Christianity - Revision history

Ledlecreeper27: /* Late classical age */

2025-12-03T15:16:20Z

Late classical age

← Older revision		Revision as of 15:16, 3 December 2025
Line 24:		Line 24:

	==== Late classical age ====		==== Late classical age ====
	In the year 380 CE, Christianity was made the official state religion of the Roman empire. Furthermore, with Christianity now enjoying acceptance at a governmental-level, the structure of the clergy would now change greatly. Among some of the most politically impactful changes would include the formation of a system known as the ''pentarchy'' ~~- that is -~~ a system where five bishops would be appointed to manage the theological workings of five locations, or ''sees''. These five locations included [[Rome]], [[Istanbul\|Constantinople]], [[Jerusalem]], [[Antioch]], and [[Alexandria (City)\|Alexandria]]. These bishoprics largely survive to this day, for example, the present ''bishop of rome'' is also known as the pope - and head of the [[Vatican City State]] of the [[Roman ~~catholic church~~]].		In the year 380 CE, Christianity was made the official state religion of the Roman empire. Furthermore, with Christianity now enjoying acceptance at a governmental-level, the structure of the clergy would now change greatly. Among some of the most politically impactful changes would include the formation of a system known as the ''pentarchy'', a system where five bishops would be appointed to manage the theological workings of five locations, or ''sees''. These five locations included [[Rome]], [[Istanbul\|Constantinople]], [[Jerusalem]], [[Antioch]], and [[Alexandria (City)\|Alexandria]]. These bishoprics largely survive to this day, for example, the present ''bishop of rome'' is also known as the pope - and head of the [[Vatican City State]] of the [[Catholicism\|Roman Catholic Church]].

	By the end of the western part of the Roman empire in 476 CE, Christianity had firmly rooted itself in both the government and peoples of [[Europe]] and North Africa. During the fifth century CE, the theological leaders of Christianity were forced to adapt to the rapidly changing political and social climate of that time. The Christian clergy had to contend with the theological ideas of the new barbarian overlords, while still maintaining loyalty with the clergy of the [[Byzantium\|remaining part of the Roman Empire]].<ref name=":0" />		By the end of the western part of the Roman empire in 476 CE, Christianity had firmly rooted itself in both the government and peoples of [[Europe]] and North Africa. During the fifth century CE, the theological leaders of Christianity were forced to adapt to the rapidly changing political and social climate of that time. The Christian clergy had to contend with the theological ideas of the new barbarian overlords, while still maintaining loyalty with the clergy of the [[Byzantium\|remaining part of the Roman Empire]].<ref name=":0" />

PuzzledFox99 at 19:05, 19 February 2025

2025-02-19T19:05:15Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:05, 19 February 2025
Line 63:		Line 63:

	== Beliefs ==		== Beliefs ==
	Christian doctrine is based on the [[Bible]], a collection of Scripture that consists of the [[Judaism\|Jewish]] Bible (which Christians call the "Old Testament") and the New Testament (which is exclusively Christian). There are a number of different Christian religious groups with competing beliefs, but the one unifying factor in all of them is belief in Jesus Christ. Most Christian churches believe that Jesus was, in some form or another, God.<ref name="~~GSE~~" />		Christian doctrine is based on the [[Bible]], a collection of Scripture that consists of the [[Judaism\|Jewish]] Bible (which Christians call the "Old Testament") and the New Testament (which is exclusively Christian). There are a number of different Christian religious groups with competing beliefs, but the one unifying factor in all of them is belief in Jesus Christ. Most Christian churches believe that Jesus was, in some form or another, God.<ref name="GSE1" />

	== Demographics ==		== Demographics ==

PuzzledFox99 at 19:04, 19 February 2025

2025-02-19T19:04:37Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:04, 19 February 2025
Line 3:		Line 3:
	'''Christianity''' is an Abrahamic and monotheistic [[religion]] as well as the largest religion on Earth with about 2.6 billion adherents as of 2020.<ref>{{News citation\|newspaper=countrymeters.info\|title=World Population\|date=2020\|url=https://countrymeters.info/en/World#religion}}</ref> Over 45,000 sects of Christianity exist, of which the Roman Catholic church is the largest in terms of membership, followed by Protestantism (which itself is extremely fragmented) and Eastern Orthodoxy.<ref>{{News citation\|author=Donavyn Coffey\|newspaper=Live Science\|title=Why does Christianity have so many denominations?\|date=2021-2-27\|url=https://www.livescience.com/christianity-denominations.html}}</ref>		'''Christianity''' is an Abrahamic and monotheistic [[religion]] as well as the largest religion on Earth with about 2.6 billion adherents as of 2020.<ref>{{News citation\|newspaper=countrymeters.info\|title=World Population\|date=2020\|url=https://countrymeters.info/en/World#religion}}</ref> Over 45,000 sects of Christianity exist, of which the Roman Catholic church is the largest in terms of membership, followed by Protestantism (which itself is extremely fragmented) and Eastern Orthodoxy.<ref>{{News citation\|author=Donavyn Coffey\|newspaper=Live Science\|title=Why does Christianity have so many denominations?\|date=2021-2-27\|url=https://www.livescience.com/christianity-denominations.html}}</ref>

