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Do not fill this in! ==== Christianity ==== [[File:ISR-2013-Jerusalem-Holy Sepulchre-dome.jpg|thumb|Jesus is the central figure of Christianity.]] [[Christianity]] is based on the life and teachings of [[Jesus]] of Nazareth (1st century) as presented in the New Testament.<ref name="Christianity">{{cite web |title=Christianity {{!}} Definition, Origin, History, Beliefs, Symbols, Types, & Facts |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Christianity |website=Encyclopedia Britannica |access-date=10 January 2021 |language=en |archive-date=1 November 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141101193717/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/115240/Christianity/67592/Forms-of-Christian-education |url-status=live }}</ref> The Christian faith is essentially faith in Jesus as the [[Christ]],<ref name="Christianity" /> the [[Son of God]], and as [[Messiah|Savior]] and Lord. Almost all Christians believe in the [[Trinity]], which teaches the unity of [[God the Father|Father]], [[God the Son|Son]] (Jesus Christ), and [[Holy Spirit]] as three persons in [[monotheism|one Godhead]]. Most Christians can describe their faith with the [[Nicene Creed]]. As the religion of [[Byzantine Empire]] in the first millennium and of [[Western Europe]] during the time of colonization, Christianity has been propagated throughout the world via [[Christian mission|missionary work]].<ref name="Spread">{{cite book|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=g2AtOlJMPTUC&pg=PA52|title = Muslim-Christian Relations|publisher = Amsterdam University Press|quote = The enthusiasm for evangelization among the Christians was also accompanied by the awareness that the most immediate problem to solve was how to serve the huge number of new [[Conversion to Christianity|converts]]. Simatupang said, if the number of the Christians were double or triple, then the number of the ministers should also be doubled or tripled and the role of the laity should be maximized and Christian service to society through schools, universities, hospitals and orphanages, should be increased. In addition, for him the Christian mission should be involved in the struggle for justice amid the process of modernization.|access-date = 18 October 2007|isbn = 978-90-5356-938-2|year = 2006|archive-date = 20 June 2013|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130620150610/http://books.google.com/books?id=g2AtOlJMPTUC&pg=PA52|url-status = live}}</ref><ref name="Charity">{{cite book|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=WmuV6g0yR3sC&pg=PA77|page = 77|author = Fred Kammer|title = Doing Faith Justice|publisher = [[Paulist Press]]|quote = Theologians, bishops, and preachers urged the Christian community to be as compassionate as their God was, reiterating that creation was for all of humanity. They also accepted and developed the identification of Christ with the poor and the requisite Christian duty to the poor. Religious congregations and individual charismatic leaders promoted the development of a number of helping institutions-hospitals, hospices for [[Christian pilgrimage|pilgrims]], orphanages, shelters for unwed mothers-that laid the foundation for the modern "large network of hospitals, orphanages and schools, to serve the poor and society at large."|access-date = 18 October 2007|isbn = 978-0-8091-4227-9|date = 2004|archive-date = 26 January 2021|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210126184216/https://books.google.com/books?id=WmuV6g0yR3sC&pg=PA77|url-status = live}}</ref><ref name="Service">{{cite book|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=dz_EM2ofIb4C&pg=PA132|title = Christian Church Women: Shapers of a Movement|publisher = Chalice Press|quote = In the central provinces of India they established schools, orphanages, hospitals, and churches, and spread the gospel message in zenanas.|access-date = 18 October 2007|isbn = 978-0-8272-0463-8|date = March 1994|archive-date = 20 June 2013|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130620110214/http://books.google.com/books?id=dz_EM2ofIb4C&pg=PA132|url-status = live}}</ref> It is the [[Major religious groups|world's largest religion]], with about 2.3 billion followers as of 2015.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/04/05/christians-remain-worlds-largest-religious-group-but-they-are-declining-in-europe/|title=World's largest religion by population is still Christianity|website=Pew Research Center|language=en-US|access-date=27 February 2019|archive-date=24 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191124021738/https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/04/05/christians-remain-worlds-largest-religious-group-but-they-are-declining-in-europe/|url-status=live}}</ref> The main divisions of Christianity are, according to the number of adherents:<ref name="history.com">{{cite web |title=Christianity |url=https://www.history.com/topics/religion/history-of-christianity#:~:text=Christianity%20is%20broadly%20split%20into,Catholic%20bishops%20around%20the%20world. |website=HISTORY |access-date=10 January 2021 |language=en |archive-date=11 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210111205557/https://www.history.com/topics/religion/history-of-christianity#:~:text=Christianity%20is%20broadly%20split%20into,Catholic%20bishops%20around%20the%20world. |url-status=live }}</ref> * The [[Catholic Church]], led by the [[Bishop of Rome]] and the bishops worldwide in communion with him, is a [[Communion (Christian)|communion]] of 24 Churches ''[[sui iuris]]'', including the [[Latin Church]] and 23 [[Eastern Catholic Churches|Eastern Catholic churches]], such as the [[Maronite]] Catholic Church.<ref name="history.com" /> * [[Eastern Christianity]], which include [[Eastern Orthodoxy]], [[Oriental Orthodoxy]], and the [[Church of the East]]. * [[Protestantism]], separated from the Catholic Church in the 16th-century [[Protestant Reformation]] and is split into thousands of [[Religious denomination|denominations]]. Major branches of Protestantism include [[Anglicanism]], [[Baptists]], [[Calvinism]], [[Lutheranism]], and [[Methodism]], though each of these contain many different denominations or groups.<ref name="history.com" /> There are also smaller groups, including: * [[Restorationism]], the belief that Christianity should be restored (as opposed to reformed) along the lines of what is known about the [[Apostolic Age|apostolic early church]]. * [[Latter-day Saint movement]], founded by [[Joseph Smith]] in the late 1820s. * [[Jehovah's Witnesses]], founded in the late 1870s by [[Charles Taze Russell]]. * [[Christian existentialism|Christian Existentialist]] Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. 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