Christianity

Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented in the New Testament writings of his early followers. It is the world's largest religion, with an estimated 2.1 billion adherents, or about one-third of the total world population. It shares with Judaism the Hebrew Bible (historically called by Christians the Old Testament), and for this reason is sometimes called an Abrahamic religion along with Judaism and Islam.

Christianity encompasses numerous religious traditions that widely vary by culture and place, as well as many diverse beliefs and sects. It is usually represented as being divided into three main branches, over the past two millennia:

1. Catholicism (includes the largest coherent group, the Roman Catholic Church, including Eastern Catholics, representing over one billion baptized members),
2. Eastern Christianity (includes the second-largest coherent group, the Eastern Orthodox Church, as well as the Old Oriental Churches),
3. Protestantism (many denominations and schools of thought, including Anglicanism, Reformed, Lutheran, Methodist, Anabaptist, Evangelicalism, Charismatics and Pentecostalism)

These broad divisions do not represent equally uniform branches. On the contrary, some branches encompass vast disagreements, and in other cases the division existing overlooks sympathies. But this is the convenient standard overview of distinctions, especially as Christianity has been viewed in the Western world.

A more comprehensive overview would show more complicated relationships among denominations and traditions. Among various disparate groups, this would include categorizing the Monophysite Old Oriental Churches and the Nestorian Assyrian Church of the East as branches distinct from the Chalcedonian Christianity of most of the West (Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Protestantism). Groups with restorationist beliefs--including some Anabaptists, Swedenborgianism, the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and others--sometimes regard themselves as entirely separate from Protestantism, with which they have often been included. The Anglican communion churches speak of themselves as "both catholic and protestant", and therefore are sometimes listed separately.

Many traditions and groups exist, including Jehovah's Witnesses, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormonism), and others, which often describe themselves as Christian but are not usually recognized as such by other Christian denominations, as their teachings are held by many Christians to be unorthodox.

In the 19th and 20th centuries many historically Christian countries, including many legally-designated Christian states, especially in Western Europe, saw increasing social trends of secularization. In the mid- to late-20th century, most Communist states were governed by avowed atheists, though Albania was the sole officially atheist state. Other trends of the 20th and 21st century include growing resistance to secularism and certain developments of the 19th and 20th century, including materialism, particularly among adherents of Fundamentalist Christianity. For instance, many Christians have disagreed with new scientific estimates about the age of the Earth and the development of the concept of evolution, especially in the United States, espousing instead creationism.

Differing interpretations of the Bible and other forces led to schisms in Christianity over the millennia, but all branches trace their roots to early Christianity.

Christianity today

The cross and its many variations are traditional Christian symbols.

According to Adherents.com [1], Christianity is the world's most widely-practiced religion, with 2.1 billion adherents, including 1.1 billion Roman Catholics, 510 million Protestants in a number of traditions, 216 million Orthodox, 158 million Independents (unaffiliated with the major streams of Christianity), as well as 31.7 million belonging to other groups with less clear status (including Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons).

Post-Enlightenment

Not all people identified or self-identified as Christians accept all, or even most, of the theological positions held by their particular churches. Like the Jews, Christians in the West were greatly affected by The Age of Enlightenment in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Perhaps the most significant change for them was total or effective separation of church and state, thus ending the state-sponsored Christianity that had existed in European countries. Now one could be a free member of society and disagree with one's church on various issues, including the right to freely to leave one's church altogether. (Nonetheless, even the 21st century, despite many global changes, state-sponsored or established Christian churches do exist in a number of world regions, especially Europe and parts of Latin America.)

Many did resist or abandon Christianity, developing belief systems such as Deism, Unitarianism, and Universalism, or becoming atheists, agnostics, or humanists.

Others, instead, created the liberal wings of the Protestant Christian tradition. Modernist Christianity in the late 19th century encouraged new forms of thought and expression that did not follow traditional lines.

Reaction to the Enlightenment and Modernism triggered the development of literally thousands of Christian Protestant denominations, Roman traditionalist splinter groups of the Roman Catholic Church that do not recognize the legitimacy of many reforms the Roman Catholic Church has undertaken, and the growth of hundreds of fundamentalist groups that interpret the entire Bible in a more literal fashion, exclusive text-centered fashion.