	Christianity, along with most religions in general, has been used by the [[ruling class]] during various stages of economic and historical development, mostly as a tool of justifying the social and economic order relative to that historical epoch, which would further secure the power and wealth of said ruling class. Things such as a "divine mandate" or a "god-given mission" and things of that nature have been used, be it in past or present eras, to legitimize [[slavery]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Edward J. Cashin\|year=2001\|title=Beloved Bethesda : A History of George Whitefield's Home for Boys\|title-url=https://books.google.com/books/about/Beloved_Bethesda.html?id=XEmvyv3LO2AC\|publisher=Mercer University Press\|isbn=9780865547223\|trans-lang=English}}</ref><ref>{{News citation\|author=Juan Siliezar\|newspaper=Harvard Gazette\|title=Slavery alongside Christianity\|date=2019-1-7\|url=https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2019/01/a-harvard-exhibit-on-slavery-and-christianity/\|retrieved=2022-6-16}}</ref> [[feudalism]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Gerd Althoff\|year=2007\|title=Christian Values and Noble Ideas of Rank and their Consequences on Symbolic Acts\|title-url=https://journals.openedition.org/e-spania/4053}}</ref> [[fascism]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Roger Eatwell\|year=2003\|title=Reflections on Fascism and Religion\|title-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070501024852/http://staff.bath.ac.uk/mlsre/ReflectionsonFascismandReligion.htm\|trans-lang=English}}</ref> [[genocide]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Willliam E. Weeks\|year=1996\|title=Building the Continental Empire: American Expansion from the Revolution to the Civil War\|title-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vcsk8UsgNRsC\|page=61\|trans-lang=English}}</ref> [[capitalism]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Kate Bowler\|year=2013\|title=Blessed: A History of the American Prosperity Gospel\|title-url=https://oxford.universitypressscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199827695.001.0001/acprof-9780199827695\|isbn=9780199827695\|trans-lang=English}}</ref> and [[colonialism]].<ref name=":1">{{Web citation\|newspaper=[[Tricontinental]]\|title=Religious Fundamentalism and Imperialism in Latin America: Action and Resistance\|date=2022-12-19\|url=https://thetricontinental.org/dossier-59-religious-fundamentalism-and-imperialism-in-latin-america/\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221222193617/https://thetricontinental.org/dossier-59-religious-fundamentalism-and-imperialism-in-latin-america/\|archive-date=2022-12-22\|retrieved=2023-01-05}}</ref> While modern times have seen a number of [[progressive]] currents within the Christian church, such as [[Liberation theology]] and other movements of ~~leftist~~ clerics and laypeople, the largest and most organized Christian churches continue to advance [[reactionary]], anti-communist causes.<ref name="GSE1">"[https://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Christianity ~~Christianity]," in ''~~Great Soviet Encyclopedia~~: A Translation of the Third Edition''~~ (~~New York~~: ~~Macmillan, 1974–1983), vol~~. ~~28, pp~~. ~~160~~-~~163~~.</ref>		Christianity, along with most religions in general, has been used by the [[ruling class]] during various stages of economic and historical development, mostly as a tool of justifying the social and economic order relative to that historical epoch, which would further secure the power and wealth of said ruling class. Things such as a "divine mandate" or a "god-given mission" and things of that nature have been used, be it in past or present eras, to legitimize [[slavery]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Edward J. Cashin\|year=2001\|title=Beloved Bethesda : A History of George Whitefield's Home for Boys\|title-url=https://books.google.com/books/about/Beloved_Bethesda.html?id=XEmvyv3LO2AC\|publisher=Mercer University Press\|isbn=9780865547223\|trans-lang=English}}</ref><ref>{{News citation\|author=Juan Siliezar\|newspaper=Harvard Gazette\|title=Slavery alongside Christianity\|date=2019-1-7\|url=https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2019/01/a-harvard-exhibit-on-slavery-and-christianity/\|retrieved=2022-6-16}}</ref> [[feudalism]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Gerd Althoff\|year=2007\|title=Christian Values and Noble Ideas of Rank and their Consequences on Symbolic Acts\|title-url=https://journals.openedition.org/e-spania/4053}}</ref> [[fascism]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Roger Eatwell\|year=2003\|title=Reflections on Fascism and Religion\|title-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070501024852/http://staff.bath.ac.uk/mlsre/ReflectionsonFascismandReligion.htm\|trans-lang=English}}</ref> [[genocide]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Willliam E. Weeks\|year=1996\|title=Building the Continental Empire: American Expansion from the Revolution to the Civil War\|title-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vcsk8UsgNRsC\|page=61\|trans-lang=English}}</ref> [[capitalism]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Kate Bowler\|year=2013\|title=Blessed: A History of the American Prosperity Gospel\|title-url=https://oxford.universitypressscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199827695.001.0001/acprof-9780199827695\|isbn=9780199827695\|trans-lang=English}}</ref> and [[colonialism]].<ref name=":1">{{Web citation\|newspaper=[[Tricontinental]]\|title=Religious Fundamentalism and Imperialism in Latin America: Action and Resistance\|date=2022-12-19\|url=https://thetricontinental.org/dossier-59-religious-fundamentalism-and-imperialism-in-latin-america/\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221222193617/https://thetricontinental.org/dossier-59-religious-fundamentalism-and-imperialism-in-latin-america/\|archive-date=2022-12-22\|retrieved=2023-01-05}}</ref> While modern times have seen a number of [[progressive]] currents within the Christian church, such as [[Liberation theology]] and other movements of progressive clerics and laypeople, the largest and most organized Christian churches continue to advance [[reactionary]], anti-communist causes.<ref name="GSE1">{{Citation\|author=M. P. Mcheldov\|year=1978\|chapter=Christianity\|chapter-url=https://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Christianity\|title=[[Great Soviet Encyclopedia]] (3rd ed.)\|volume=28\|page=384-387\|city=Moscow\|pdf=https://ia804601.us.archive.org/2/items/B-001-032-507-748-ALL/БСЭ_3изд_т28_584.pdf\|trans-title=Boljšaja sovjetskaja enciklopjedija\|trans-lang=Russian}}</ref>

	With the rise of literacy, scientific developments, among other factors, adherence of religion has declined, with an increasing rate of [[secularism]], [[agnosticism]], [[atheism]], and other lack of religion.<ref>{{News citation\|author=Ronald F. Inglehart\|newspaper=Foreign Affairs\|title=Giving Up on God:		With the rise of literacy, scientific developments, among other factors, adherence of religion has declined, with an increasing rate of [[secularism]], [[agnosticism]], [[atheism]], and other lack of religion.<ref>{{News citation\|author=Ronald F. Inglehart\|newspaper=Foreign Affairs\|title=Giving Up on God: The Global Decline of Religion\|date=September/October 2020\|url=https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/world/2020-08-11/religion-giving-god}}</ref>
	The Global Decline of Religion\|date=September/October 2020\|url=https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/world/2020-08-11/religion-giving-god}}</ref>
	== History ==		== History ==

Line 64:		Line 63:

	== Beliefs ==		== Beliefs ==
			Christian doctrine is based on the [[Bible]], a collection of Scripture that consists of the [[Judaism\|Jewish]] Bible (which Christians call the "Old Testament") and the New Testament (which is exclusively Christian). There are a number of different Christian religious groups with competing beliefs, but the one unifying factor in all of them is belief in Jesus Christ. Most Christian churches believe that Jesus was, in some form or another, God.<ref name="GSE" />

