Christians

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"Christian" redirects here. For other uses, see Christian (disambiguation).

Christians

After the miraculous catch of fish, Christ invokes his disciples to

become "fishers of men" (Matthew 4:19) by Raphael

Total population

c. 2.8 billion (worldwide, 2020)[1][2][3][4]

Founder

Jesus Christ, according to sacred tradition[5]

Regions with significant populations

United States 246,790,000[4]

Brazil 175,770,000[4]

Mexico 107,780,000[4]

Russia 105,220,000[4]
 Philippines 86,790,000[4]

Nigeria 80,510,000[4]

China 67,070,000[4]

DR Congo 63,150,000[4]

Germany 58,240,000[4]

Ethiopia 52,580,000 [4]

Italy 51,550,000 [4]

United Kingdom 45,030,000[4]

Religions

Christianity

 50% Catholicism (Latin Church, Eastern Catholic Churches)[4]

 37% Protestantism (Adventism, Anglicanism, Baptist

churches, Reformed

churches, Lutheranism, Methodism, Pentecostalism and other

denominations)[4]

 12% Orthodoxy (Eastern Orthodox Church and Oriental Orthodox

Churches)[4]

 1% Other Christian traditions (incl. Assyrian Church of the East, Latter

Day Saint movement, Jehovah's

Witnesses, Unitarianism and Nondenominational churches)[4]

Scriptures

Bible (Old and New Testament)

Languages

 Predominant spoken languages:[6]

o Spanish

o English
o Portuguese

o Russian

o Mandarin Chinese

o French

o German

o Polish

o Ukrainian

o Filipino

o Italian

o Igbo

o Arabic

o other vernacular languages

Sacred languages:

 Ecclesiastical Latin

 Koine Greek[7]

 Syriac

 Hebrew

 Aramaic

 Geʽez

 Coptic

 Old Church Slavonic and Church Slavonic

 Old Georgian

 Classical Armenian[8]

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Christians (/ˈkrɪstʃən, -tiən/ ( listen)) are people who follow or adhere to Christianity,
a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ.
The words Christ and Christian derive from the Koine Greek title Christós (Χριστός), a
translation of the Biblical Hebrew term mashiach (‫( )מָ ִׁשיח‬usually rendered
as messiah in English).[9] While there are diverse interpretations of Christianity which
sometimes conflict,[10][11] they are united in believing that Jesus has a unique
significance.[10] The term Christian used as an adjective is descriptive of anything
associated with Christianity or Christian churches, or in a proverbial sense "all that is
noble, and good, and Christ-like."[12] It does not have a meaning of 'of Christ' or 'related
or pertaining to Christ'.
According to a 2011 Pew Research Center survey, there were 2.2 billion Christians
around the world in 2010, up from about 600 million in 1910.[4] Today, about 37% of all
Christians live in the Americas, about 26% live in Europe, 24% live in sub-Saharan
Africa, about 13% live in Asia and the Pacific, and 1% live in the Middle
East and North Africa.[4] Christians make up the majority of the population in 158
countries and territories.[4] 280 million Christians live as a minority. About half of all
Christians worldwide are Catholic, while more than a third
are Protestant (37%).[4] Orthodox communions comprise 12% of the world's
Christians.[4] Other Christian groups make up the remainder. By 2050, the Christian
population is expected to exceed 3 billion.[4] According to a 2012 Pew Research Center
survey, Christianity will remain the world's largest religion in 2050, if current trends
continue. In recent history, Christians have experienced persecution of varying
severity, especially in the Middle-East, North Africa, East Asia, and South Asia.[13][14][15]
 Contents

 1Etymology
 2Early usage
o 2.1Nazarenes
 3Modern usage
o 3.1Definition
o 3.2Hebrew terms
o 3.3Arabic terms
o 3.4Asian terms
o 3.5Russian terms
o 3.6Other non-religious usages
 4Demographics
o 4.1Socioeconomics
 5Culture
 6Persecution
 7See also
 8References
 9Bibliography

Etymology
The Greek word Χριστιανός (Christianos), meaning "follower of Christ", comes
from Χριστός (Christos), meaning "anointed one",[16] with an adjectival ending
borrowed from Latin to denote adhering to, or even belonging to, as in slave
ownership.[17] In the Greek Septuagint, christos was used to translate
the Hebrew ‫( ָמ ִׁשיח‬Mašíaḥ, messiah), meaning "[one who is] anointed". In other
[18]

European languages, equivalent words to Christian are likewise derived from the
Greek, such as Chrétien in French and 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.[19][20] The word Xmas uses a similar
contraction.