20th Century

In Europe, and to a lesser extent the United States, the growth of philosophical and ideological liberalism since the 19th century has also led to increased secularism. Some Christians have long since stopped participating in traditional religious duties, attending churches only on a few particular holy days per year or not at all. Many of them recall having highly religious grandparents, but grew up in homes where the practice of Christianity as such was no longer a priority. They have developed ambivalent feelings towards their religious background. On the one hand they cling to their traditions for identity reasons; on the other hand, the influence of the secular Western mentality, the demands of daily life, and peer pressure tear them away from traditional Christianity. Marriage between Christians of different denominations, or between Christians and a non-Christians, while once taboo, has become commonplace; some correlate such trends with decline in religious identity among many societies and social segments. The populations of many countries and regions traditionally strong in a particular tradition, such as Roman Catholicism (e.g. Latin America, France, Italy) or Lutheranism (e.g. Scandinavia) have largely become agnostic or secular.

Liberal Christianity grew rapidly during the early 20th century in Europe and North America, by the 1960s gaining the leadership of many of the larger U.S. and Canadian mainline denominations. However, this trend has reversed. At the turn of the 21st century, though secular society tends to consider the more accommodating liberals as the representatives and spokesmen of Christianity, the mainline churches are shrinking. [2] This is partly due to a loss of evangelistic zeal, partly due to drift of their membership to Christian churches which are associated with a more conservative Christianity, and partly due to the failure of one generation to pass on Christianity to the next. Among the larger Protestant denominations in the United States, only the conservative Southern Baptist is growing. In addition, many other conservative denominational churches are growing along with many conservative non-denominational churches.

Evangelical parachurch organizations have grown rapidly in the last half of the 20th century. The liberal Christian Century magazine has shrunk, while being replaced by its challenger, the rapidly growing evangelical Christianity Today.

The Enlightenment had much less impact on the Eastern Churches of Eastern and Oriental Orthodoxy. Having to face a much more hostile secular society, especially during the rise of Communism, the church clung to ancient beliefs, even as its membership eroded.

Today in Eastern Europe and Russia, a renewing trend is taking place. After decades of communist-instated atheism, there is widespread interest in Christianity, as well as religion in general. Many Orthodox churches and monasteries are being rebuilt and restored; Protestants of many denominations are pouring in to evangelize and build churches; and the Roman Catholic Church is revealing once secret dioceses and undertaking other steps to support Roman Catholic churches more openly.

In South America and Africa, Evangelical and Pentecostal Christianity form rapidly growing movements that are increasingly sending missionaries to Europe and North America. [3] This is also true of Asia where many of the underground "house churches" intend to send hundreds of thousands of missionaries out over the next decade. This is especially true of China. [4]

During the second half of the 20th century the Megachurch became a significant phenomenon. These churches are generally characterised by service forms designed to appeal to the non-Christian, using contemporary music and multi-media presentation styles and often a focus on practical helps for living. They are most common in the United States, and frequently target specific demographics. Criticised by more traditional churches as 'watering down' the Christian message and for their use of techniques akin to advertising, they are typically not affiliated with a particular denomination.

Since the development of Postmodernism with its rejection of universally accepted belief structures in favour of more personalized and experiential truth, organized Christianity has increasingly found itself at odds with the desire many people have to express faith and spirituality in a way that is authentic to them. What has thus far been known as the Emerging Church is a by-product of this trend, as many people who broadly accept Christianity seek to practice that faith while avoiding established Church institutions.

Another reaction of some Christians to Postmodernism is the advent of what might be called Postmodern Christianity.

Contemporary Evangelical movement

A large and growing movement within Christian populations, especially in the West and most visible in the United States, is the Evangelical movement. Being a cross-cultural, cross-denominational movement, there is no single agreed definition of the term, and as a result certain elements which claim, or are labelled by this term are not seen as being properly 'Evangelical' by other elements within Evangelicalism. Some significant characteristics of the Evangelical movement include : the centrality of the cross (the substitutionary atonement of Christ's death on the cross as the most important Christian doctrine, which should therefore be central in Christian practice and preaching), 'sola scriptura' (the God-breathed authority of scripture as the final rule of faith), the need for personal repentance and belief for Salvation, placing a high priority on world-wide evangelisation (including, but not limited to, cross-cultural mission), belief in the eventual literal return of Christ and a belief in the miraculous. Most mainstream Protestant denominations have a significantly active Evangelical minority and, in some cases, a dominant majority (see Confessing Movement). Evangelicals are both ontologically and methodologically "trans-denominational" and therefore are generally more willing to have formal and informal relationships with Evangelicals from outside their denomination than to have the same sort of relationship with non-Evangelicals within their denomination. Two areas regarding which evangelicals display significant internal variation are Election (A doctrine popularly associated with the 16th Century reformer John Calvin, the idea that before individuals are born God has effectually chosen those who will respond to him in faith) and the place and work of the Holy Spirit, especially with regard to the more spectacular charismatic gifts (e.g. glossolalia, words of knowledge.) Other movements within Christianity which fall to a greater or lesser extent within the broad category 'Evangelical' include Dispensationists, Pentecostals, Charismatics and Fundamentalists.