	== Demographics ==		== Demographics ==

149.19.54.172: biggest sounds too informal

2025-01-30T16:53:46Z

biggest sounds too informal

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:53, 30 January 2025
Line 1:		Line 1:
	{{Infobox religion\|name=Christianity\|scripture=The Bible\|type=Monotheistic, Abrahamic\|number_of_followers=2.6 billion\|icon=Christian cross.png\|founded_date=~150 CE}}		{{Infobox religion\|name=Christianity\|scripture=The Bible\|type=Monotheistic, Abrahamic\|number_of_followers=2.6 billion\|icon=Christian cross.png\|founded_date=~150 CE}}
	[[File:Christianity map.svg\|thumb\|Map of Christianity by country]]		[[File:Christianity map.svg\|thumb\|Map of Christianity by country]]
	'''Christianity''' is an Abrahamic and monotheistic [[religion]] as well as the ~~biggest~~ religion on Earth with about 2.6 billion adherents as of 2020.<ref>{{News citation\|newspaper=countrymeters.info\|title=World Population\|date=2020\|url=https://countrymeters.info/en/World#religion}}</ref> Over 45,000 sects of Christianity exist, of which the Roman Catholic church is the largest in terms of membership, followed by Protestantism (which itself is extremely fragmented) and Eastern Orthodoxy.<ref>{{News citation\|author=Donavyn Coffey\|newspaper=Live Science\|title=Why does Christianity have so many denominations?\|date=2021-2-27\|url=https://www.livescience.com/christianity-denominations.html}}</ref>		'''Christianity''' is an Abrahamic and monotheistic [[religion]] as well as the largest religion on Earth with about 2.6 billion adherents as of 2020.<ref>{{News citation\|newspaper=countrymeters.info\|title=World Population\|date=2020\|url=https://countrymeters.info/en/World#religion}}</ref> Over 45,000 sects of Christianity exist, of which the Roman Catholic church is the largest in terms of membership, followed by Protestantism (which itself is extremely fragmented) and Eastern Orthodoxy.<ref>{{News citation\|author=Donavyn Coffey\|newspaper=Live Science\|title=Why does Christianity have so many denominations?\|date=2021-2-27\|url=https://www.livescience.com/christianity-denominations.html}}</ref>

	Christianity, along with most religions in general, has been used by the [[ruling class]] during various stages of economic and historical development, mostly as a tool of justifying the social and economic order relative to that historical epoch, which would further secure the power and wealth of said ruling class. Things such as a "divine mandate" or a "god-given mission" and things of that nature have been used, be it in past or present eras, to legitimize [[slavery]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Edward J. Cashin\|year=2001\|title=Beloved Bethesda : A History of George Whitefield's Home for Boys\|title-url=https://books.google.com/books/about/Beloved_Bethesda.html?id=XEmvyv3LO2AC\|publisher=Mercer University Press\|isbn=9780865547223\|trans-lang=English}}</ref><ref>{{News citation\|author=Juan Siliezar\|newspaper=Harvard Gazette\|title=Slavery alongside Christianity\|date=2019-1-7\|url=https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2019/01/a-harvard-exhibit-on-slavery-and-christianity/\|retrieved=2022-6-16}}</ref> [[feudalism]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Gerd Althoff\|year=2007\|title=Christian Values and Noble Ideas of Rank and their Consequences on Symbolic Acts\|title-url=https://journals.openedition.org/e-spania/4053}}</ref> [[fascism]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Roger Eatwell\|year=2003\|title=Reflections on Fascism and Religion\|title-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070501024852/http://staff.bath.ac.uk/mlsre/ReflectionsonFascismandReligion.htm\|trans-lang=English}}</ref> [[genocide]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Willliam E. Weeks\|year=1996\|title=Building the Continental Empire: American Expansion from the Revolution to the Civil War\|title-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vcsk8UsgNRsC\|page=61\|trans-lang=English}}</ref> [[capitalism]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Kate Bowler\|year=2013\|title=Blessed: A History of the American Prosperity Gospel\|title-url=https://oxford.universitypressscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199827695.001.0001/acprof-9780199827695\|isbn=9780199827695\|trans-lang=English}}</ref> and [[colonialism]].<ref name=":1">{{Web citation\|newspaper=[[Tricontinental]]\|title=Religious Fundamentalism and Imperialism in Latin America: Action and Resistance\|date=2022-12-19\|url=https://thetricontinental.org/dossier-59-religious-fundamentalism-and-imperialism-in-latin-america/\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221222193617/https://thetricontinental.org/dossier-59-religious-fundamentalism-and-imperialism-in-latin-america/\|archive-date=2022-12-22\|retrieved=2023-01-05}}</ref> While modern times have seen a number of [[progressive]] currents within the Christian church, such as [[Liberation theology]] and other movements of leftist clerics and laypeople, the largest and most organized Christian churches continue to advance [[reactionary]], anti-communist causes.<ref name="GSE1">"[https://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Christianity Christianity]," in ''Great Soviet Encyclopedia: A Translation of the Third Edition'' (New York: Macmillan, 1974–1983), vol. 28, pp. 160-163.</ref>		Christianity, along with most religions in general, has been used by the [[ruling class]] during various stages of economic and historical development, mostly as a tool of justifying the social and economic order relative to that historical epoch, which would further secure the power and wealth of said ruling class. Things such as a "divine mandate" or a "god-given mission" and things of that nature have been used, be it in past or present eras, to legitimize [[slavery]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Edward J. Cashin\|year=2001\|title=Beloved Bethesda : A History of George Whitefield's Home for Boys\|title-url=https://books.google.com/books/about/Beloved_Bethesda.html?id=XEmvyv3LO2AC\|publisher=Mercer University Press\|isbn=9780865547223\|trans-lang=English}}</ref><ref>{{News citation\|author=Juan Siliezar\|newspaper=Harvard Gazette\|title=Slavery alongside Christianity\|date=2019-1-7\|url=https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2019/01/a-harvard-exhibit-on-slavery-and-christianity/\|retrieved=2022-6-16}}</ref> [[feudalism]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Gerd Althoff\|year=2007\|title=Christian Values and Noble Ideas of Rank and their Consequences on Symbolic Acts\|title-url=https://journals.openedition.org/e-spania/4053}}</ref> [[fascism]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Roger Eatwell\|year=2003\|title=Reflections on Fascism and Religion\|title-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070501024852/http://staff.bath.ac.uk/mlsre/ReflectionsonFascismandReligion.htm\|trans-lang=English}}</ref> [[genocide]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Willliam E. Weeks\|year=1996\|title=Building the Continental Empire: American Expansion from the Revolution to the Civil War\|title-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vcsk8UsgNRsC\|page=61\|trans-lang=English}}</ref> [[capitalism]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Kate Bowler\|year=2013\|title=Blessed: A History of the American Prosperity Gospel\|title-url=https://oxford.universitypressscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199827695.001.0001/acprof-9780199827695\|isbn=9780199827695\|trans-lang=English}}</ref> and [[colonialism]].<ref name=":1">{{Web citation\|newspaper=[[Tricontinental]]\|title=Religious Fundamentalism and Imperialism in Latin America: Action and Resistance\|date=2022-12-19\|url=https://thetricontinental.org/dossier-59-religious-fundamentalism-and-imperialism-in-latin-america/\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221222193617/https://thetricontinental.org/dossier-59-religious-fundamentalism-and-imperialism-in-latin-america/\|archive-date=2022-12-22\|retrieved=2023-01-05}}</ref> While modern times have seen a number of [[progressive]] currents within the Christian church, such as [[Liberation theology]] and other movements of leftist clerics and laypeople, the largest and most organized Christian churches continue to advance [[reactionary]], anti-communist causes.<ref name="GSE1">"[https://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Christianity Christianity]," in ''Great Soviet Encyclopedia: A Translation of the Third Edition'' (New York: Macmillan, 1974–1983), vol. 28, pp. 160-163.</ref>