Early usage

The Church of Saint Peter near Antioch (modern-day Antakya), the city where the disciples were called
"Christians".[21]

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).
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.[22] The city of Antioch, where someone gave
them the name Christians, had a reputation for coming up with such
nicknames.[23] However Peter's apparent endorsement of the term led to its being
preferred over "Nazarenes" and the term Christianoi from 1 Peter becomes the
standard term in the Early Church Fathers from Ignatius and Polycarp onwards.[24]
The earliest occurrences of the term in non-Christian literature include Josephus,
referring to "the tribe of Christians, so named from him;"[25] Pliny the
Younger in correspondence with Trajan; and Tacitus, writing near the end of the 1st
century. In the Annals he relates that "by vulgar appellation [they were] commonly
called Christians"[26] and identifies Christians as Nero's scapegoats for the Great Fire
of Rome.[27]
Nazarenes
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. [citation needed]
The term Nazarene was also used by the Jewish lawyer Tertullus (Against
Marcion 4:8) which records that "the Jews call us Nazarenes." While 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".[28] The Hebrew
equivalent of "Nazarenes", Notzrim, occurs in the Babylonian Talmud, and is still the
modern Israeli Hebrew term for Christian.

Modern usage
This section should specify the language of its non-English content, using
{{lang}}, {{transliteration}} for transliterated languages, and {{IPA}} for
phonetic transcriptions, with an appropriate ISO 639 code.
Wikipedia's multilingual support templates may also be used. See
why. (November 2021)

chrestianos, first mention of Christians in Tacitus' Annals. 11th century copy.

The Latin cross and Ichthys symbols, two symbols often used by Christians to represent their religion

Definition
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. [29]
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." [10] 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.[30]
Hebrew terms
Nazareth is described as the childhood home of Jesus. Many languages employ the word "Nazarene" as a
general designation for those of Christian faith.[31]

The identification of Jesus as the Messiah is not accepted by Judaism. The term for a
Christian in Hebrew is ‫( נֹוצְ ִׁרי‬Notzri—"Nazarene"), a Talmudic term originally derived
from the fact that Jesus came from the Galilean village of Nazareth, today in northern
Israel.[32] Adherents of Messianic Judaism are referred to in modern Hebrew as ‫ְהּודים‬ ִׁ ‫י‬
‫יחיִׁ ים‬
ִׁ ‫( ְמ ִׁש‬Yehudim Meshihi'im—"Messianic Jews").
Arabic terms
In Arabic-speaking cultures, two words are commonly used for
Christians: Naṣrānī (‫)نصراني‬, plural Naṣārā (‫ )نصارى‬is generally understood to be
derived from Nazarenes, believers of Jesus of
Nazareth through Syriac (Aramaic); Masīḥī (‫)مسيحي‬ means followers of the
Messiah.[33] Where there is a distinction, Nasrani refers to people from a Christian
culture and Masihi is used by Christians themselves for those with a religious faith in
Jesus.[34] In some countries Nasrani tends to be used generically for non-Muslim
Western foreigners.[35]
Another Arabic word sometimes used for Christians, particularly in a political context,
is Ṣalībī (‫" صليبي‬Crusader") from ṣalīb (‫" صليب‬cross"), which refers to Crusaders and
may have negative connotations.[33][36] However, Ṣalībī is a modern term; historically,
Muslim writers described European Christian Crusaders as al-Faranj or Alfranj (‫)الفرنج‬
and Firinjīyah (‫ )الفرنجيّة‬in Arabic.[37] 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.[38][39]
Asian terms
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The most common Persian word is Masīhī (‫)مسيحی‬, from Arabic. Other words
are Nasrānī (‫)نصرانی‬, from Syriac for "Nazarene", and Tarsā (‫)ترسا‬, from Middle
Persian word Tarsāg, also meaning "Christian", derived from tars, meaning "fear,
respect".[40]
An old Kurdish word for Christian frequently in usage was felle (‫)فەڵە‬, coming from the
root word meaning "to be saved" or "attain salvation".[41]
The Syriac term Nasrani (Nazarene) has also been attached to the Saint Thomas
Christians of Kerala, India. In Northern India, Christians call
themselves Isaai (Hindi: ईसाई, Urdu: ‫)عيسائی‬, and are also known by this term to
adherents of other religions.[42] This is related to the name they call Jesus, 'Isa Masih,
and literally means 'the followers of 'Isa'.
In the past, the Malays used to call Christians in Malay language by the Portuguese
loanword Serani (from Arabic Nasrani), but the term now refers to the
modern Kristang creoles of Malaysia. In the Indonesian language, the term Nasrani"
is also used alongside Kristen.
The Chinese word is 基督徒 (jīdū tú), literally "Christ follower". The name "Christ" was
originally phonetically written in Chinese as 基利斯督, which was later abbreviated as
基督.[43] Kî-tuk in the southern Hakka dialect, the two characters are
pronounced Jīdū in Mandarin Chinese. In Vietnam, the same two characters read Cơ
đốc, and a "follower of Christianity" is a tín đồ Cơ đốc giáo.

Japanese Christians ("Kurisuchan") in Portuguese costume, 16–17th century

In Japan, the term kirishitan (written in Edo period documents 吉利支丹, 切支丹, and
in modern Japanese histories as キリシタン), from Portuguese 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 キリスト教徒 (Kirisuto-kyōto) or the English-derived term クリスチャ
ン (kurisuchan).