Some Evangelicals have been schismatic within various church organisations, leaving to form their own denominations. More often they are forced out. It was only by dint of sheer determination that John Wesley, founder of Methodism, was able to remain an Anglican priest against intense opposition. His followers separated in America and in England after his death. Some Evangelicals claim that their beliefs are no less than true Christianity itself and that those within the church who differ from them may not be true believers. This attitude has led to much disunity amongst churches, especially those with a large modernist (and hence 'Liberal') influence.

Doctrine

Christians have often viewed Christianity as the fulfillment and successor of Judaism, and Christianity carried forward much of the doctrine and many of the practices from the Hebrew faith, including monotheism, the belief in a Messiah (or Christ from the Greek Christós, which means "anointed one") spoken of in prophecies, certain forms of worship (such as prayer, and reading from religious texts), a priesthood (although most Protestants assert the "priesthood of all believers" is the only valid priesthood today), and the idea that worship on Earth is modeled on worship in Heaven.

The central belief of Christianity is that by faith in the sacrificial death and resurrection of Jesus, individuals are saved from death—both spiritual and physical—by redemption from their sins (i.e., faults, misdeeds, disobedience, rebellion against God). Through God's grace, by faith and repentance, men and women are reconciled to God through forgiveness and by sanctification or theosis to return to their place with God in Heaven.

Crucial beliefs in Christian teaching are Jesus' incarnation, atonement, crucifixion, and resurrection from the dead to redeem humankind from sin and death; and the belief that the New Testament is a part of the Bible. Many Christians today (and traditionally even more) also hold to supersessionism, the belief that Christianity is the fulfillment of Biblical Judaism.

The emphasis on God the Father giving his son, or the Son (who is God) becoming incarnate for the sake of humanity, is an essential difference between Christianity and most other religions, where the emphasis is instead placed solely on humans working for salvation.

The most uniform and broadly accepted tradition of doctrine, with the longest continuous representation, repeatedly reaffirmed by official Roman Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant definitions (although not without dissent, as noted below) asserts that specific beliefs are essential to Christianity, including but not limited to:

• God is a Trinity, a single eternal being existing as three persons: Father, Son (Divine Logos, incarnated as Jesus Christ), and Holy Spirit.
• Jesus Christ is both fully God and fully human, two "natures" in one person.
• Salvation from spiritual death, a separation from God due to mankind's sin, is available to individual believers only through the person and work of Jesus Christ and by the grace of God. Most generally maintain that personal faith in Jesus Christ is necessary for salvation, and many view faith without associated "good works" as a "dead" (illegitimate) faith.
• Jesus fullfilled Bible prophecy in regards to Messianic prophecy.
• Mary, the virgin mother of Jesus, bore in her womb and gave birth to the Son of God, who although eternally existent as God was humanly formed in her womb by the Spirit of God. From her humanity he received in his person a human intellect and will, and all else that a child would naturally receive from its mother.
• Jesus is the Messiah hoped for by the Jews, the heir to the throne of David. He reigns at the right hand of the Father with all authority and power forevermore. He is the hope of all mankind, their advocate and judge. Until he returns at the end of the world, the Church has the authority and obligation to preach the Gospel and to gather new disciples.
• Jesus was innocent of any sin. Through the death and resurrection of Jesus, believers are forgiven of sins and reconciled to God. Although virtually all Christians agree on this, there are a variety of views on the significance of Jesus' resurrection. Christians are baptized into the death, resurrection and new life of Christ. Through faith, they live by the promise of resurrection from death to everlasting life through Christ. The Holy Spirit is sent to them by Christ to bring hope, to lead mankind into true knowledge of God and His purposes, and to help them grow in holiness.
• Jesus will return personally, and bodily, to judge all mankind and receive the faithful to himself, so they will live forever in the intimate presence of God.
• The Bible is an authoritative text, inspired by God but written by men. Some, particularly in the West, refer to the Bible as the "word of God." Other Christians, particularly in the East, reserve to Jesus alone the title, Word of God. Christians disagree in various ways about the authority of the Bible (especially in relation to the authority of tradition) and how the Scriptures are best interpreted.

