:Christians

The Greek word {{lang|grc|Χριστιανός}} ({{Lang|grc-latn|Christianos}}), meaning {{Gloss|follower of Christ}}, comes from {{lang|grc|Χριστός}} ({{Lang|grc-latn|Christos}}), meaning 'anointed one',{{Cite web |last=Harper |first=Douglas |date=n.d. |title=Christ |url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/Christ |access-date=2024-10-13 |website=Online Etymology Dictionary}} with an adjectival ending borrowed from Latin to denote adhering to, or even belonging to, as in slave ownership.Bickerman, 1949 p. 147, "All these Greek terms, formed with the Latin suffix -ianus, exactly as the Latin words of the same derivation, express the idea that the men or things referred to, belong to the person to whose name the suffix is added."
p. 145, "In Latin this suffix produced proper names of the type Marcianus and, on the other hand, derivatives from the name of a person, which referred to his belongings, like fundus Narcissianus, or, by extension, to his adherents, Ciceroniani." In the Greek Septuagint, {{Lang|grc-latn|christos}} was used to translate the Hebrew {{Lang|hbo|מָשִׁיחַ|rtl=yes}} ({{Lang|hbo-latn|Mašíaḥ}}, 'messiah'), meaning "[one who is] anointed".[http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=messiah Messiah] at Etymology Online In other European languages, equivalent words to Christian are likewise derived from the Greek, such as {{Lang|fr|chrétien}} in French and {{Lang|es|cristiano}} in Spanish.

The abbreviations Xian and Xtian (and similarly formed other parts of speech) have been used since at least the 17th century: Oxford English Dictionary shows a 1634 use of Xtianity and Xian is seen in a 1634–38 diary.{{Cite encyclopedia |chapter=X, n. 10 |date=March 2016 |title=OED Online |publisher=Oxford University Press |url=http://oed.com/view/Entry/230945 |access-date=8 January 2019 |url-access=subscription}}{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fTvQBBb5-skC&q=xian%20christian&pg=PA4 |title=The Diary of Samuel Rogers, 1634–1638 |date=2004 |publisher=Boydell Press |isbn=9781843830436 |page=4 |last1=Rogers |first1=Samuel|editor1-last=Webster|editor1-first=Tom|editor2-last=Shipps|editor2-first=Kenneth W. |quote=Throughout his diary, Rogers abbreviates 'Christ' to 'X' and the same is true of 'Christian' ('Xian'), 'Antichrist' ('AntiX') and related words. |access-date=8 January 2019}} The word Xmas uses a similar contraction.

File:Antioch Saint Pierre Church Front.JPG near Antioch (modern-day Antakya), the city where the disciples were called "Christians"{{Cite web|url=https://biblehub.com/acts/11-26.htm|title=Acts 11:26 and when he found him, he brought him back to Antioch. So for a full year they met together with the church and taught large numbers of people. The disciples were first called Christians at Antioch.|website=biblehub.com}}]]

The first recorded use of the term (or its cognates in other languages) is in the New Testament, in Acts 11 after Barnabas brought Saul (Paul) to Antioch where they taught the disciples for about a year. The text says that "the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch" (Acts 11:26). The second mention of the term follows in Acts 26, where Herod Agrippa II replied to Paul the Apostle, "Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian." (Acts 26:28). The third and final New Testament reference to the term is in 1 Peter 4, which exhorts believers: "Yet if [any man suffer] as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf." (1 Peter 4:16).{{cite web | url=https://biblehub.com/1_peter/4-16.htm | title=1 Peter 4:16 - Suffering as Christians }}

Kenneth Samuel Wuest holds that all three original New Testament verses' usages reflect a derisive element in the term Christian to refer to followers of Christ who did not acknowledge the emperor of Rome.#Wuest-1973 p. 19. "The word is used three times in the New Testament, and each time as a term of reproach or derision. Here in Antioch, the name Christianos was coined to distinguish the worshippers of the Christ from the Kaisarianos, the worshippers of Caesar." The city of Antioch, where someone gave them the name Christians, had a reputation for coming up with such nicknames.#Wuest-1973 p. 19. "The city of Antioch in Syria had a reputation for coining nicknames." However Peter's apparent endorsement of the term led to its being preferred over "Nazarenes" and the term {{Lang|grc-latn|Christianoi}} from 1 Peter becomes the standard term in the Early Church Fathers from Ignatius and Polycarp onwards.Christine Trevett Christian Women and the Time of the Apostolic Fathers 2006 {{"'}}Christians' (christianoi) was a term first coined in Syrian Antioch (Acts 11:26) and which appeared next in Christian sources in Ignatius, Eph 11.2; Rom 3.2; Pol 7.3. Cf. too Did 12.4; MPol 3.1; 10.1; 12.1–2; EpDiog 1.1; 4.6; 5.1;"

