This course is an overview of the fundamental beliefs, practices and mission of the Catholic Church in relation to other Christian churches and its historical development from the apostolic age to the present time. Topics of particular emphasis will include: the apostolic origins of Christianity, the relationship of the early Church to the Roman world, the age of the martyrs, the establishment of Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire, the Protestant Reformation, the development of the major Christian churches in the Americas, the religious worlds of both African Americans, Hispanic Americans and women in the American Church.