These beliefs are stated in a number of creeds, of which the most important and widely used are probably the Apostles' Creed and the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed, commonly known as the Nicene Creed. These statements of belief were written in the first few centuries after Christ to reject certain heresies. Although there are arguments about specific parts of these creeds, they are still used by mainstream Christians to state their basic beliefs. (See also: Athanasian Creed)

Christian Love is basic to many forms of Christianity, based in part on Christ's answer to the question, "Which is the greatest commandment?" To which he answered, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself." (Matt. 22:36–39 NASB).

Many persons and groups throughout history have had varying ideas about the basic tenets of the Christian faith, from ancient sects such as Arians and Gnostics to modern groups who have different understandings of fundamental Christian ideas. Some of these groups are the Jehovah's Witnesses, who have a different theological understanding of Jesus, God and the Bible; the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who believe that in 1829 God restored the apostolic priesthood to their leader Joseph Smith, Jr., making possible continuing revelation (including additional teachings and scripture); and the Unification Church. While various groups may differ in their approach to the specifics of Christ's role, ministry, and nature (some calling him a god or Gods, and others a man), Christ is generally assumed to be of cosmic importance. Some of these groups number themselves among the Christian churches, or believe themselves to be the only true Christian church. Furthermore, many present-day liberal Christians do not define essential Christian belief necessarily including belief in the deity of Jesus, the virgin birth, the Trinity, miracles, the resurrection, the ascension of Christ, or the personality or deity of the Holy Spirit. Liberals may or may not recommend belief in such things, but differentiate themselves from conservative Christians by defining as included within genuine Christianity anyone who explains their views or teachings principally by appeal to Jesus; for example, John 3:16. It is common for those who hold the more traditional tenets of faith described in the paragraph above to assert that some or all of these groups are not true Christians, principally because they feel that by denying fundamental teachings about the nature, actions and teachings of Jesus, such persons are following a different religion. Conversely, liberals are often feel that "traditional" Christians have been misled by political organizations spanning thousands of years, and follow dogma designed to assign power to certain institutions.

See also Apostasy, Heresy, Heterodoxy, Orthodoxy.

Christianity's relationship with other faiths

Further information: Christianity and world religions

Christianity's relationship with other faiths is at times rather complicated. Historically Christianity was often used to subjugate and oppress members of other faiths, particularly faiths considered "pagan" in nature. At the same time, early Christians did great deal of almsgiving to the poor not only to fellow believers but to pagans as well. The anti-Christian pagan emperor Julian the Apostate (361-363 AD), stated "These godless Galileans (ie. Christians) feed not only their own poor but ours: our poor lack our care". [5] Also, it is argued that Christianity had a role in the growth of tolerance in the West. [6] In addition, in modern times, prosecutions for blasphemy have been rare in nations such as the United States which is a fairly religious country with many Christians.[7] However, due to its diverse history and its numerous denominations and branches it is difficult to give an accurate account of Christianity's current relationship with the many non-Abrahamic faiths. The relationship of Christianity with faiths such as Hinduism, Buddhism, and the many so called "pagan" faiths of the world can vary from region to region and denomination to denomination. As such this segment will focus on Christianity's relationship with Abrahamic faiths.

Comparative religion scholars attempt to find commonality between religions; and, the description of Christianity as an Abrahamic religion arises from this effort, using the term to point out supposed commonalities especially in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, which each refer to Abraham as important to their faith. The Jews see Abraham as the progenitor of the people of Israel, through his descendants Isaac and Jacob, and Muslims admire Abraham (whom they call Ibrahim) as a great prophet and as the father of Ishmael, whom they believe to be the progenitor of Muhammad and whom they believe Abraham was to sacrifice rather than Isaac.