The earliest occurrences of the term in non-Christian literature include Josephus, referring to "the tribe of Christians, so named from him;"{{cite web |author=Josephus |author-link=Josephus |url=http://www.ccel.org/j/josephus/works/ant-18.htm |title=Antiquities of the Jews — XVIII, 3:3 |translator= William Whiston |website=Christian Classics Ethereal Library |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404155532/https://www.ccel.org/j/josephus/works/ant-18.htm |archive-date= Apr 4, 2023 }} Pliny the Younger in correspondence with Trajan; and Tacitus, writing at the beginning of the 2nd century. In the Annals he relates that "by vulgar appellation [they were] commonly called Christians"{{cite book |last1=Tacitus |first1=Cornelius |last2=Murphy |first2=Arthur |title=The works of Cornelius Tacitus: with an essay on his life and genius, notes, supplements, &c |page=287 |year=1836 |publisher=Thomas Wardle |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E0vy1dAhgj0C}} and identifies Christians as Nero's scapegoats for the Great Fire of Rome.{{cite book |title=The Book of the Acts |author=Bruce, Frederick Fyvie |author-link=F. F. Bruce |year=1988 |publisher=Eerdmans |page=228 |isbn=0-8028-2505-2}}

Another term for Christians which appears in the New Testament is Nazarenes. Jesus is named as a Nazarene in Matthew 2:23, while Paul is said to be Nazarene in Acts 24:5. The latter verse makes it clear that Nazarene also referred to the name of a sect or heresy, as well as the town called Nazareth.{{Original research inline|date=October 2024}}{{citation needed|date=October 2019}}

The term Nazarene was also used by the Jewish lawyer Tertullus (Against Marcion 4:8), who records the phrase "the Jews call us Nazarenes". Furthermore, around 331 AD Eusebius records that Christ was called a Nazoraean from the name Nazareth, and that in earlier centuries "Christians" were once called "Nazarenes".Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies: Volume 65, Issue 1 University of London. School of Oriental and African Studies – 2002 "around 331, Eusebius says of the place name Nazareth that 'from this name the Christ was called a Nazoraean, and in ancient times we, who are now called Christians, were once called Nazarenes';6 thus he attributes this designation" The Hebrew equivalent of Nazarenes, {{Lang|hbo-latn|Notzrim}}, occurs in the Babylonian Talmud, and is still the modern Israeli Hebrew term for Christian.

File:MII (cropped)-Tacitus-chrestianos.png. 11th century copy.]]File:ChristianityPUA.svg and Ichthys symbols, two symbols often used by Christians to represent their religion]]

A wide range of beliefs and practices are found across the world among those who call themselves Christian. Denominations and sects disagree on a common definition of "Christianity". For example, Timothy Beal notes the disparity of beliefs among those who identify as Christians in the United States as follows:

Although all of them have their historical roots in Christian theology and tradition, and although most would identify themselves as Christian, many would not identify others within the larger category as Christian. Most Baptists and fundamentalists (Christian Fundamentalism), for example, would not acknowledge Mormonism or Christian Science as Christian. In fact, the nearly 77 percent of Americans who self-identify as Christian are a diverse pluribus of Christianities that are far from any collective unity.{{cite book |last=Beal |first=Timothy |author-link=Timothy Beal |title=Religion in America: A Very Short Introduction |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2008 |location=Oxford |page=35}}

Linda Woodhead attempts to provide a common belief thread for Christians by noting that "Whatever else they might disagree about, Christians are at least united in believing that Jesus has a unique significance." Michael Martin evaluated three historical Christian creeds (the Apostles' Creed, the Nicene Creed and the Athanasian Creed) to establish a set of basic Christian assumptions which include belief in theism, the historicity of Jesus, the Incarnation, salvation through faith in Jesus, and Jesus as an ethical role model.{{cite book |title=The Case Against Christianity |author=Martin, Michael |author-link=Michael Martin (philosopher) |year=1993 |publisher=Temple University Press |page=[https://archive.org/details/caseagainstchris00mich/page/12 12] |isbn=1-56639-081-8 |url=https://archive.org/details/caseagainstchris00mich/page/12}}

File:PikiWiki Israel 17818 Cities in Israel.jpg is described as the childhood home of Jesus. Many languages employ the word Nazarene as a general designation for those of Christian faith.Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies: Volume 65, Issue 1 University of London. School of Oriental and African Studies – 2002.]]

The identification of Jesus as the Messiah is not accepted by Judaism. The term for a Christian in Hebrew is {{Lang|he|נוֹצְרִי|rtl=yes}} ({{Lang|he-latn|Notzri}} {{Gloss|Nazarene}}), a Talmudic term originally derived from the fact that Jesus came from the Galilean village of Nazareth, today in northern Israel.[http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=nazarene Nazarene] at Etymology Online Adherents of Messianic Judaism are referred to in modern Hebrew as {{Lang|he|יְהוּדִים מְשִׁיחִיִּים|rtl=yes}} ({{Lang|he-latn|Yehudim Meshihi'im}} {{Gloss|Messianic Jews}}).

