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The '''Catholic Church''' is, literally, the ''Universal Church'' of Jesus Christ (from the Greek ''katholikos'', "universal").
The '''Catholic Church''' is, literally, the ''Universal Church'' of Jesus Christ (from the Greek ''katholikos'', "universal"). [[Catholic Church]] is a Christian church that is headed by the pope, the bishop of Rome. It is one of the largest religions in the world, with more than 1 billion adherents (In the United States more than 64 million.)
The [[Nicene Creed]], the great historical statement of Christian belief, contains the line "I [or we] believe in one holy, catholic and apostolic church". The [[Apostles' Creed]] contains a similar affirmation. However, Protestants and Catholics place different interpretations on the term "Catholic" (or "catholic"). Protestants believe that it refers to the general, over-arching spiritual unity of all Christians which transcends individual churches and denominations. Catholics, on the other hand, believe that the [[Roman Catholic Church]], as the single true church founded by Christ, ''is'' the universal Catholic Church. Some prefer not to refer to their own church as the "Roman" Catholic Church, on the grounds that such formulations implicitly deny this point of doctrine.
The [[Nicene Creed]], the great historical statement of Christian belief, contains the line "I [or we] believe in one holy, catholic and apostolic church". The [[Apostles' Creed]] contains a similar affirmation. However, Protestants and Catholics place different interpretations on the term "Catholic" (or "catholic"). Protestants believe that it refers to the general, over-arching spiritual unity of all Christians which transcends individual churches and denominations. Catholics, on the other hand, believe that the [[Roman Catholic Church]], as the single true church founded by Christ, ''is'' the universal Catholic Church. Some prefer not to refer to their own church as the "Roman" Catholic Church, on the grounds that such formulations implicitly deny this point of doctrine.