critical thinking, and challenging the traditional view of music and its context. … Through her work in critical pedagogy, she continually strives to help develop other peoples' historical perspectives, skills and awareness, not just for the maximum impact of her own research, but to develop tomorrow's 'critical beings'." [2] (emphasis mine)
The language in the above examples strongly follows the style of critical theory - and this is a wide-spread phenomenon. People who work in academic fields in which critical thinking is foundational simply don't talk like this.
This is a language land-grab being played out in real time. For a while it seemed that the critical theory movement would stop just short of actually taking over the term "critical thinking", but I think that might be my own wishful thinking - especially given the way that words like "equity" and "racism" have been captured and reshaped by the same ideologues.
A friend told me that he was talking recently to a schoolteacher who was using the term "critical thinking" during their conversation, and he realized only later that she wasn't talking about actual critical thinking. While critical thinking has never had the level of formal recognition in schools that I believe it should have, critical theory is coming to a school near you [3].
The deliberate conflation of critical theory with critical thinking will likely morph into a conflation out of ignorance. New teachers simply will not realize that there is a difference, and they will pass on their misunderstanding to their students. I dislike war metaphors since they were so badly overused during the age of Covid-mania, however it seems very appropriate here. An army of woke activists and ideologues have captured the territory surrounding the term critical thinking and it is difficult to see how it will not be overrun. I hope I'm wrong.
[1] University of Cambridge - Faculty of Education News. https://news.educ.cam.ac.uk/paulo-freire-sculpture-installed (undated but probably 2021)
[2] University of Auckland news item on appointments to the Royal Society of New Zealand (16th March 2023). https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/news/2023/03/16/leading-waipapa-taumata-rau-researchers-elected-as-fellows.html
[3] Dr Michael Johnston on how the NZ Ministry of Education roadmap incorporates critical theory ideology. https://breakingviewsnz.blogspot.com/2023/03/michael-johnston-critical-failure.html
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