In Arabic-speaking cultures, two words are commonly used for Christians: {{lang|ar-latn|Naṣrānī}} ({{lang|ar|نصراني|rtl=yes}}), plural {{lang|ar-latn|Naṣārā}} ({{lang|ar|نصارى|rtl=yes}}) is generally understood to be derived from Nazarenes, believers of Jesus of Nazareth through Syriac (Aramaic); {{lang|ar-latn|Masīḥī}} ({{lang|ar|مسيحي|rtl=yes}}) means followers of the Messiah.Society for Internet Research, {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20130525050133/http://www.sofir.org/sarchives/005539.php The Hamas Charter]}}, note 62 (erroneously, "salidi"). Where there is a distinction, {{lang|ar-latn|Naṣrānī}} refers to people from a Christian culture and {{lang|ar-latn|Masīḥī}} is used by Christians themselves for those with a religious faith in Jesus.Jeffrey Tayler, [https://books.google.com/books?id=98dQ39WOoUUC&dq=masihi+nasrani&pg=RA1-PA41 Trekking through the Moroccan Sahara]. In some countries {{lang|ar-latn|Naṣrānī}} tends to be used generically for non-Muslim Western foreigners.{{cite web |title=Nasara |url=http://www.mazyanbizaf.com/mbs002 |website=Mazyan Bizaf Show|access-date=18 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171013151448/http://www.mazyanbizaf.com/mbs002/|archive-date=13 October 2017|url-status=usurped}}

Another Arabic word sometimes used for Christians, particularly in a political context, is {{lang|ar-latn|Ṣalībī}} ({{lang|ar|صليبي|rtl=yes}} {{gloss|Crusader}}) from {{lang|ar-latn|ṣalīb}} ({{lang|ar|صليب|rtl=yes}} {{gloss|cross}}), which refers to Crusaders and may have negative connotations.Akbar S. Ahmed, [https://books.google.com/books?id=kXY9AAAAIAAJ&dq=salibi+crusader&pg=PA110 Islam, Globalization, and Postmodernity], p 110. However, {{lang|ar-latn|Ṣalībī}} is a modern term; historically, Muslim writers described European Christian Crusaders as {{lang|ar-latn|al-Faranj}} or {{lang|ar-latn|Alfranj}} ({{lang|ar|الفرنج|rtl=yes}}) and {{lang|ar-latn|Firinjīyah}} ({{lang|ar|الفرنجيّة|rtl=yes}}) in Arabic.Rashid al-din Fazl Allâh, quoted in Karl Jahn (ed.) Histoire Universelle de Rasid al-Din Fadl Allah Abul=Khair: I. Histoire des Francs (Texte Persan avec traduction et annotations), Leiden, E. J. Brill, 1951. (Source: M. Ashtiany) This word comes from the name of the Franks and can be seen in the Arab history text Al-Kamil fi al-Tarikh by Ali ibn al-Athir.{{lang|ar|سنة ٤٩١ – "ذكر ملك الفرنج مدينة أنطاكية" في الكامل في التاريخ|rtl=yes}}"Account of al-Faranj seizing Antioch" Year 491AH, The Complete History

In the Maltese language, a Semitic European language related to Arabic written in the Latin alphabet, Christians are referred to as {{lang|mt|Nsara}}, singular masculine {{lang|mt|Nisrani}}.{{Cite web |title=Nisrani in English - Maltese-English Dictionary {{!}} Glosbe |url=https://mt.glosbe.com/mt/en/Nisrani |access-date=2025-03-26 |website=mt.glosbe.com |language=en}} The Romance-borrowed {{lang|mt|Kristjan}} may also be used.{{Cite web |title=Kristjan in English - Maltese-English Dictionary {{!}} Glosbe |url=https://glosbe.com/mt/en/Kristjan |access-date=2025-03-26 |website=glosbe.com |language=en}}

{{more citations needed section|date=October 2021}}

The most common Persian word is {{lang|fa-latn|Masīhī}} ({{lang|fa|مسیحی|rtl=yes}}), from Arabic. Other words are {{lang|fa-latn|Nasrānī}} ({{lang|fa|نصرانی|rtl=yes}}), from Syriac for {{gloss|Nazarene}}, and {{lang|fa-latn|Tarsā}} ({{lang|fa|ترسا|rtl=yes}}), from the Middle Persian word {{lang|pal-latn|Tarsāg}}, also meaning {{gloss|Christian}}, derived from {{lang|pal-latn|tars}}, meaning {{gloss|fear, respect}}.MacKenzie, D. N. (1986). A Concise Pahlavi Dictionary. London: Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|0-19-713559-5}}

An old Kurdish word for Christian frequently in usage was {{lang|ku-latn|felle}} ({{lang|ku|فەڵە|rtl=yes}}), coming from the root word meaning {{gloss|to be saved, attain salvation}}.Hazhar Mukriyani, (1990) Hanbanaborina Kurdish-Persian Dictionary Tehran, Soroush press p.527.

The Syriac term {{lang|syc-latn|Nasrani}} ({{gloss|Nazarene}}) has also been attached to the Saint Thomas Christians of Kerala, India. In northern India and Pakistan, Christians are referred to {{lang|hi-latn|ʿĪsāʾī}} ({{langx|hi|ईसाई}}, {{langx|ur|عیسائی|rtl=yes}}).{{cite book |last1=John |first1=Vinod |title=Believing Without Belonging?: Religious Beliefs and Social Belonging of Hindu Devotees of Christ |date=19 November 2020 |publisher=Wipf and Stock Publishers |isbn=978-1-5326-9722-7 |page=111 |language=en |quote=“Isai” is the most common form of address for Christians throughout northern India.}}{{cite web |title=Catholic priest in saffron robe called 'Isai Baba' |url=http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Catholic-priest-in-saffron-robe-called---Isai-Baba--/402458/ |work=The Indian Express |date=24 December 2008 | url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120113175911/http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Catholic-priest-in-saffron-robe-called---Isai-Baba--/402458/ |archive-date=13 January 2012}}{{Cite book |last1=Philpott |first1=Daniel |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uHRJDwAAQBAJ&dq=isaai+pakistan&pg=PA249 |title=Under Caesar's Sword: How Christians Respond to Persecution |last2=Shah |first2=Timothy Samuel |date=2018-03-15 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-108-42530-8 |language=en}} {{lang|hi-latn|Masīhī}} ({{langx|hi|मसीही}}, {{langx|ur|مسیحی|rtl=yes}}) is a term Christians use to refer to themselves as well.{{cite book |last1=Bharati |first1=Swami Dayanand |title=Living Water and Indian Bowl |date=1 June 2004 |publisher=William Carey Publishing |isbn=978-1-64508-562-1 |language=en}}

