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| Christianity | |
|---|---|
.jpg) The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Christian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem, a holy place of Christianity | |
| Classification | Abrahamic |
| Scripture | Bible (Old and New Testament) |
| Theology | Monotheistic |
| Region | Worldwide[1] |
| Language | Biblical Hebrew, Biblical Aramaic, and Biblical Greek |
| Territory | Christendom |
| Founder | Jesus |
| Origin | 1st century AD Judaea, Roman Empire |
| Separated from | Judaism[note 1] |
| Number of followers | est. 2.3 billion[7]  (referred to as Christians) |
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Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus is the Son of God and rose from the dead after his crucifixion, whose coming as the messiah (Christ) was prophesied in the Old Testament and chronicled in the New Testament. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with over 2.3 billion followers, comprising around 28.8% of the world population. Its adherents, known as Christians, are estimated to make up a majority of the population in 157 countries and territories.
Christianity remains culturally diverse in its Western and Eastern branches, and doctrinally diverse concerning justification and the nature of salvation, ecclesiology, ordination, and Christology. Most Christian denominations, however, generally hold in common the belief that Jesus is God the Son[note 2]—the Logos incarnated—who ministered, suffered, and died on a cross, but rose from the dead for the salvation of humankind; this message is called the gospel, meaning the "good news". The four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John describe Jesus' life and teachings as preserved in the early Christian tradition, with the Old Testament as the gospels' respected background.
Christianity began in the 1st century, after the death of Jesus, as a Judaic sect with Hellenistic influence in the Roman province of Judaea. The disciples of Jesus spread their faith around the Eastern Mediterranean area, despite significant persecution. The inclusion of Gentiles led Christianity to slowly separate from Judaism in the 2nd century. Emperor Constantine I decriminalized Christianity in the Roman Empire by the Edict of Milan in 313 AD, later convening the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD, where Early Christianity was consolidated into what would become the state religion of the Roman Empire by around 380 AD. The Church of the East and Oriental Orthodoxy both split over differences in Christology during the 5th century, while the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church separated in the East–West Schism in the year 1054. Protestantism split into numerous denominations from the Catholic Church during the Reformation era (16th century). Following the Age of Discovery (15th–17th century), Christianity expanded throughout the world via missionary work, evangelism, immigration, and extensive trade. Christianity played a prominent role in the development of Western civilization, particularly in Europe from late antiquity and the Middle Ages.[8][9][10]
The three main branches of Christianity are Catholicism (1.3 billion people), Protestantism (800 million),[note 3] and Eastern Orthodoxy (230 million), while other prominent branches include Oriental Orthodoxy (60 million), Restorationism (35 million),[note 4] and the Church of the East (600,000). Smaller church communities number in the thousands despite major efforts toward unity (ecumenism). In the West, Christianity remains the dominant religion even with a decline in adherence, with about 70% of that population identifying as Christian. Christianity is growing in Africa and Asia, the world's most populous continents. Many Christians are still persecuted in some regions of the world, particularly where they are a minority, such as in the Middle East, North Africa, East Asia, and South Asia.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Global Christianitywas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Ehrman, Bart D. (2005) [2003]. "At Polar Ends of the Spectrum: Early Christian Ebionites and Marcionites". Lost Christianities: The Battles for Scripture and the Faiths We Never Knew. Vol. 74. Oxford University Press. pp. 95–112. doi:10.1017/s0009640700110273. ISBN 978-0-19-518249-1. S2CID 152458823. Retrieved 20 January 2021. Church History. doi:10.1017/s0009640700110273
- ^ Hurtado, Larry W. (2005). "How on Earth Did Jesus Become a God? Approaches to Jesus-Devotion in Earliest Christianity". How on Earth Did Jesus Become a God? Historical Questions about Earliest Devotion to Jesus. Grand Rapids and Cambridge: Wm. B. Eerdmans. pp. 13–55. ISBN 978-0-8028-2861-3. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
- ^ Freeman, Charles (2010). "Breaking Away: The First Christianities". A New History of Early Christianity. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. pp. 31–46. doi:10.12987/9780300166583. ISBN 978-0-300-12581-8. JSTOR j.ctt1nq44w. S2CID 170124789. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
- ^ Wilken, Robert Louis (2013). "Beginning in Jerusalem". The First Thousand Years: A Global History of Christianity. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. pp. 6–16. ISBN 978-0-300-11884-1. JSTOR j.ctt32bd7m. S2CID 160590164. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
- ^ Lietaert Peerbolte, Bert Jan (2013). "How Antichrist Defeated Death: The Development of Christian Apocalyptic Eschatology in the Early Church". In Krans, Jan; Lietaert Peerbolte, L. J.; Smit, Peter-Ben; Zwiep, Arie W. (eds.). Paul, John, and Apocalyptic Eschatology: Studies in Honour of Martinus C. de Boer. Novum Testamentum: Supplements. Vol. 149. Leiden: Brill. pp. 238–255. doi:10.1163/9789004250369_016. ISBN 978-90-04-25026-0. ISSN 0167-9732. S2CID 191738355. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
- ^ Fahmy, Conrad Hackett, Marcin Stonawski, Yunping Tong, Stephanie Kramer, Anne Shi and Dalia (9 June 2025). "How the Global Religious Landscape Changed From 2010 to 2020" (PDF). Pew Research Center. Retrieved 10 June 2025.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Perry, Marvin (2012). Western Civilization: A Brief History, Volume I: To 1789. Cengage. p. 33. ISBN 978-1-111-83720-4.
- ^ Bokenkotter 2004, Preface.
- ^ Hayes, Carlton J. H. (1954). Christianity and Western Civilization. Stanford University Press. p. 2. ISBN 978-0-7581-3510-0.
{{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help) - ^ Melton, J. Gordon (2005). Encyclopedia of Protestantism. Infobase. p. 398. ISBN 978-0-8160-6983-5.
- ^ Lewis, Paul W.; Mittelstadt, Martin William (27 April 2016). What's So Liberal about the Liberal Arts?: Integrated Approaches to Christian Formation. Wipf & Stock. ISBN 978-1-4982-3145-9.
The Second Great Awakening (1790-1840) spurred a renewed interest in primitive Christianity. What is known as the Restoration Movement of the nineteenth century gave birth to an array of groups: Mormons (The Latter Day Saint Movement), the Churches of Christ, Adventists, and Jehovah's Witnesses. Though these groups demonstrate a breathtaking diversity on the continuum of Christianity they share an intense restorationist impulse.
- ^ Spinks, Bryan D. (2 March 2017). Reformation and Modern Rituals and Theologies of Baptism: From Luther to Contemporary Practices. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-351-90583-1.
However, Swedenborg claimed to receive visions and revelations of heavenly things and a 'New Church', and the new church which was founded upon his writings was a Restorationist Church. The three nineteenth-century churches are all examples of Restorationist Churches, which believed they were refounding the Apostolic Church, and preparing for the Second Coming of Christ.
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