INTRODUCTION TO WORLD RELIGIONS AND BELIEF SYSTEMS

Lesson 3: Christianity

About the Lesson:

One of the world’s biggest religions with about 2.1 billion followers worldwide, Christianity is based on
the teachings of Jesus Christ who lived in Israel some 2,000 years ago.

What does the word “Christian” mean? What does it remind you of? There are a hundred of buildings
called churches in which people who call themselves Christian gather periodically to pray, sing, eat
together, get married, prepare the dead, instruct each other on the Bible, do catechesis, and listen to
sermons and homilies (Cox 1993,359). Often, these churches carry a cross and a tower. In these
churches, people swallow small quantities of bread of water and sip tiny amounts of wine, and at other
times they sprinkle babies and children with water or immerse adults or teenagers in a special pool.
Some of these building is enormous, while others are smaller. In some of these church edifices people
would kneel, in some pictures prostrate themselves in front of it, some sit in neat rows, while others
dance in aisles and leap for joy with their hands extended over their heads. In the Philippines alone,
there are more than 500 separate and distinct forms of Christianity. Some groups, such as Catholicism,
Anglicanism, and Iglesia ni Cristo are very large with millions of members. Many more are quite tiny
with members ranging from a few thousands to even a few hundreds. There are also local Christian
churches that are independent.
What is Christianity? It is true that all Christians agree on the centrality of Jesus Christ. But there is a
widespread disagreement on who Jesus was and is, and on how the moral significance of His life is
supposed to be brought to bear. Some try to follow His way of life as disciples. Other looks to His
teachings. Still others look at His death as an atonement for human wrongdoing. Most Christians hold
to a mixture of all of these interpretations.

PRACTICES
Although there have been different forms of Christianity, much of their rituals are shared. The
most important among them are believed to be signs of God’s grace, called sacraments.
 Baptism- people who will want to be converted to Christianity will have to undergo to this
sacrament.
 Eucharist- where Christians gather in the church, and share the Body and Blood of Christ.
 Confirmation- a blessing of initiation after baptism.
 Reconciliation- where someone confesses his/her sins and get absolution.
 Matrimony- where two people commit themselves with each other for life with God as the center.
 Ordination- where someone commits himself to priesthood.
 Anointing of the sick- which is usually taken by a sick person.

VARIETIES OF CHRISTIANITY
Christianity is divided into many different groups called denominations. The first church was not an
organization, but Jesus’ apostles and friends. The first Christian organization was the Catholic Church,
which eventually broke into different denominations especially in the 1500’s as a result of Martin Luther
and John Calvin. Christianity is divided between Eastern and Western theology. In this division there
are six branches: Catholicism, Protestantism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Anglicanism, Oriental Orthodox, and
Assyrians. Restorationism is sometimes considered the seventh branch.
 INTRODUCTION TO WORLD RELIGIONS AND BELIEF SYSTEMS
Lesson 3: Christianity

Name: __________________________________________ Activity Number: _____________

Grade Level & Section: _____________________________ Due Date: __________________
Teacher: ________________________________________ Date Submitted: _____________

Direction: Match column A to column B. Write your answer in the space before the number.

A B
a. The first Christian organization.
______1.Anointing of the sick b. usually taken by a sick person
c. world’s biggest religion
______2.Baptism d. People who want to be converted to
Christianity will have to undergo to this
______3.Ordination sacrament.
e. The most important among them are
______4.Eucharist believed to be signs of God’s grace.
f. Where someone commits himself to
______5.Matrimony priesthood.
g. Where someone confesses his/her sins
_____6.Confirmation and get absolution.
h. Where Christians gather in the church and
_____7.Reconciliation share the Body and Blood of Christ.
i. A blessing of initiation after baptism.
______8.Sacrament j. Where two people commit themselves
with each other for life with God as the
______9.Christianity center.

______10.Catholic Church