In the past, the Malays used to call Christians in Malay by the Portuguese loanword {{lang|ms|Serani}} (from Arabic {{lang|ar-latn|Naṣrānī}}), but the term now refers to the modern Kristang creoles of Malaysia. In the Indonesian language, the term {{lang|id|Nasrani}} is also used alongside {{lang|id|Kristen}}.

The Chinese word is {{linktext|基督|徒}} ({{transliteration|zh|pinyin|jīdū tú}}), literally {{gloss|Christ follower}}. The name Christ was originally phonetically written in Chinese as {{lang|zh|基利斯督}}, which was later abbreviated as {{lang|zh|基督}}.{{Cite web|url=https://kotobank.jp/word/%E5%9F%BA%E7%9D%A3-480274|title = 基督とは}} The term is {{lang|hak-latn|Kî-tuk}} in the southern Hakka dialect; the two characters are pronounced {{lang|cmn-latn|Jīdū}} in Mandarin Chinese. In Vietnam, the same two characters read Cơ đốc, and a "follower of Christianity" is a {{lang|vi|tín đồ Cơ đốc giáo}}.

File:JapaneseChristiansInPortugueseCostume16-17thCentury.jpg

In Japan, the term kirishitan (written in Edo period documents {{lang|ja|吉利支丹}}, {{lang|ja|切支丹}}, and in modern Japanese histories as {{lang|ja|キリシタン}}), from Portuguese {{lang|pt|cristão}}, referred to Roman Catholics in the 16th and 17th centuries before the religion was banned by the Tokugawa shogunate. Today, Christians are referred to in Standard Japanese as {{lang|ja|キリスト教徒}} ({{transliteration|ja|Kirisuto-kyōto}}) or the English-derived term {{lang|ja|クリスチャン}} ({{transliteration|ja|kurisuchan}}).

Korean still uses {{lang|ko|기독교도}} (RR: {{transliteration|ko|RR|Gidokkyodo}}) for {{gloss|Christian}}, though the Portuguese loanword {{lang|ko|그리스도}} (RR: {{transliteration|ko|RR|Geuriseudo}}) now replaced the old Sino-Korean {{lang|ko|기독}} (RR: {{transliteration|ko|RR|Gidok}}), which refers to Christ himself.

In Thailand, the most common terms are {{lang|th|คนคริสต์}} (RTGS: {{transliteration|th|khon khrit}}) or {{lang|th|ชาวคริสต์}} (RTGS: {{transliteration|th|chao khrit}}) which literally means {{gloss|Christ person/people}} or {{gloss|Jesus person/people}}. The Thai word {{lang|th|คริสต์}} (RTGS: {{transliteration|th|khrit}}) is derived from Christ.

In the Philippines, the most common terms are {{lang|tl|Kristiyano}} (for {{gloss|Christian}}) and {{lang|fil|Kristiyanismo}} (for {{gloss|Christianity}}) in most Philippine languages; both derive from Spanish {{lang|es|cristiano}} and {{lang|es|cristianismo}} (also used in Chavacano) due to the country's rich history of early Christianity during the Spanish colonial era. Some Protestants in the Philippines use the term {{lang|tl|Kristiyano}} (before the term born again became popular) to differentiate themselves from Catholics ({{lang|fil|Katoliko}}).

{{Unreferenced section|date=December 2022}}

The region of modern Eastern Europe and Central Eurasia has a long history of Christianity and Christian communities on its lands. In ancient times, in the first centuries after the birth of Christ, when this region was called Scythia, the geographical area of Scythians – Christians already lived there.{{Cite web|url=https://azbyka.ru/otechnik/Anton_Kartashev/vselenskie-sobory/|title=Вселенские Соборы - профессор Антон Владимирович Карташёв - читать, скачать|website=azbyka.ru}} Later the region saw the first states to adopt Christianity officially – initially Armenia (301 AD) and Georgia (337 AD), later Bulgaria ({{circa}} 864) and Kyivan Rus ({{circa}} 988 AD).

In some areas, people came to denote themselves as Christians ({{langx|ru|христиане, крестьяне}}; {{Langx|uk|християни|translit=khrystyiany}}) and as Russians ({{langx|ru|русские}}), Ruthenians ({{Langx|orv|русини, руснаки|translit=rusyny, rusnaky}}), or Ukrainians ({{Langx|uk|українці|translit=ukraintsi}}).