Ledlecreeper27: Map

2024-11-13T20:05:03Z

Map

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:05, 13 November 2024
Line 1:		Line 1:
	{{Infobox religion\|name=Christianity\|scripture=The Bible\|type=Monotheistic, Abrahamic\|number_of_followers=2.6 billion\|icon=Christian cross.png\|founded_date=~150 CE}}		{{Infobox religion\|name=Christianity\|scripture=The Bible\|type=Monotheistic, Abrahamic\|number_of_followers=2.6 billion\|icon=Christian cross.png\|founded_date=~150 CE}}
			[[File:Christianity map.svg\|thumb\|Map of Christianity by country]]
	'''Christianity''' is an Abrahamic and monotheistic [[religion]] as well as the biggest religion on Earth with about 2.6 billion adherents as of 2020.<ref>{{News citation\|newspaper=countrymeters.info\|title=World Population\|date=2020\|url=https://countrymeters.info/en/World#religion}}</ref> Over 45,000 sects of Christianity exist, of which the Roman Catholic church is the largest in terms of membership, followed by Protestantism (which itself is extremely fragmented) and Eastern Orthodoxy.<ref>{{News citation\|author=Donavyn Coffey\|newspaper=Live Science\|title=Why does Christianity have so many denominations?\|date=2021-2-27\|url=https://www.livescience.com/christianity-denominations.html}}</ref>		'''Christianity''' is an Abrahamic and monotheistic [[religion]] as well as the biggest religion on Earth with about 2.6 billion adherents as of 2020.<ref>{{News citation\|newspaper=countrymeters.info\|title=World Population\|date=2020\|url=https://countrymeters.info/en/World#religion}}</ref> Over 45,000 sects of Christianity exist, of which the Roman Catholic church is the largest in terms of membership, followed by Protestantism (which itself is extremely fragmented) and Eastern Orthodoxy.<ref>{{News citation\|author=Donavyn Coffey\|newspaper=Live Science\|title=Why does Christianity have so many denominations?\|date=2021-2-27\|url=https://www.livescience.com/christianity-denominations.html}}</ref>

PuzzledFox99 at 23:04, 4 September 2024

2024-09-04T23:04:16Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 23:04, 4 September 2024
Line 3:		Line 3:
	'''Christianity''' is an Abrahamic and monotheistic [[religion]] as well as the biggest religion on Earth with about 2.6 billion adherents as of 2020.<ref>{{News citation\|newspaper=countrymeters.info\|title=World Population\|date=2020\|url=https://countrymeters.info/en/World#religion}}</ref> Over 45,000 sects of Christianity exist, of which the Roman Catholic church is the largest in terms of membership, followed by Protestantism (which itself is extremely fragmented) and Eastern Orthodoxy.<ref>{{News citation\|author=Donavyn Coffey\|newspaper=Live Science\|title=Why does Christianity have so many denominations?\|date=2021-2-27\|url=https://www.livescience.com/christianity-denominations.html}}</ref>		'''Christianity''' is an Abrahamic and monotheistic [[religion]] as well as the biggest religion on Earth with about 2.6 billion adherents as of 2020.<ref>{{News citation\|newspaper=countrymeters.info\|title=World Population\|date=2020\|url=https://countrymeters.info/en/World#religion}}</ref> Over 45,000 sects of Christianity exist, of which the Roman Catholic church is the largest in terms of membership, followed by Protestantism (which itself is extremely fragmented) and Eastern Orthodoxy.<ref>{{News citation\|author=Donavyn Coffey\|newspaper=Live Science\|title=Why does Christianity have so many denominations?\|date=2021-2-27\|url=https://www.livescience.com/christianity-denominations.html}}</ref>

