Christianity

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 120 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—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, Constantine convened the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD, where the Nicene Creed was adopted, and 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. The three main branches of Christianity are Catholicism (1.3 billion people), Protestantism (800 million), and Eastern Orthodoxy (300 million), while other prominent branches include Oriental Orthodoxy (60 million) and Restorationism (35 million). Smaller church communities number in the thousands. In Christianity, efforts toward unity (ecumenism) are underway. 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.

Infobox

Classification

Abrahamic

Scripture

Bible (Old and New Testament)

Theology

Monotheistic

Region

Worldwide

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 (referred to as Christians)

Tables

Demographics of major traditions within Christianity (Pew Research Center, 2020 data)[citation needed] · Demographics

Roman Catholic Church

Tradition

Roman Catholic Church

Followers

1,329,610,000

% of the Christian population

50.1

% of the world population

15.9

Follower dynamics

Growing

Dynamics in- and outside Christianity

Growing

Protestantism

Tradition

Protestantism

Followers

900,640,000

% of the Christian population

36.7

% of the world population

11.6

Follower dynamics

Growing

Dynamics in- and outside Christianity

Growing

Eastern Orthodox Church

Tradition

Eastern Orthodox Church

Followers

220,380,000

% of the Christian population

11.9

% of the world population

3.8

Follower dynamics

Growing

Dynamics in- and outside Christianity

Declining

Other Christianity

Tradition

Other Christianity

Followers

28,430,000

% of the Christian population

1.3

% of the world population

0.4

Follower dynamics

Growing

Dynamics in- and outside Christianity

Growing

Christianity

Tradition

Christianity

Followers

2,382,750,000

% of the Christian population

100

% of the world population

31.7

Follower dynamics

Growing

Dynamics in- and outside Christianity

Stable

Tradition	Followers	% of the Christian population	% of the world population	Follower dynamics	Dynamics in- and outside Christianity
Roman Catholic Church	1,329,610,000	50.1	15.9	Growing	Growing
Protestantism	900,640,000	36.7	11.6	Growing	Growing
Eastern Orthodox Church	220,380,000	11.9	3.8	Growing	Declining
Other Christianity	28,430,000	1.3	0.4	Growing	Growing
Christianity	2,382,750,000	100	31.7	Growing	Stable

Christians (self-described) by region · Demographics

Europe

Region

Europe

Christians

558,260,000

% Christian

75.2

Latin America–Caribbean

Region

Latin America–Caribbean

Christians

531,280,000

% Christian

90.0

Sub-Saharan Africa

Region

Sub-Saharan Africa

Christians

517,340,000

% Christian

62.9

Asia–Pacific

Region

Asia–Pacific

Christians

286,950,000

% Christian

7.1

North America

Region

North America

Christians

266,630,000

% Christian

77.4

Middle East–North Africa

Region

Middle East–North Africa

Christians

12,710,000

% Christian

3.7

World

Region

World

Christians

2,173,180,000

% Christian

31.5

Region	Christians	% Christian
Europe	558,260,000	75.2
Latin America–Caribbean	531,280,000	90.0
Sub-Saharan Africa	517,340,000	62.9
Asia–Pacific	286,950,000	7.1
North America	266,630,000	77.4
Middle East–North Africa	12,710,000	3.7
World	2,173,180,000	31.5

Regional median ages of Christians compared with overall median ages (Pew Research Center, 2010 data)[293] · Demographics

World

Col 1

World