In time the Russian term {{lang|ru|крестьяне}} ({{transliteration|ru|khrest'yane}}) acquired the meaning {{gloss|peasants of Christian faith}} and later {{gloss|peasants}} (the main part of the population of the region), while the term {{langx|ru|христиане}} ({{transliteration|ru|khristiane}}) retained its religious meaning and the term {{langx|ru|русские}} ({{transliteration|ru|russkie}}) began to mean representatives of the heterogeneous Russian nation formed on the basis of common Christian faith and language,{{citation needed|date=November 2015}} which strongly influenced the history and development of the region. In the region, the term Orthodox faith ({{langx|ru|православная вера}}, {{transliteration|ru|ISO|pravoslavnaia vera}}) or Russian faith ({{langx|ru|русская вера}}, {{transliteration|ru|russkaia vera}}) from the earliest times became almost as common as the original Christian faith ({{langx|ru|христианская, крестьянская вера}} {{transliteration|ru|khristianskaia, krestianskaia}}).{{citation needed|date=December 2016}}

Also in some contexts the term cossack ({{langx|orv|козак, казак|translit=kozak, kazak}}) was used to denote "free" Christians of steppe origin and East Slavic language.

Nominally "Christian" societies made "Christian" a default label for citizenship or for "people like us".

Compare: {{cite book |year=1957 |chapter=Christian| editor1-last = Cross| editor1-first = Frank Leslie| editor1-link = Frank Leslie Cross| editor2-last = Livingstone| editor2-first = Elizabeth A. |title=The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fUqcAQAAQBAJ |edition=3 |location=Oxford |publisher=Oxford University Press| publication-date = 2005 |page=336 |isbn=9780192802903 |access-date=5 December 2016 |quote=In modern times the name Christian ... has tended, in nominally Christian countries, to lose any credal significance and imply only that which is ethically praiseworthy (e.g. 'a Christian action') or socially customary ('Christian name').}}

In this context, religious or ethnic minorities can use "Christians" or "you Christians" loosely as a shorthand term for mainstream members of society who do not belong to their group – even in a thoroughly secular (though formerly Christian) society.

Compare: {{cite book |last1=Sandmel |first1=Samuel |title=We Jews and You Christians: An Inquiry Into Attitudes |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eq_qXK_ZlsMC |publisher=Lippincott| date = 1967 |access-date=6 December 2016}}

{{For|a detailed breakdown of Christian demographics|Christianity by country}}

As of 2020, Christianity has approximately 2.4 billion adherents.33.39% of 7.174 billion world population (under "People and Society") {{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/world/ |title=World |date=25 February 2022 |publisher=CIA world facts}}{{cite web |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=3835 |title=The List: The World's Fastest-Growing Religions |publisher=foreignpolicy.com |date=March 2007 |access-date=4 January 2010 |archive-date=11 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180711181533/http://www.bellbookandcandlepublications.com/greenwoodsvillage/gor/islam.php |url-status=dead }}{{cite web |url=http://www.adherents.com/Religions_By_Adherents.html |title=Major Religions Ranked by Size |publisher=Adherents.com |access-date=5 May 2009 |archive-date=29 January 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100129202506/http://www.adherents.com/Religions_By_Adherents.html |url-status=usurped }} The faith represents about a third of the world's population and is the largest religion in the world. Christians have composed about 33 percent of the world's population for around 100 years. The largest Christian denomination is the Roman Catholic Church, with 1.3 billion adherents, representing half of all Christians.[https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/18757/universal-church-sees-increase-in-seminarians-reports-pontifical-yearbook Pontifical Yearbook 2010], Catholic News Agency. Accessed 22 September 2011.

Christianity remains the dominant religion in the Western World, where 70% are Christians. According to a 2012 Pew Research Center survey, if current trends continue, Christianity will remain the world's largest religion by 2050. By 2050, the Christian population is expected to exceed 3 billion. While Muslims have an average of 3.1 children per woman—the highest rate of all religious groups—Christians are second, with 2.7 children per woman. High birth rates and conversion were cited as the reason for Christian population growth. A 2015 study found that approximately 10.2 million Muslims converted to Christianity.{{cite journal |last1=Johnstone |first1=Patrick |last2=Miller |first2=Duane Alexander |title=Believers in Christ from a Muslim Background: A Global Census |journal=Interdisciplinary Journal of Research on Religion |date=2015 |volume=11 |page=8 |url=https://www.academia.edu/16338087 |access-date=30 October 2015}} Christianity is growing in Africa,{{cite news |url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/religion/story/2011-12-20/christianity-growth-africa-europe/52125920/1 |title=Study: Christianity growth soars in Africa – |work=USA Today |access-date=14 February 2015 |date=20 December 2011}} Asia,{{cite web |url=http://www.ibtimes.com/china-protestantisms-simplicity-yields-more-converts-catholicism-213465 |title=In China, Protestantism's Simplicity Yields More Converts Than Catholicism |date=28 March 2012 |work=International Business Times |access-date=14 February 2015}}{{cite web|url=https://cmp.smu.edu.sg/perspectives/2012/06/26/understanding-rapid-rise-charismatic-christianity-southeast-asia|title=Understanding the rapid rise of Charismatic Christianity in Southeast Asia|date=27 October 2017|publisher=Singapore Management University}}{{cite web |date=8 July 2011 |title=Number of Christians in China and India |url=https://www.lausanne.org/lgc-transfer/number-of-christians-in-china-and-india-2 |publisher=Lausanne |access-date=13 June 2020 |archive-date=13 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200613031349/https://www.lausanne.org/lgc-transfer/number-of-christians-in-china-and-india-2 |url-status=live }} Eastern Europe,{{cite web|title=Religious Belief and National Belonging in Central and Eastern Europe|url=https://www.pewforum.org/2017/05/10/religious-belief-and-national-belonging-in-central-and-eastern-europe/|website=Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project|date=10 May 2017}} Latin America,{{cite magazine |url=http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,156277,00.html |title=The Battle for Latin America's Soul |date=24 June 2001 |magazine=Time |access-date=14 February 2015 |first=Richard N. |last=Ostling}} the Muslim world,{{cite journal|last1=Johnstone|first1=Patrick|last2=Miller|first2=Duane Alexander|title=Believers in Christ from a Muslim Background: A Global Census|journal=IJRR|date=2015|volume=11|issue=10|pages=1–19|url=https://www.academia.edu/16338087|access-date=30 October 2015}}{{cite book|title=A Short History of Christianity| first=Geoffrey |last=Blainey|year= 2011| isbn= 978-1-74253-416-9|publisher=Penguin Random House Australia|quote=Since the 1960s, there has been a substantial increase in the number of Muslims who have converted to Christianity}} and Oceania.The Next Christendom: The Rise of Global Christianity. New York: Oxford University Press. 2002. 270 pp.