	Christianity (along with most religions in general) has been used by the [[ruling class]] during various stages of economic and historical development, mostly as a tool of justifying the social and economic order relative to that historical epoch, which would further secure the power and wealth of said ruling class. Things such as a "divine mandate" or a "god-given mission" and things of that nature have been used, be it in past or present eras, to legitimize [[slavery]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Edward J. Cashin\|year=2001\|title=Beloved Bethesda : A History of George Whitefield's Home for Boys\|title-url=https://books.google.com/books/about/Beloved_Bethesda.html?id=XEmvyv3LO2AC\|publisher=Mercer University Press\|isbn=9780865547223\|trans-lang=English}}</ref><ref>{{News citation\|author=Juan Siliezar\|newspaper=Harvard Gazette\|title=Slavery alongside Christianity\|date=2019-1-7\|url=https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2019/01/a-harvard-exhibit-on-slavery-and-christianity/\|retrieved=2022-6-16}}</ref> [[feudalism]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Gerd Althoff\|year=2007\|title=Christian Values and Noble Ideas of Rank and their Consequences on Symbolic Acts\|title-url=https://journals.openedition.org/e-spania/4053}}</ref> [[fascism]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Roger Eatwell\|year=2003\|title=Reflections on Fascism and Religion\|title-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070501024852/http://staff.bath.ac.uk/mlsre/ReflectionsonFascismandReligion.htm\|trans-lang=English}}</ref> [[genocide]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Willliam E. Weeks\|year=1996\|title=Building the Continental Empire: American Expansion from the Revolution to the Civil War\|title-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vcsk8UsgNRsC\|page=61\|trans-lang=English}}</ref> [[capitalism]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Kate Bowler\|year=2013\|title=Blessed: A History of the American Prosperity Gospel\|title-url=https://oxford.universitypressscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199827695.001.0001/acprof-9780199827695\|isbn=9780199827695\|trans-lang=English}}</ref> and [[colonialism]].<ref name=":1">{{Web citation\|newspaper=[[Tricontinental]]\|title=Religious Fundamentalism and Imperialism in Latin America: Action and Resistance\|date=2022-12-19\|url=https://thetricontinental.org/dossier-59-religious-fundamentalism-and-imperialism-in-latin-america/\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221222193617/https://thetricontinental.org/dossier-59-religious-fundamentalism-and-imperialism-in-latin-america/\|archive-date=2022-12-22\|retrieved=2023-01-05}}</ref>		Christianity, along with most religions in general, has been used by the [[ruling class]] during various stages of economic and historical development, mostly as a tool of justifying the social and economic order relative to that historical epoch, which would further secure the power and wealth of said ruling class. Things such as a "divine mandate" or a "god-given mission" and things of that nature have been used, be it in past or present eras, to legitimize [[slavery]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Edward J. Cashin\|year=2001\|title=Beloved Bethesda : A History of George Whitefield's Home for Boys\|title-url=https://books.google.com/books/about/Beloved_Bethesda.html?id=XEmvyv3LO2AC\|publisher=Mercer University Press\|isbn=9780865547223\|trans-lang=English}}</ref><ref>{{News citation\|author=Juan Siliezar\|newspaper=Harvard Gazette\|title=Slavery alongside Christianity\|date=2019-1-7\|url=https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2019/01/a-harvard-exhibit-on-slavery-and-christianity/\|retrieved=2022-6-16}}</ref> [[feudalism]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Gerd Althoff\|year=2007\|title=Christian Values and Noble Ideas of Rank and their Consequences on Symbolic Acts\|title-url=https://journals.openedition.org/e-spania/4053}}</ref> [[fascism]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Roger Eatwell\|year=2003\|title=Reflections on Fascism and Religion\|title-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070501024852/http://staff.bath.ac.uk/mlsre/ReflectionsonFascismandReligion.htm\|trans-lang=English}}</ref> [[genocide]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Willliam E. Weeks\|year=1996\|title=Building the Continental Empire: American Expansion from the Revolution to the Civil War\|title-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vcsk8UsgNRsC\|page=61\|trans-lang=English}}</ref> [[capitalism]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Kate Bowler\|year=2013\|title=Blessed: A History of the American Prosperity Gospel\|title-url=https://oxford.universitypressscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199827695.001.0001/acprof-9780199827695\|isbn=9780199827695\|trans-lang=English}}</ref> and [[colonialism]].<ref name=":1">{{Web citation\|newspaper=[[Tricontinental]]\|title=Religious Fundamentalism and Imperialism in Latin America: Action and Resistance\|date=2022-12-19\|url=https://thetricontinental.org/dossier-59-religious-fundamentalism-and-imperialism-in-latin-america/\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221222193617/https://thetricontinental.org/dossier-59-religious-fundamentalism-and-imperialism-in-latin-america/\|archive-date=2022-12-22\|retrieved=2023-01-05}}</ref> While modern times have seen a number of [[progressive]] currents within the Christian church, such as [[Liberation theology]] and other movements of leftist clerics and laypeople, the largest and most organized Christian churches continue to advance [[reactionary]], anti-communist causes.<ref name="GSE1">"[https://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Christianity Christianity]," in ''Great Soviet Encyclopedia: A Translation of the Third Edition'' (New York: Macmillan, 1974–1983), vol. 28, pp. 160-163.</ref>

	With the rise of literacy, scientific developments, among other factors, adherence of religion has declined, with an increasing rate of [[secularism]], [[agnosticism]], [[atheism]], and other lack of religion.<ref>{{News citation\|author=Ronald F. Inglehart\|newspaper=Foreign Affairs\|title=Giving Up on God:		With the rise of literacy, scientific developments, among other factors, adherence of religion has declined, with an increasing rate of [[secularism]], [[agnosticism]], [[atheism]], and other lack of religion.<ref>{{News citation\|author=Ronald F. Inglehart\|newspaper=Foreign Affairs\|title=Giving Up on God:

CriticalResist: forgot a typo

2024-07-30T08:37:32Z

forgot a typo

← Older revision		Revision as of 08:37, 30 July 2024
Line 1:		Line 1:
	{{Infobox religion\|name=Christianity\|scripture=The Bible\|type=Monotheistic, Abrahamic\|number_of_followers=2.6 billion\|icon=Christian cross.png\|founded_date=~150 CE}}		{{Infobox religion\|name=Christianity\|scripture=The Bible\|type=Monotheistic, Abrahamic\|number_of_followers=2.6 billion\|icon=Christian cross.png\|founded_date=~150 CE}}

	'''Christianity''' is an Abrahamic and monotheistic [[religion]] as well as the biggest religion on Earth with about 2.6 billion adherents as of 2020.<ref>{{News citation\|newspaper=countrymeters.info\|title=World Population\|date=2020\|url=https://countrymeters.info/en/World#religion}}</ref> Over 45,000 sects of Christianity ~~exists~~, of which the Roman Catholic church is the largest in terms of membership, followed by Protestantism (which itself is extremely fragmented) and Eastern Orthodoxy.<ref>{{News citation\|author=Donavyn Coffey\|newspaper=Live Science\|title=Why does Christianity have so many denominations?\|date=2021-2-27\|url=https://www.livescience.com/christianity-denominations.html}}</ref>		'''Christianity''' is an Abrahamic and monotheistic [[religion]] as well as the biggest religion on Earth with about 2.6 billion adherents as of 2020.<ref>{{News citation\|newspaper=countrymeters.info\|title=World Population\|date=2020\|url=https://countrymeters.info/en/World#religion}}</ref> Over 45,000 sects of Christianity exist, of which the Roman Catholic church is the largest in terms of membership, followed by Protestantism (which itself is extremely fragmented) and Eastern Orthodoxy.<ref>{{News citation\|author=Donavyn Coffey\|newspaper=Live Science\|title=Why does Christianity have so many denominations?\|date=2021-2-27\|url=https://www.livescience.com/christianity-denominations.html}}</ref>

