You don’t often find an ancient creed at the center of a minor American political controversy. But the Apostles’ Creed surprisingly found its way into the news cycle last week.

During the funeral of the late President George H. W. Bush, all the former presidents and their wives stood and recited the creed while President Donald Trump and his wife, Melania, stood in silence. Critics of the president used it to question his faith. But more interesting than the motives for the non-recital were the peculiar misunderstandings about the creed.

Some news outlets were mocked for referring to the creed as a prayer (though most Protestants don’t consider it to be a prayer, most Catholics do). Numerous people also claimed Trump shouldn’t have recited the creed because he isn’t Catholic. Many people on social media seem to think the line in the creed about the “the holy catholic church” is referring to the Roman Catholic Church. (The term “catholic” in the original version of the creed refers to the universal church of all believers.)

These confusions highlight, as Jaquelle Crowe recently wrote, why modern Christians need an ancient creed. “Creeds draw us back to ancient truth,” Crowe writes in a book review. “They keep us established in orthodoxy and vigilant in discernment. Every generation needs them to guard against their day’s versions of heresy.”