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Catholic Church Research Paper

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The religion I decided to research is the Roman Catholic Church, because it is one that I’ve always wanted to familiarize myself with more because many of my friends are Catholics and I was raised in a Christian family which I’ve heard is very similar to Catholicism. I have been to church with friends in the past before, but have never really taken the time to research and study the history behind this religion. My field-study took place in two different Catholic churches: Holy Rosary Church in Hilmar and Our Lady of the Assumption in Turlock. I chose these two mainly because they were two of the closest churches I have access to and both seem to have a fair amount of people attending. The Roman Catholic Church is the largest Christian based …show more content…

In the fourth century Roman Empire, Constantine I issued the Edict of Milan, which marked the date of the birth of the Church. Also, Christianity was the Roman state religion in the fourth century. “Catholic” derives from the Greek and means universal, and all churches that use the title in their name use it with a historical intent that they claim to be one universal church that was founded by the God that they worship. Today, the whole Christian church still institutes “one holy, Catholic, and apostolic church” in the Nicene Creed. The term Catholic, however, also applies similarly to the churches within the Catholic Communion that are centered in Rome. The Church of Rome is one of the oldest Christian communities, tracing its history to the apostles Peter and Paul in the first century. As the Church of Rome started to develope, it emphasized the central authority and primacy of the bishop of Rome, who became known as the Pope. By the eleventh century, the Catholic Church broke with the Byzantine Church of the East over issues of both authority and doctrine. Particularly in response to this division, several attempts were made to restore union and to heal the wounds of division between the

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