For their part, Christians point to Abraham as a spiritual ancestor and an exemplar of justifying faith. (This relationship is not to be confused with Abraham's role as a blood ancestor of Jesus, as described in the genealogies of Matthew chapter 1 and Luke chapter 3.) They see Jesus as Abraham's spiritual descendant, in whom God promised that all the families of the earth would be blessed (Gen. 12:3; 22:18), and thus they consider themselves heirs of that promise (Gal. 3, especially vv. 7,14,29; Rom. 9:6–8). Unlike Judaism and Islam, Christians see Abraham's willingness to offer his son, Isaac, to God, as foreshadowing God's giving of his son, Jesus, for the salvation of men (Gen. 22:1–14; Heb. 11:17–19).

Thus, some members of each faith see Abraham as a basis for understanding between Christians, Jews, and Muslims, but when Christians use the "Abrahamic roots" language, they do not mean that true Christianity is found in some kind of average of religions with overlapping traditions, but merely that, the Christian faith has elements in common, which may provide a helpful basis for constructive relationships between peoples of the divergent traditions. Two representatives of the Roman Catholic Church, for instance, have recently referenced the Abrahamic roots of the Christian faith publicly: In a statement to the United Nations in 2001, Apostolic Nuncio Renato Cardinal Martino, spoke of "the peoples of the Holy Land" as "cousins in the Abrahamic faith." Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict XVI) struck the same theme in his statement in 2000 in an effort to repair damaged Jewish-Roman Catholic relations: "Even if the most recent, loathsome experience of the Shoah [the Holocaust] was perpetrated in the name of an anti-Christian ideology, which tried to strike the Christian faith at its Abrahamic roots in the people of Israel, it cannot be denied that a certain insufficient resistance to this atrocity on the part of Christians can be explained by an inherited anti-Judaism present in the hearts of not a few Christians".

Christianity and Judaism

There have long been some sentiments of anti-semitism in Christianity (see Christianity and anti-Semitism), but especially since the Holocaust, there has been much dialogue between Christians groups and Jews aimed at Christian-Jewish reconciliation and Christian attitudes toward Jews have greatly improved. Many conservative evangelicals support Christian Zionism, which is tied to the common belief that the Jewish people are "the apple of God's eye". Many are dispensationalists, who believe that the ingathering of Jews to the modern state of Israel is a fulfillment of Biblical prophecy. They await the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem, which they believe to be one of the final signs that Jesus is returning soon to rescue the Church from the Great Tribulation, and to save the Jews from the Antichrist, after which Jesus is expected to reign over the earth from Jerusalem, during the Millennium.

Jewish criticism

A common Jewish criticism of Christianity is that Jesus did not fulfill prophecy. Christians by and large believe that Jesus did fulfill prophecy, but Jewish scholars and religious leaders often argue that many of the prophecies remain unfulfilled. Some such prophecies include the following: The Hebrew people were expecting a descendant of King David, anointed by God, who would restore the Nation of Israel and the Davidic Kingdom, ushering in an everlasting age of peace on earth. The Messiah was also to end all earthly bondage and servitude (Particularly to the Romans). Many Jews today believe that were Jesus the true Messiah (or anointed one) it would be in the power of none to deny him. Christians, by and large, believe in an eventual Second Coming in which Jesus will fulfill all prophecy.

Messianic Judaism

Messianic Judaism refers to a loose religious movement, self-identified as Jewish, holding that Jesus is or was the Messiah. Messianic Jews may hold a wide range of religious beliefs and practices, ranging from Evangelical Christian Judaism to Christian Orthodox Judaism. Messianic Jews vary in their adherence to Jewish religious law and worship practices, such as keeping of Kosher and observing the Sabbath. Even though Messianic Jews are typically of a Jewish ethnicity, some Messianic temples may be composed entirely of gentiles. Messianic Jews are not considered part of the Jewish religion by mainstream Jewish groups. There are also Jewish members of Christian churches that are not affiliated with Messianic Judaism.

Many Jews argue that since Jesus failed to fulfill numerous prophecies he could not have been the true Messiah. Because of this argument some religious Jews have dismissed Messianic Judaism as little more than Christianity with Jewish undertones. However Messianic Jews believe in the Second Coming of Jesus and that those prophecies which Jesus did not fulfill will be fulfilled upon his eventual return. From the Christian view the rejection and execution of the Messiah fulfills numerous prophecies from the Old Testament.

