Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world’s largest religion, with about 2.8 billion followers, representing one-third of the global population. Its adherents, known as Christians, make up a majority of the population in 157 countries and territories, and believe that Jesus is the Son of God, whose coming as the messiah was prophesied in the Hebrew Bible (called the Old Testament in Christianity) and chronicled in the New Testament.

Christianity began as a Second Temple Judaic sect in the 1st century Hellenistic Judaism in the Roman province of Judea. Jesus’ apostles and their followers spread around the Levant, Europe, Anatolia, Mesopotamia, the South Caucasus, Egypt, and Ethiopia, despite initial persecution. It soon attracted gentile God-fearers, which led to a departure from Jewish customs, and, after the Fall of Jerusalem, AD 70 which ended the Temple-based Judaism, Christianity slowly separated from Judaism. Emperor Constantine the Great decriminalized Christianity in the Roman Empire by the Edict of Milan (313), later convening the Council of Nicaea (325) where Early Christianity was consolidated into what would become the State church of the Roman Empire (380). The early history of Christianity’s united church before major schisms is sometimes referred to as the “Great Church” (though divergent sects existed at the same time, including Gnostics, Marcionites, and Jewish Christians). The Church of the East split after the Council of Ephesus (431) and Oriental Orthodoxy split after the Council of Chalcedon (451) over differences in Christology, while the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church separated in the East–West Schism (1054), especially over the authority of the bishop of Rome. Protestantism split in numerous denominations from the Catholic Church in the Reformation era (16th century) over theological and ecclesiological disputes, most predominantly on the issue of justification and the primacy of the bishop of Rome. Christianity played a prominent role in the development of Western civilization, particularly in Europe from late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Following the Age of Discovery (15th–17th century), Christianity was spread into the Americas, Oceania, sub-Saharan Africa, and the rest of the world via missionary work.

Christianity remains culturally diverse in its Western and Eastern branches, as well as in its doctrines concerning justification and the nature of salvation, ecclesiology, ordination, and Christology. The creeds of various Christian denominations generally hold in common Jesus as the Son of God—the Logos incarnated—who ministered, suffered, and died on a cross, but rose from the dead for the salvation of mankind; and referred to as the gospel, meaning the “good news”. Describing Jesus’ life and teachings are the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, with the Old Testament as the gospel’s respected background.

The four largest branches of Christianity are the Catholic Church (1.3 billion/50.1%), Protestantism (920 million/36.7%), the Eastern Orthodox Church (230 million), and the Oriental Orthodox churches (62 million) (Orthodox churches combined at 11.9%), though thousands of smaller church communities exist despite efforts toward unity (ecumenism). Despite a decline in adherence in the West, Christianity remains the dominant religion in the region, with about 70% of that population identifying as Christian. Christianity is growing in Africa and Asia, the world’s most populous continents. Christians remain persecuted in some regions of the world, especially in the Middle East, North Africa, East Asia, and South Asia.

Watch the below videos to know learn about Christianity

Christianity, Scriptures and conspiracy theories

Christianity: Jesus the Messiah, Scriptures - size, geography, and conspiracy theories

Courtesy: Dr. Dale Tuggy

The historical Jesus and the four gospels

Christianity: Jesus the Messiah, Scriptures - the historical Jesus and the four gospels

Jesus and teachings

Christianity: Jesus the Messiah, Scriptures - birth, childhood, ministry, and teachings

Jesus's suffering, death, and resurrection

Christianity: Jesus the Messiah, Scriptures - Jesus's suffering, death, and resurrection in Luke

The Christian Bible

Christianity: Jesus the Messiah, Scriptures - the Christian Bible

Early Christianity, bishops

Christian history and sects - early Christianity, bishops

This part discusses early Christianity, apostles, bishops, the pentarchy of patriarchates, gnostic Christianity, and docetic christology.

Christians in and after the Roman empire

Christian history and sects - Christians in and after the Roman empire

The Protestant Reformation and missionaries

Christian history and sects - the Protestant Reformation, the Crusades, and missionaries

This part discusses the Protestant Reformation, indulgences, purgatory, the concept of heresy, the Crusades, the Inquisition, and the modern missionary movement.

Liberal, Fundamentalist, and Evangelical

Christian history and sects - liberal, Fundamentalist, and evangelical Christianity

Peter, Stephen, and Paul

Christian history and sects - Peter, Stephen, and Paul

This part discusses the lives of Peter, Stephen, and Paul as described in the Acts of the Apostles in the New Testament.

Christian doctrines - faith

This part discusses Christian views on orthodoxy and orthopraxis, faith, and knowledge.

Christian doctrines

Christian doctrines - the one God, the triad, and the Trinity

This part discusses Christian views about God, God in the Bilbe, the Apostles' Creed, monotheism, early Christian views on the trinity / triad, the councils of Nicea and Constantinople in the fourth century, the "Arian" controversy, modalism, tritheism, the fully developed catholic Trinity language, and three present-day ways of interpreting that language - one-self Trinity, three-self Trinity, and mysterianism.

Christian doctrines - Jesus

Christian doctrines - Jesus

This part discusses Christian views about Jesus, discussing docetic, humanitarian (Socinian), subordinationist, and Chalcedonian christologies.

Christian doctrines- heaven, hell & atonement

This part discusses Christian views about salvation, heaven and hell, Jesus's atonement for human sin, legalism, .

Christian practices 1

Christian practices - ecumenism, other religions, women, and sex

This part discusses Christian views about unity between denominations, other religions, women, and three views on human sexuality, procreation, birth control, celibacy, marriage, and pleasure.

Christian practices 2

Christian practices - prayer, churches, and sacraments

This part discusses Christian prayer, churches, and the seven sacraments of Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy.

Christian practices 3

Christian practices - veneration of saints

This part discusses the veneration of saints, including the Virgin Mary.

Christian practices 4

Christian practices - three prominent Christians

This part discusses three recent prominent Christians: C.S. Lewis, Richard Foster, and Pope John Paul II.

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