Korean still uses 기독교도 (RR: Gidokkyodo) for "Christian", though the Portuguese
loanword 그리스도 (RR: Geuriseudo) now replaced the old Sino-
Korean 기독 (RR: Gidok), which refers to Christ himself.
In Thailand, the most common terms are คนคริ สต์ (RTGS: khon khrit)
or ชาวคริ สต์ (RTGS: chao khrit) which literally means "Christ person/people" or "Jesus
person/people". The Thai word คริ สต์ (RTGS: khrit) is derived from "Christ".
In the Philippines, the most common terms are Kristiyano (for "Christian")
and Kristiyanismo (for "Christianity") in most Philippine languages; both derives from
Spanish cristiano and 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 uses the term Kristiyano (before the term "born again" became popular) to
differentiate themselves from Catholics (Katoliko).
Russian terms
The region of modern Eastern Europe and Central Eurasia (Russia, Ukraine and other
countries of the former Soviet bloc) 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.[44] Later the region saw the first states to adopt Christianity officially
– initially Armenia (301 AD) and Georgia (337 AD), later Bulgaria (c. 864) and the
Great Russian Principality (Russian: Великое княжество Русское, Velikoye
knyazhestvo russkoye) or Kyivan Rus (c. 988 AD).
In some areas, people came to denote themselves as Christians
(Russian: христиане, крестьяне) and as Russians (Russian: русские). In time the
Russian term "крестьяне" (khrest'yane) acquired the meaning "peasants of Christian
faith" and later "peasants" (the main part of the population of the region), while the
term Russian: христиане (khristiane) retained its religious meaning and the
term Russian: русские (russkiye) began to mean representatives of the
heterogeneous Russian nation formed on the basis of common Christian faith and
language,[citation needed] which strongly influenced the history and development of the region.
In the region the term "Pravoslav faith" (Russian: православная вера,pravoslavnaja
vera, "Orthodox faith") or "Russian faith" (Russian: русская вера, russkaya vera) from
earliest times became almost as known as the original "Christian faith"
(Russian: христианская, крестьянская вера khristianskaja, krest'janskaja).[citation
needed]
Also in some contexts the term "cossack" (Russian: козак, казак kozak, kazak)
was used[by whom?] to denote "free" Christians of steppe origin and Russian language.
Other non-religious usages
Nominally "Christian" societies made "Christian" a default label for citizenship or for
"people like us".[45] 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.[46]

Demographics
For a detailed breakdown of Christian demographics, see Christianity by country.
As of the early 21st century, Christianity has approximately 2.8 billion
adherents.[1][47][48][49][50] 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.[51]
Christianity remains the dominant religion in the Western World, where 70% are
Christians.[4] 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.[52] Christianity is growing
in Africa, Asia,
[53] [54][55][56]
Eastern Europe, Latin
[57]
America, the Muslim
[54]

world,[58][59] and Oceania.[60]

Percentage of Christians worldwide, June 2014

(Pew Research Center, 2011)[61][62][63]

Christians (self-described) by region

Christians % Christian
Region

Europe 558,260,000 75.2

Latin America–Caribbean 531,280,000 90.0

Sub-Saharan Africa 517,340,000 62.9

Asia Pacific 286,950,000 7.1

North America 266,630,000 77.4

Middle East–North Africa 12,710,000 3.7

World 2,173,180,000 31.5

Socioeconomics
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.[64] 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. [65]
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,[66] and the highest
numbers of years of schooling among Christians were found
in Germany (13.6),[66] New Zealand (13.5)[66] and Estonia (13.1).[66] 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).[66] Between the
various Christian communities, Singapore outranks other nations in terms of
Christians who obtain a university degree in institutions of higher
education (67%),[66] followed by the Christians of Israel (63%),[67] and the Christians of
Georgia (57%).[66]
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,[66] 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".[66] According to the same study, Christians have a significant amount of gender
equality in educational attainment,[66] 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. [66]

Culture
Main article: Christian culture

Set of pictures showcasing Christian culture 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.[68] Christian culture has influenced and assimilated much from the Greco-
Roman, Byzantine, Western culture,[69] Middle
Eastern,[70][71] Slavic,[72] Caucasian,[72] 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,[73] and Constantinople (Eastern
Christianity), Antioch (Syriac Christianity), Kerala (Indian Christianity) and Alexandria,
among others, whose communities were called Eastern or Oriental
Christendom.[74][75][76] The Byzantine Empire was one of the peaks in Christian
history and Christian civilization.[77] From the 11th to 13th centuries, Latin
Christendom rose to the central role of the Western world and Western culture.[78]
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".[79] 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.[80][81]
Christians have made noted contributions to a range of fields, including
philosophy,[82][83] science and technology,[84][85][86][87] medicine,[88][89] fine arts and
architecture, [90][91]
politics, literatures,[92] music,[93] and business.[94][95] 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.[96]

Persecution
Main article: 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"[97] with
North Korea considered the most hazardous nation for Christians. [98][99]
In 2019, a report[100][101] 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,[14] and
that it is global and not limited to Islamic states.[101] This investigation found that
approximately 80% of persecuted believers worldwide are Christians. [15]

See also