File:Percent of Christians by Country–Pew Research 2011.svg

According to a study from 2015, Christians hold the largest amount of wealth (55% of the total world wealth), followed by Muslims (5.8%), Hindus (3.3%) and Jews (1.1%). According to the same study it was found that adherents under the classification Irreligion or other religions hold about 34.8% of the total global wealth.{{cite web |url=http://www.deccanherald.com/content/453467/christians-hold-largest-percentage-global.html6 |title=Christians hold largest percentage of global wealth: Report |publisher=deccanherald.com |date=14 January 2015}} A study done by the nonpartisan wealth research firm New World Wealth found that 56.2% of the 13.1 million millionaires in the world were Christians.{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2015/01/14/the-religion-of-millionaires-.html|title=The religion of millionaires|first=Robert|last=Frank|date=14 January 2015|website=CNBC}}

A Pew Center study about religion and education around the world in 2016, found that Christians ranked as the second most educated religious group around in the world after Jews with an average of 9.3 years of schooling,{{cite web |date=19 December 2011 |title=Religion and Education Around the World |url=http://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2016/12/21094148/Religion-Education-ONLINE-FINAL.pdf |publisher=Pew Research Center |access-date=13 December 2016}} and the highest numbers of years of schooling among Christians were found in Germany (13.6), New Zealand (13.5) and Estonia (13.1). Christians were also found to have the second highest number of graduate and post-graduate degrees per capita while in absolute numbers ranked in the first place (220 million). Between the various Christian communities, Singapore outranks other nations in terms of Christians who obtain a university degree in institutions of higher education (67%), followed by the Christians of Israel (63%),{{cite web |url=http://www.bokra.net/Article-1155836 |title=المسيحيون العرب يتفوقون على يهود إسرائيل في التعليم |website=Bokra |access-date=28 December 2011}} and the Christians of Georgia (57%).

According to the study, Christians in North America, Europe, Middle East, North Africa and Asia Pacific regions are highly educated since many of the world's universities were built by the historic Christian denominations, in addition to the historical evidence that "Christian monks built libraries and, in the days before printing presses, preserved important earlier writings produced in Latin, Greek and Arabic". According to the same study, Christians have a significant amount of gender equality in educational attainment, and the study suggests that one of the reasons is the encouragement of the Protestant Reformers in promoting the education of women, which led to the eradication of illiteracy among females in Protestant communities.

{{Main|Christian culture}}

File:Collage-Christian-culture.jpg and famous Christian leaders]]

Christian culture describes the cultural practices common to Christian peoples. There are variations in the application of Christian beliefs in different cultures and traditions.{{cite book |last= E. McGrath|first= Alister |title=Christianity: An Introduction|year=2006 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=1405108991|page=336}} Christian culture has influenced and assimilated much from the Greco-Roman, Byzantine, Western culture,Caltron J.H Hayas, Christianity and Western Civilization (1953), Stanford University Press, p.2: "That certain distinctive features of our Western civilization – the civilization of western Europe and of America— have been shaped chiefly by Judaeo – Graeco – Christianity, Catholic and Protestant." Middle Eastern,{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KMfYAAAAMAAJ&q=Christian+Communities+in+the+Arab+Middle+East:+The+Challenge+of+the+Future|title=Christian Communities in the Arab Middle East|access-date=29 April 2016|isbn=9780198293880|last1=Pacini|first1=Andrea|year=1998|publisher=Clarendon Press }}{{cite book|title=Jews, Antisemitism, and the Middle East|first=Michael |last=Curtis|year= 2017| isbn=9781351510721| page =173|publisher=Routledge|quote=}} Slavic,{{cite book|last=Ware|first=Kallistos|title=The Orthodox Church|date=29 April 1993|publisher=Penguin Adult|isbn=978-0-14-014656-1|page=8}} Caucasian, and Indian cultures.

