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Christianity

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Christianity is a major religion with over 2.3 billion followers.

2020+ Proportion of people in world religions
2020+ Proportion of people in world religions

This means about 28.8% of all people in the world are Christians. They are the largest religious group on Earth. Many people in 120 different countries are Christians. They believe that Jesus is the Son of God.

P christianity
P christianity

They believe he rose from the dead after he died on a cross. This message is called the gospel. The word gospel means "good news." Christians use the Old Testament as a background for their faith. They also use four books called the gospels to learn about Jesus.

Christian cross
Christian cross

Most Christians share some basic ideas about their faith. They believe Jesus is God the Son. They believe he came to save humankind. This is a central part of what they believe. However, different groups have different ways of practicing. They might disagree on how to choose leaders. They may also have different ideas about how people are saved. These differences create many different branches of the religion.

Christianity Branches without text
Christianity Branches without text

Christianity began in the 1st century in a place called Judaea. It started as a small group of Jewish followers. These early followers were sometimes called "The Way."

Later, people in the city of Antioch called them "Christians." This name means "followers of Christ." Over time, the group grew to include many non-Jewish people. This helped the religion become separate from Judaism in the 2nd century. Early leaders like Peter and John helped lead the first communities.

History shows that being a Christian was not always easy. In the Roman Empire, some leaders treated Christians poorly. There were times of hard persecution for the followers.

Church of the Holy Sepulchre by Gerd Eichmann (cropped)
Church of the Holy Sepulchre by Gerd Eichmann (cropped)

Things changed in 313 AD with the Edict of Milan. Emperor Constantine I helped make Christianity legal. By 380 AD, it became the state religion of the Roman Empire. In 325 AD, leaders met at the Council of Nicaea. They created the Nicene Creed to help define their beliefs.

Khor Virap Monastery and Mount Ararat, Armenia
Khor Virap Monastery and Mount Ararat, Armenia

Today, there are three very large branches of Christianity. Catholicism has about 1.3 billion people. Protestantism has about 800 million followers. Eastern Orthodoxy has about 300 million people.

Christianity Branches without text
Christianity Branches without text

Other groups like Oriental Orthodoxy have 60 million people. Christianity is growing quickly in Africa and Asia. Even though it is very large, some Christians still face hard times in certain regions. They may be treated poorly if they are a minority.

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🖼️ Images & Media (45)
File:Christianity Branches without text.svg
Christianity Branches without text.svg
File:2020+ Proportion of people in world religions.svg
2020+ Proportion of people in world religions.svg
File:Christian World—Pew Research Center 2010.svg
Christian World—Pew Research Center 2010.svg
File:Christianity percent population in each nation World Map Christian data by Pew Research.svg
Christianity percent population in each...
File:Countries by percentage of Protestants (2010).svg
Countries by percentage of Protestants (2010).svg
File:Percent of Catholics by Country–Pew Research 2011.svg
Percent of Catholics by Country–Pew...
File:Percent of Christians by Country–Pew Research 2011.svg
Percent of Christians by Country–Pew...
File:Percent of Eastern Orthodox Christians by country.svg
Percent of Eastern Orthodox Christians by...
File:Christian cross.svg
Christian cross.svg
File:P christianity.svg
P christianity.svg
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P religion world.svg
File:Church of Saint Mary - Urmia - Iran - کلیسای ننه مریم، ارومیه - ایران.jpg
Church of Saint Mary - Urmia - Iran -...

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