Christianity

Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life, crucifixtion, resurection and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented in the New Testament writings of his early followers. It is the world's largest religion, with an estimated 2.1 billion adherents, or about one-third of the total world population. It shares with Judaism the Hebrew Bible (historically called by Christians the Old Testament), and for this reason is sometimes called an Abrahamic religion along with Judaism and Islam.

Related Topics:
Monotheistic - Religion - Jesus of Nazareth - New Testament - Judaism - Hebrew Bible - Old Testament - Abrahamic religion - Islam

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The names "Christian" and hence "Christianity" come from , "and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people. And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians (Gr. ???????????)". The early church was also refered to by some as "The Way." Christianity encompasses numerous religious traditions that widely vary by culture and place, as well as many diverse beliefs and sects. It is usually represented as being divided into three main branches, over the past two millennia:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

• Catholicism (includes the largest coherent group, the Roman Catholic Church, including Eastern Catholics, representing over one billion baptized members),
• Eastern Christianity (includes the second-largest coherent group, the Eastern Orthodox Church, as well as the Old Oriental Churches),
• Protestantism (many denominations and schools of thought, including Anglicanism, Reformed, Lutheran, Methodist, Anabaptist, Evangelicalism, Charismatics and Pentecostalism)

These broad divisions do not represent equally uniform branches. On the contrary, some branches encompass vast disagreements, and in other cases the division existing overlooks sympathies. But this is the convenient standard overview of distinctions, especially as Christianity has been viewed in the Western world.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A more comprehensive overview would show more complicated relationships among denominations and traditions. Among various disparate groups, this would include categorizing the Monophysite Old Oriental Churches and the Nestorian Assyrian Church of the East as branches distinct from the Chalcedonian Christianity of most of the West (Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Protestantism). Groups with restorationist beliefs--including some Anabaptists, Swedenborgianism, the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and others--sometimes regard themselves as entirely separate from Protestantism, with which they have often been included. The Anglican Communion churches speak of themselves as "both catholic and protestant", and therefore are sometimes listed separately.

Related Topics:
Monophysite - Old Oriental Churches - Nestorian - Assyrian Church of the East - Chalcedonian - Restorationist beliefs - Anabaptist - Swedenborgianism - Religious Society of Friends - Anglican Communion

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Many traditions and groups exist, including Jehovah's Witnesses, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormonism), and others, which often describe themselves as Christian but are not usually recognized as such by other Christian denominations, as their teachings are held by many Christians to be unorthodox.

Related Topics:
Jehovah's Witnesses - Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints - Mormonism - Unorthodox

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In the 19th and 20th centuries many historically Christian countries, including many legally-designated Christian states, especially in Western Europe, saw increasing social trends of secularization, especially in the Communist states of the mid- to late-20th century, which were governed by avowed atheists. Coinciding with the scientific discrediting of a literal interpretation of the Bible's account of the earth's origin, there has been a shift of social and scientific ethics, from a Christian to a secular reference. At the same time, there has been growing resistance to secularism and certain developments of the 19th and 20th century, including materialism. These opposing trends clash on many fronts, including the public debate of Abortion, Euthanasia and Suicide, laws governing marriage and divorce, parental rights, the legal status of community standards, and a broad spectrum of other matters in addition to the public controversies primarily associated with Fundamentalist Christianity concerning, for example, the appropriateness of religious instruction alongside of secular views in public school classrooms (as in the creationism controversy).

Related Topics:
19th - 20th centuries - Western Europe - Communist - Atheist - Materialism - Abortion - Euthanasia - Suicide - Fundamentalist Christianity - Public school - Creationism

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 
Christianity: Christianity today ►