Catholicism (from Greek , , “universal”) and its adjectival form Catholic are used as a broad term for describing specific traditions in the Christian churches in theology, doctrine, liturgy, ethics, and spirituality. “Catholicism” and “Catholic” in this sense refer to the practices of several Christian churches. This sense is to be distinguished from the use of these words to refer to the Catholic Church, that which is in full communion with the Holy See. In the sense of indicating historical continuity of faith and practice from the first millennium, the term “Catholicism” is at times employed to mark a contrast to Protestantism, which tends to look solely to the Bible as interpreted on the principles of the 16th-century Protestant Reformation as its ultimate standard. It was thus used by the Oxford Movement.