Since the spread of Christianity from the Levant to Europe and North Africa and Horn of Africa during the early Roman Empire, Christendom has been divided in the pre-existing Greek East and Latin West. Consequently, different versions of the Christian cultures arose with their own rites and practices, centered around the cities such as Rome (Western Christianity) and Carthage, whose communities was called Western or Latin Christendom,{{Cite book |last=Chazan |first=Robert |date=2006 |title=The Jews of Medieval Western Christendom: 1000–1500 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JxJQ_98I3R0C |location=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=xi |isbn=9780521616645 |access-date=26 January 2018}} and Constantinople (Eastern Christianity), Antioch (Syriac Christianity), Kerala (Indian Christianity) and Alexandria, among others, whose communities were called Eastern or Oriental Christendom.Encarta-encyclopedie Winkler Prins (1993–2002) s.v. "christendom. §1.3 Scheidingen". Microsoft Corporation/Het Spectrum.{{Cite book |last=Meyendorff |first=John |title=The Byzantine Legacy in the Orthodox Church |publisher=St Vladimir's Seminary Press |date=1982 |isbn=978-0-913836-90-3 |location=Yonkers |author-link=John Meyendorff|page=19}}{{cite book|last=Cameron|first=Averil|author-link=Averil Cameron|title=The Byzantines|year=2006|location=Oxford|publisher=Blackwell|isbn=978-1-4051-9833-2|pages=42–49}} The Byzantine Empire was one of the peaks in Christian history and Christian civilization. From the 11th to 13th centuries, Latin Christendom rose to the central role of the Western world and Western culture.{{cite book|last1=Dawson|first1=Christopher|title=Crisis in Western Education|year=1961|isbn=978-0-8132-1683-6|edition=reprint|first2=Glenn|last2=Olsen|page=108|publisher=CUA Press }}

Western culture, throughout most of its history, has been nearly equivalent to Christian culture, and a large portion of the population of the Western Hemisphere can be described as practicing or nominal Christians. The notion of "Europe" and the "Western World" has been intimately connected with the concept of "Christianity and Christendom". Outside the Western world, Christians has had an influence and contributed on various cultures, such as in Africa, the Near East, Middle East, East Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Indian subcontinent.{{cite book|title=Jews, Antisemitism, and the Middle East|first=Michael |last=Curtis|year= 2017| isbn=9781351510721| page =173|publisher=Routledge}}{{cite book|title=Cultural Politics and Asian Values|first=Michael

|last= D. Barr|year= 2012| isbn=9781136001666| page =81|publisher=Routledge}}

Christians have made noted contributions to a range of fields, including philosophy,{{cite book |last= A. Spinello|first= Richard |title=The Encyclicals of John Paul II: An Introduction and Commentary |year=2012 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers|quote= ... The insights of Christian philosophy "would not have happened without the direct or indirect contribution of Christian faith" (FR 76). Typical Christian philosophers include St. Augustine, St. Bonaventure, and St. Thomas Aquinas. The benefits derived from Christian philosophy are twofold....|isbn=978-1-4422-1942-7|page=147}}{{cite book |last= Wilkens |first=Steve|title=Christianity and Western Thought: Journey to Postmodernity in the Twentieth Century |year=2010|publisher=InterVarsity Press|quote=|isbn=9780830868148|page=326}} science and technology,{{cite book |last1= Gilley |first1= Sheridan |last2=Stanley |first2=Brian |title=The Cambridge History of Christianity: Volume 8, World Christianities C.1815-c.1914 |year=2006 |publisher=Cambridge University Press|quote= ... Many of the scientists who contributed to these developments were Christians...|isbn=0-521-81456-1|page=164}}{{cite book |last=Steane |first=Andrew |title=Faithful to Science: The Role of Science in Religion|year=2014 |publisher=OUP Oxford|quote= ... the Christian contribution to science has been uniformly at the top level, but it has reached that level and it has been sufficiently strong overall ...|isbn=978-0-19-102513-6|page=179}}{{cite web|last=Graves|first=Daniel|url=https://www.rae.org/influsci.html|title=Christian Influences in the Sciences|website=rae.org|date=7 July 1998|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924084347/https://www.rae.org/influsci.html|archive-date=24 September 2015}}{{cite web|url=https://www.adherents.com/people/100_Nobel.html|title=50 Nobel Laureates and Other Great Scientists Who Believe in God|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190617072212/https://www.adherents.com/people/100_Nobel.html|archive-date=17 June 2019}} Many well-known historical figures who influenced Western science considered themselves Christian such as Nicolaus Copernicus, Galileo Galilei, Johannes Kepler, Isaac Newton, Robert Boyle, Alessandro Volta, Michael Faraday, William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin and James Clerk Maxwell. medicine,{{cite book |last=S. Kroger|first= William|title=Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis in Medicine, Dentistry and Psychology|year=2016 |publisher=Pickle Partners Publishing|quote=Many prominent Catholic physicians and psychologists have made significant contributions to hypnosis in medicine, dentistry, and psychology.|isbn=978-1-78720-304-4}}{{cite book |last=Porterfield|first=Amanda |title=Healing in the History of Christianity|year=2005 |publisher=Oxford University Press|quote=|isbn=9780195157185|page=145}} fine arts and architecture,{{cite book|title=How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization|first=Thomas|last= Woods Jr.|year= 2012| isbn= 9781596983281| page =2|publisher=Regnery Publishing}}{{cite book|title=An Introduction to Christianity for a New Millennium