	Christianity (along with most religions in general) has been used by the [[ruling class]] during various stages of economic and historical development, mostly as a tool of justifying the social and economic order relative to that historical epoch, which would further secure the power and wealth of said ruling class. Things such as a "divine mandate" or a "god-given mission" and things of that nature have been used, be it in past or present eras, to legitimize [[slavery]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Edward J. Cashin\|year=2001\|title=Beloved Bethesda : A History of George Whitefield's Home for Boys\|title-url=https://books.google.com/books/about/Beloved_Bethesda.html?id=XEmvyv3LO2AC\|publisher=Mercer University Press\|isbn=9780865547223\|trans-lang=English}}</ref><ref>{{News citation\|author=Juan Siliezar\|newspaper=Harvard Gazette\|title=Slavery alongside Christianity\|date=2019-1-7\|url=https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2019/01/a-harvard-exhibit-on-slavery-and-christianity/\|retrieved=2022-6-16}}</ref> [[feudalism]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Gerd Althoff\|year=2007\|title=Christian Values and Noble Ideas of Rank and their Consequences on Symbolic Acts\|title-url=https://journals.openedition.org/e-spania/4053}}</ref> [[fascism]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Roger Eatwell\|year=2003\|title=Reflections on Fascism and Religion\|title-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070501024852/http://staff.bath.ac.uk/mlsre/ReflectionsonFascismandReligion.htm\|trans-lang=English}}</ref> [[genocide]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Willliam E. Weeks\|year=1996\|title=Building the Continental Empire: American Expansion from the Revolution to the Civil War\|title-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vcsk8UsgNRsC\|page=61\|trans-lang=English}}</ref> [[capitalism]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Kate Bowler\|year=2013\|title=Blessed: A History of the American Prosperity Gospel\|title-url=https://oxford.universitypressscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199827695.001.0001/acprof-9780199827695\|isbn=9780199827695\|trans-lang=English}}</ref> and [[colonialism]].<ref name=":1">{{Web citation\|newspaper=[[Tricontinental]]\|title=Religious Fundamentalism and Imperialism in Latin America: Action and Resistance\|date=2022-12-19\|url=https://thetricontinental.org/dossier-59-religious-fundamentalism-and-imperialism-in-latin-america/\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221222193617/https://thetricontinental.org/dossier-59-religious-fundamentalism-and-imperialism-in-latin-america/\|archive-date=2022-12-22\|retrieved=2023-01-05}}</ref>		Christianity (along with most religions in general) has been used by the [[ruling class]] during various stages of economic and historical development, mostly as a tool of justifying the social and economic order relative to that historical epoch, which would further secure the power and wealth of said ruling class. Things such as a "divine mandate" or a "god-given mission" and things of that nature have been used, be it in past or present eras, to legitimize [[slavery]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Edward J. Cashin\|year=2001\|title=Beloved Bethesda : A History of George Whitefield's Home for Boys\|title-url=https://books.google.com/books/about/Beloved_Bethesda.html?id=XEmvyv3LO2AC\|publisher=Mercer University Press\|isbn=9780865547223\|trans-lang=English}}</ref><ref>{{News citation\|author=Juan Siliezar\|newspaper=Harvard Gazette\|title=Slavery alongside Christianity\|date=2019-1-7\|url=https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2019/01/a-harvard-exhibit-on-slavery-and-christianity/\|retrieved=2022-6-16}}</ref> [[feudalism]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Gerd Althoff\|year=2007\|title=Christian Values and Noble Ideas of Rank and their Consequences on Symbolic Acts\|title-url=https://journals.openedition.org/e-spania/4053}}</ref> [[fascism]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Roger Eatwell\|year=2003\|title=Reflections on Fascism and Religion\|title-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070501024852/http://staff.bath.ac.uk/mlsre/ReflectionsonFascismandReligion.htm\|trans-lang=English}}</ref> [[genocide]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Willliam E. Weeks\|year=1996\|title=Building the Continental Empire: American Expansion from the Revolution to the Civil War\|title-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vcsk8UsgNRsC\|page=61\|trans-lang=English}}</ref> [[capitalism]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Kate Bowler\|year=2013\|title=Blessed: A History of the American Prosperity Gospel\|title-url=https://oxford.universitypressscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199827695.001.0001/acprof-9780199827695\|isbn=9780199827695\|trans-lang=English}}</ref> and [[colonialism]].<ref name=":1">{{Web citation\|newspaper=[[Tricontinental]]\|title=Religious Fundamentalism and Imperialism in Latin America: Action and Resistance\|date=2022-12-19\|url=https://thetricontinental.org/dossier-59-religious-fundamentalism-and-imperialism-in-latin-america/\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221222193617/https://thetricontinental.org/dossier-59-religious-fundamentalism-and-imperialism-in-latin-america/\|archive-date=2022-12-22\|retrieved=2023-01-05}}</ref>

CriticalResist: typos and grammar

2024-07-30T08:37:19Z

typos and grammar

← Older revision		Revision as of 08:37, 30 July 2024
Line 1:		Line 1:
	{{Infobox religion\|name=Christianity\|scripture=The Bible\|type=Monotheistic, Abrahamic\|number_of_followers=2.6 billion\|icon=Christian cross.png\|founded_date=~150 CE}}		{{Infobox religion\|name=Christianity\|scripture=The Bible\|type=Monotheistic, Abrahamic\|number_of_followers=2.6 billion\|icon=Christian cross.png\|founded_date=~150 CE}}

	'''Christianity''' is an Abrahamic and monotheistic [[religion]]~~, being currently~~ the ~~largest~~ religion on Earth~~. There are~~ about 2.6 billion adherents as of 2020.<ref>{{News citation\|newspaper=countrymeters.info\|title=World Population\|date=2020\|url=https://countrymeters.info/en/World#religion}}</ref> Over 45,000 sects of Christianity exists, of which, the Roman Catholic church is the largest in terms of membership, followed by Protestantism (which itself is extremely fragmented)~~, followed by~~ Eastern Orthodoxy.<ref>{{News citation\|author=Donavyn Coffey\|newspaper=Live Science\|title=Why does Christianity have so many denominations?\|date=2021-2-27\|url=https://www.livescience.com/christianity-denominations.html}}</ref>		'''Christianity''' is an Abrahamic and monotheistic [[religion]] as well as the biggest religion on Earth with about 2.6 billion adherents as of 2020.<ref>{{News citation\|newspaper=countrymeters.info\|title=World Population\|date=2020\|url=https://countrymeters.info/en/World#religion}}</ref> Over 45,000 sects of Christianity exists, of which the Roman Catholic church is the largest in terms of membership, followed by Protestantism (which itself is extremely fragmented) and Eastern Orthodoxy.<ref>{{News citation\|author=Donavyn Coffey\|newspaper=Live Science\|title=Why does Christianity have so many denominations?\|date=2021-2-27\|url=https://www.livescience.com/christianity-denominations.html}}</ref>