See also * Comparing and contrasting Judaism and Christianity and Judeo-Christian

Christianity and Islam

Adherents of Islam have historically referred to themselves, Jews, and Christians (among other religious adherents) as People of the Book since they all base their religion on books that are considered to have a divine origin. Christians accept the Old Testament as part of their Biblical canon, but they neither consider the Qur'an to be a book of divine revelation or a part of their faith nor agree with Islam's view that Jesus was a prophet, on par with Muhammad. Also most Christians believe that they were forewarned expressly by Jesus to be aware of false prophets, a category often applied to Muhammad by Christians.

Muslims, for their part, believe that parts of the Gospels, Torah and Jewish prophetic books have been forgotten, misinterpreted, or distorted by their followers. With that perspective, Muslims view the Qur'an as corrective of Jewish and Christian scriptures. Muslims, believe that God (or, in Arabic, Allāh) revealed his direct words for mankind to prophets, including Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus and eventually Muhammad (c. 570–632). Muslims believe that the messages of all of the prophets were similar. Therefore, Muslims respect Jesus as they do Muhammad, but they don't share with Christians the Trinity beliefs nor view Jesus as God.

Not surprisingly, the relationship between the two faiths has had its share of controversy and conflict (an example being the Crusades). Indeed, many Christians forcefully reject the entirety of the Muslim faith system, citing Jesus's statement that anybody who is not with him is against him. Today, it is common to hear Christians emphasize the view that Islam contradicts the teachings of the Messiah, or that Muhammad was a false prophet. Some Christians, though in the minority, see important common ground shared by the two faiths: see Christo-Islamic. On May 6, 2001, Pope John Paul II, the first Pope to pray in a mosque, delivered an address at Omayyad Mosque in Damascus that seemed to strike a balance between these two approaches. The Pope said: "It is important that Muslims and Christians continue to explore philosophical and theological questions together, in order to come to a more objective and comprehensive knowledge of each others’ religious beliefs. Better mutual understanding will surely lead, at the practical level, to a new way of presenting our two religions not in opposition, as has happened too often in the past, but in partnership for the good of the human family."

Christianity and persecution

Historically Christians, both as groups and inviduals, have like many other religious traditions, been both the victims and perpetrators of persecution. Some forms of persecution of Christians and on the part of Christians continue to the present day.

Persecution of Christians

(For full article, see Persecution of Christians)

Christian martyrs in the first three centuries were crucified, torn apart by chariots, cut down, or impaled on pikes in much the same manner as other Roman political prisoners and rebels. Many were forced to fight in Roman coliseums as fodder for famous gladiators, or forced to fight each other for entertainment and as punishment. When early Christians refused to fight each other, wild beasts or gladiators would often be set loose to slaughter them, providing sinister entertainment for betting Roman citizens. Bets were often cast on which Christian would die first, whether or not one would raise arms against another, and how long one would last before having his or her torso ripped apart. They are recognized as martyrs because they chose to die rather than renounce their Christian faith.

In the modern Middle East and Africa, Christians face a great deal of persecution, including arrests for "blasphemy" in the Middle East and even being targeted for assassination and acts of terrorism. Though such violence against Christians is extremely uncommon in China, Christians in China are treated as second class citizens, and are often the victims of public insults and persecution by government officials. In China there are also laws against proselytizing, so while it's not illegal to convert to Christianity, one can be fined or imprisoned for attempting to convert others, especially publicly. Predominantly Christian regions (such as East Timor) have chosen independence partly for this reason. Because of this, many Christian converts from these parts of the world have left for Europe, the United States, Canada and Australia.

Some Christians see restrictions placed on some forms of religious activity, wether of Christianity or other religions, in the public sphere as a form of discrimination of religious people in general.

Persecution by Christians

(For full article, see Historical persecution by Christians.)

Christians have not only been the victims of persecution. After the Roman Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity, Christian mobs frequently molested pagans and destroyed their temples, sometimes with government support. The philosopher Hypatia of Alexandria was murdered by such a mob in 415.

In 380, Roman emperor Theodosius I made Christianity the offical religion of the Empire and outlawed the practising of paganism and Manichaeism. Judaism remained legal, but Jewish communities suffered from recurrent violent attacks and expulsions, especially in the latter half of the Middle Ages.