|first=Scott Gambrill |last=Sinclair|year= 2008| isbn= 9781461632924| page =140|publisher=Lexington Books}} politics, literatures,{{cite book|title=The Picaresque Novel in Western Literature|first=J. A. |last=G. Ardila|year= 2016| isbn=9781107031654| page =16|publisher=Cambridge University Press}} music,{{cite book |last= E. McGrath|first= Alister |title=Christianity: An Introduction|year=2006 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons|quote= Virtually every major European composer contributed to the development of church music. Monteverdi, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Rossini, and Verdi are all examples of composers to have made significant contributions in this sphere. The Catholic church was without question one of the most important patrons of musical developments, and a crucial stimulus to the development of the western musical tradition. |isbn=1405108991|page=336}} and business.{{cite book|title=Religion, Art, and Money: Episcopalians and American Culture from the Civil War to the Great Depression|first=Peter|last= W. Williams|year= 2016| isbn= 9781469626987| page =176|publisher=University of North Carolina Press}}{{cite book|title=Handbook to Life in Renaissance Europe|first=Sandra |last=Sider|year= 2007| isbn= 9781469626987| page =209|publisher=Oxford University Press}} According to 100 Years of Nobel Prizes a review of the Nobel Prizes award between 1901 and 2000 reveals that (65.4%) of Nobel Prizes Laureates, have identified Christianity in its various forms as their religious preference.Baruch A. Shalev, [https://books.google.com/books?id=PfRaPHr86XUC&pg=PA57 100 Years of Nobel Prizes] (2003), Atlantic Publishers & Distributors, p. 57: "between 1901 and 2000 reveals that 654 Laureates belong to 28 different religions. Most (65.4%) have identified Christianity in its various forms as their religious preference."{{ISBN|978-0-935047-37-0}}.

{{Main|Persecution of Christians}}

{{See also|Anti-Christian sentiment}}

In 2017, Open Doors, a human rights NGO, estimated approximately 260 million Christians are subjected annually to "high, very high, or extreme persecution",[https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2017/january/top-50-countries-christian-persecution-world-watch-list.html Weber, Jeremy. {{"'}}Worst year yet': the top 50 countries where it's hardest to be a Christian".] Christianity Today. 11 January 2017. Retrieved 7 October 2019. with North Korea considered the most hazardous nation for Christians.[https://www.forbes.com/sites/oliviaenos/2017/01/25/north-korea-is-the-worlds-worst-persecutor-of-christians/#36250678318e Enos, Olivia. "North Korea is the world's worst persecutor of Christians".] Forbes. 25 January 2017. Retrieved 7 October 2019.{{Cite web |url=https://www.opendoorsusa.org/ |title=Serving Persecuted Christians – Open Doors USA |last=Worldwatchlist2020 |first=Most dangerous countries for Christians |website=www.opendoorsusa.org |access-date=24 March 2020 |archive-date=2 March 2000 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000302223728/https://www.opendoorsusa.org/ |url-status=dead }}

In 2019, a report[https://christianpersecutionreview.org.uk/storage/2019/05/interim-report.pdf Mounstephen, Philip. "Interim report".] Bishop of Truro's Independent Review for the Foreign Secretary of FCO Support for Persecuted Christians. April 2019. Retrieved 7 October 2019. commissioned by the United Kingdom's Secretary of State of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) to investigate global persecution of Christians found religious persecution has increased, and is highest in the Middle East, North Africa, India, China, North Korea, and Latin America, among others, and that it is global and not limited to Islamic states.[https://christianpersecutionreview.org.uk/storage/2019/07/final-report-and-recommendations.pdf Mounstephen, Philip. "Final Report and Recommendations".] Bishop of Truro's Independent Review for the Foreign Secretary of FCO Support for Persecuted Christians. July 2019. Retrieved 7 October 2019. This investigation found that approximately 80% of persecuted believers worldwide are Christians.

{{portal|Christianity}}

{{Div col}}

• Christendom
• Conversion to Christianity
• Cultural Christians
• Early Christianity
• List of Christian denominations
• List of Christian denominations by number of members
• List of Christian synonyms
• List of religions and spiritual traditions
• List of religious organizations
• Lists of Christians

{{div col end}}

{{Reflist|30em}}

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Etymology

• {{cite journal |last=Bickerman |first=Elias J. |date=April 1949 |title=The Name of Christians |journal=The Harvard Theological Review |volume=42 |issue=2 |pages=109–124 |jstor=1507955 |ref=Bickerman-1949 |doi=10.1017/s0017816000019635|s2cid=164195885 | issn=0017-8160 }} (from which page numbers are cited) also available in {{cite book |last=Bickerman |first=Elias J. |year=1986|volume=2|pages=794–808 |isbn=90-04-04395-0 |title=Studies in Jewish and Christian history |publisher=BRILL |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gqQfAAAAIAAJ}}
• {{cite book |author=Wuest, Kenneth Samuel |title=Wuest's word studies from the Greek New Testament |year=1973 |volume=1 |publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans |isbn=978-0-8028-2280-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZHhK3AKkc9EC |ref=Wuest-1973}}

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Category:Christian terminology

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