	Christianity (along with most religions in general) has been used by the [[ruling class]] during various stages of economic and historical development, mostly as a tool of justifying the social and economic order relative to that historical epoch, which would further secure the power and wealth of said ruling class. Things such as a "divine mandate" or a "god-given mission" and things of that nature have been used, be it in past or present eras, to legitimize [[slavery]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Edward J. Cashin\|year=2001\|title=Beloved Bethesda : A History of George Whitefield's Home for Boys\|title-url=https://books.google.com/books/about/Beloved_Bethesda.html?id=XEmvyv3LO2AC\|publisher=Mercer University Press\|isbn=9780865547223\|trans-lang=English}}</ref><ref>{{News citation\|author=Juan Siliezar\|newspaper=Harvard Gazette\|title=Slavery alongside Christianity\|date=2019-1-7\|url=https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2019/01/a-harvard-exhibit-on-slavery-and-christianity/\|retrieved=2022-6-16}}</ref> [[feudalism]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Gerd Althoff\|year=2007\|title=Christian Values and Noble Ideas of Rank and their Consequences on Symbolic Acts\|title-url=https://journals.openedition.org/e-spania/4053}}</ref> [[fascism]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Roger Eatwell\|year=2003\|title=Reflections on Fascism and Religion\|title-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070501024852/http://staff.bath.ac.uk/mlsre/ReflectionsonFascismandReligion.htm\|trans-lang=English}}</ref> [[genocide]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Willliam E. Weeks\|year=1996\|title=Building the Continental Empire: American Expansion from the Revolution to the Civil War\|title-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vcsk8UsgNRsC\|page=61\|trans-lang=English}}</ref> [[capitalism]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Kate Bowler\|year=2013\|title=Blessed: A History of the American Prosperity Gospel\|title-url=https://oxford.universitypressscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199827695.001.0001/acprof-9780199827695\|isbn=9780199827695\|trans-lang=English}}</ref> and [[colonialism]].<ref name=":1">{{Web citation\|newspaper=[[Tricontinental]]\|title=Religious Fundamentalism and Imperialism in Latin America: Action and Resistance\|date=2022-12-19\|url=https://thetricontinental.org/dossier-59-religious-fundamentalism-and-imperialism-in-latin-america/\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221222193617/https://thetricontinental.org/dossier-59-religious-fundamentalism-and-imperialism-in-latin-america/\|archive-date=2022-12-22\|retrieved=2023-01-05}}</ref>		Christianity (along with most religions in general) has been used by the [[ruling class]] during various stages of economic and historical development, mostly as a tool of justifying the social and economic order relative to that historical epoch, which would further secure the power and wealth of said ruling class. Things such as a "divine mandate" or a "god-given mission" and things of that nature have been used, be it in past or present eras, to legitimize [[slavery]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Edward J. Cashin\|year=2001\|title=Beloved Bethesda : A History of George Whitefield's Home for Boys\|title-url=https://books.google.com/books/about/Beloved_Bethesda.html?id=XEmvyv3LO2AC\|publisher=Mercer University Press\|isbn=9780865547223\|trans-lang=English}}</ref><ref>{{News citation\|author=Juan Siliezar\|newspaper=Harvard Gazette\|title=Slavery alongside Christianity\|date=2019-1-7\|url=https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2019/01/a-harvard-exhibit-on-slavery-and-christianity/\|retrieved=2022-6-16}}</ref> [[feudalism]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Gerd Althoff\|year=2007\|title=Christian Values and Noble Ideas of Rank and their Consequences on Symbolic Acts\|title-url=https://journals.openedition.org/e-spania/4053}}</ref> [[fascism]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Roger Eatwell\|year=2003\|title=Reflections on Fascism and Religion\|title-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070501024852/http://staff.bath.ac.uk/mlsre/ReflectionsonFascismandReligion.htm\|trans-lang=English}}</ref> [[genocide]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Willliam E. Weeks\|year=1996\|title=Building the Continental Empire: American Expansion from the Revolution to the Civil War\|title-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vcsk8UsgNRsC\|page=61\|trans-lang=English}}</ref> [[capitalism]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Kate Bowler\|year=2013\|title=Blessed: A History of the American Prosperity Gospel\|title-url=https://oxford.universitypressscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199827695.001.0001/acprof-9780199827695\|isbn=9780199827695\|trans-lang=English}}</ref> and [[colonialism]].<ref name=":1">{{Web citation\|newspaper=[[Tricontinental]]\|title=Religious Fundamentalism and Imperialism in Latin America: Action and Resistance\|date=2022-12-19\|url=https://thetricontinental.org/dossier-59-religious-fundamentalism-and-imperialism-in-latin-america/\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221222193617/https://thetricontinental.org/dossier-59-religious-fundamentalism-and-imperialism-in-latin-america/\|archive-date=2022-12-22\|retrieved=2023-01-05}}</ref>

	With the rise of literacy, ~~scientifical~~ developments, among other factors, adherence of religion has declined, with an increasing rate of [[secularism]], [[agnosticism]], [[atheism]], and other lack of religion.<ref>{{News citation\|author=Ronald F. Inglehart\|newspaper=Foreign Affairs\|title=Giving Up on God:		With the rise of literacy, scientific developments, among other factors, adherence of religion has declined, with an increasing rate of [[secularism]], [[agnosticism]], [[atheism]], and other lack of religion.<ref>{{News citation\|author=Ronald F. Inglehart\|newspaper=Foreign Affairs\|title=Giving Up on God:
	The Global Decline of Religion\|date=September/October 2020\|url=https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/world/2020-08-11/religion-giving-god}}</ref>		The Global Decline of Religion\|date=September/October 2020\|url=https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/world/2020-08-11/religion-giving-god}}</ref>
	== History ==		== History ==