During the Crusades, Christian Crusaders committed atrocities against Jews across Europe and massacred non-combatants in Palestine and Syria. Crusaders also sacked and plundered the city of Constantinople and persecuted many Pagans, Muslims, and Jews.

Christians have at times persecuted other Christians over doctrinal and ethnic differences. During the Arian disputes in the 4th century, Arians harassed their orthodox brethren, and were supported in this by various emperors. When Priscillian was executed by the state in 385, this was widely denounced by leading Church figures of the time. By the Middle Ages, however, the Church was the executor of persecution, setting up the Inquisition to fight heresy by judicial means including torture. The Crusades, while primarily aimed at non-Christians, also included incidents such as the sack and plunder of Constantinople. Witch hunts rose in frequency during the Early Modern period in Western Europe, especially Germany, as well as in New England. This period was also typified by violence between Catholics and the emerging Protestant movement.

Allegations of Christian persecution of others continue to the present day. Christians in the Western world are often accused of engaging in discrimination against other religions, denominations, and minorities. For example, some claim persecution in the opposition of some Christians to giving equal status to homosexual activities; rare individual instances of religiously motivated violence and vandalism also occur. Such offences, however, are usually on a smaller scale than the persecution seen in the rest of the world.

In the second half of the 20th century, ethnic or social conflicts are sometimes reinforced by religious antagonism. In Northern Ireland, the struggle for independence is exacerbated by denominational differences; in general terms, Catholics support independence, while Protestants desire to remain part of the United Kingdom. The region of former Yugoslavia contains many groups fighting for control, most of which are typified by strong cultural and religious solidarity.

== See also ==

• Jesus
• Christian
• Christian apologetics (field of study concerned with the defense of Christianity, often intellectual)
• Christian art
• Christian calendar
• Christian eschatology
• Christian music
• Christian mythology
• Christian Meditation
• Christian Anarchism
• Christianity and anti-Semitism
• Christian stories
• Christian views of women
• Christian Symbolism
• Homosexuality and Christianity
• John 3:16
• List of Christians
• Criticisms of Christianity

History and denominations

• Christian history
• Christian theological controversy
• Eastern Christianity portal
• Great Schism
• List of Christian denominations

References and Select Bibliography

• Archibald Robertson, The Origins of Christianity (1954, rev. ed. 1962).

• The Story of Christianity by Justo L. Gonzalez (1984, 1985, 1999, ISBN 1565635221)
• Christian Theology: An Introduction by Alister McGrath (ISBN 0631225285)
• Christian Theology Reader by Alister McGrath (ISBN 063120637X)
• Mere Christianity. C.S. Lewis
• Systematic Theology, an ecumenical trilogy by Thomas Oden
  • Volume 1: The Living God (1992, ISBN 0060663634)
  • Volume 2: The Word of Life (1992, ISBN 0060663642)
  • Volume 3: Life in the Spirit (1994, ISBN 0060663626)
• The Christian Tradition: A History of the Development of Doctrine. Jaroslav Pelikan. 5 Volumes, published between 1971-1989.
• The Kingdom of God is Within You [8] by Leo Tolstoy (1894, ISBN 0803294042)
• Tomkins, Stephen. A Short History of Christianity (Lion, 2005)

External links

General on-line sources

• ReligionFacts.com: Christianity Fast facts, glossary, timeline, history, beliefs, texts, holidays, symbols, people, etc.
• The Christian Classics Ethereal Library, containing the works of a wide spectrum of authors in doctrine, history, devotion, and Bible commentary
• WikiChristian, a wiki book on Christianity, church history and doctrine, and Christian art and music
• The Catholic Encyclopedia, containing detailed information on Catholic beliefs and history and the Catholic view of other churches and beliefs
• The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge from a Protestant perspective
• The Vatican contains much official information related to the Roman Catholic Church in many languages
• Syriac Orthodox Resources Large compedium of information and links relating to Oriental Orthodoxy.

Criticisms

• Why I am not a Christian by Nobel Prize laureate Bertrand Russell.
• Who is a Christian? by Tamas B..

Criticisms, responses to

• Why Russell Said He Could Not Be a Christian -- Dr. Greg Bahnsen on Bertrand Russell

Directories

• Dmoz.org Open Directory Project: Christianity (a list of links with information about Christianity)
• Dmoz.org Open Directory Project: Contra Christianity (a list of links of opposing views on Christianity)