	=== Early development ===		=== Early development ===
	The early history of Christianity is unclear, with there being few ~~reliable~~ facts and many myths. ~~Being as how~~ Christianity ~~itself likely~~ began ~~with~~ the life of [[Jesus Christ\|Jesus]],<ref group="note">Aramaic: ''ישוע'' Koine Greek: ''Ἰησοῦς'' Latin: ''Iesus''</ref> ~~of which,~~ the earliest historical account of his life was made at around 70 CE—decades after his legendary death—it is unclear how and when Christianity first appeared as a distinct religion.<ref>{{Citation\|author=Karen Armstrong\|year=1993\|title=A History of God\|title-url=https://books.google.com/books/about/A_History_of_God.html?id=_n3cCF2I2FUC\|chapter=3\|page=79\|publisher=Alfred A. Knopf\|isbn=9780345384560\|trans-lang=English}}</ref>		The early history of Christianity is unclear, with there being few historically-attested facts and many myths. Christianity's own history says that it began during the life of [[Jesus Christ\|Jesus]],<ref group="note">Aramaic: ''ישוע'' Koine Greek: ''Ἰησοῦς'' Latin: ''Iesus''</ref> though the earliest historical account of his life was made at around 70 CE—decades after his legendary death—it is unclear how and when Christianity first appeared as a distinct religion.<ref>{{Citation\|author=Karen Armstrong\|year=1993\|title=A History of God\|title-url=https://books.google.com/books/about/A_History_of_God.html?id=_n3cCF2I2FUC\|chapter=3\|page=79\|publisher=Alfred A. Knopf\|isbn=9780345384560\|trans-lang=English}}</ref>

	==== Divergence from Judaism ====		==== Divergence from Judaism ====

Forte: Improved lede, removing the infantile condemnation tone

2024-07-30T01:21:41Z

Improved lede, removing the infantile condemnation tone

← Older revision		Revision as of 01:21, 30 July 2024
Line 1:		Line 1:
	{{Infobox religion\|name=Christianity\|scripture=The Bible\|type=Monotheistic, Abrahamic\|number_of_followers=2.6 billion\|icon=Christian cross.png\|founded_date=~150 CE}}		{{Infobox religion\|name=Christianity\|scripture=The Bible\|type=Monotheistic, Abrahamic\|number_of_followers=2.6 billion\|icon=Christian cross.png\|founded_date=~150 CE}}

	'''Christianity''' is an Abrahamic and monotheistic [[religion~~]] with a dogma that is based around the writings contained within the [[Bible~~]], ~~a set of myths imperfectly edited and translated for centuries. Christianity is~~ currently the largest religion on Earth. There are about 2.6 billion adherents as of 2020.<ref>{{News citation\|newspaper=countrymeters.info\|title=World Population\|date=2020\|url=https://countrymeters.info/en/World#religion}}</ref>		'''Christianity''' is an Abrahamic and monotheistic [[religion]], being currently the largest religion on Earth. There are about 2.6 billion adherents as of 2020.<ref>{{News citation\|newspaper=countrymeters.info\|title=World Population\|date=2020\|url=https://countrymeters.info/en/World#religion}}</ref> Over 45,000 sects of Christianity exists, of which, the Roman Catholic church is the largest in terms of membership, followed by Protestantism (which itself is extremely fragmented), followed by Eastern Orthodoxy.<ref>{{News citation\|author=Donavyn Coffey\|newspaper=Live Science\|title=Why does Christianity have so many denominations?\|date=2021-2-27\|url=https://www.livescience.com/christianity-denominations.html}}</ref>

	~~In spite of many Christians claiming that they have the "one and true" faith, over~~ 45,000 sects of Christianity ~~exist on Earth~~, of which, the Roman Catholic church is the largest in terms of membership, followed by Protestantism (which itself is extremely fragmented), followed by Eastern Orthodoxy.<ref>{{News citation\|author=Donavyn Coffey\|newspaper=Live Science\|title=Why does Christianity have so many denominations?\|date=2021-2-27\|url=https://www.livescience.com/christianity-denominations.html}}</ref>

	Christianity (along with most religions in general) has been used by the [[ruling class]] during various stages of economic and historical development, mostly as a tool of justifying the social and economic order relative to that historical epoch, which would further secure the power and wealth of said ruling class. Things such as a "divine mandate" or a "god-given mission" and things of that nature have been used, be it in past or present eras, to legitimize [[slavery]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Edward J. Cashin\|year=2001\|title=Beloved Bethesda : A History of George Whitefield's Home for Boys\|title-url=https://books.google.com/books/about/Beloved_Bethesda.html?id=XEmvyv3LO2AC\|publisher=Mercer University Press\|isbn=9780865547223\|trans-lang=English}}</ref><ref>{{News citation\|author=Juan Siliezar\|newspaper=Harvard Gazette\|title=Slavery alongside Christianity\|date=2019-1-7\|url=https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2019/01/a-harvard-exhibit-on-slavery-and-christianity/\|retrieved=2022-6-16}}</ref> [[feudalism]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Gerd Althoff\|year=2007\|title=Christian Values and Noble Ideas of Rank and their Consequences on Symbolic Acts\|title-url=https://journals.openedition.org/e-spania/4053}}</ref> [[fascism]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Roger Eatwell\|year=2003\|title=Reflections on Fascism and Religion\|title-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070501024852/http://staff.bath.ac.uk/mlsre/ReflectionsonFascismandReligion.htm\|trans-lang=English}}</ref> [[genocide]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Willliam E. Weeks\|year=1996\|title=Building the Continental Empire: American Expansion from the Revolution to the Civil War\|title-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vcsk8UsgNRsC\|page=61\|trans-lang=English}}</ref> [[capitalism]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Kate Bowler\|year=2013\|title=Blessed: A History of the American Prosperity Gospel\|title-url=https://oxford.universitypressscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199827695.001.0001/acprof-9780199827695\|isbn=9780199827695\|trans-lang=English}}</ref> and [[colonialism]].<ref name=":1">{{Web citation\|newspaper=[[Tricontinental]]\|title=Religious Fundamentalism and Imperialism in Latin America: Action and Resistance\|date=2022-12-19\|url=https://thetricontinental.org/dossier-59-religious-fundamentalism-and-imperialism-in-latin-america/\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221222193617/https://thetricontinental.org/dossier-59-religious-fundamentalism-and-imperialism-in-latin-america/\|archive-date=2022-12-22\|retrieved=2023-01-05}}</ref>		Christianity (along with most religions in general) has been used by the [[ruling class]] during various stages of economic and historical development, mostly as a tool of justifying the social and economic order relative to that historical epoch, which would further secure the power and wealth of said ruling class. Things such as a "divine mandate" or a "god-given mission" and things of that nature have been used, be it in past or present eras, to legitimize [[slavery]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Edward J. Cashin\|year=2001\|title=Beloved Bethesda : A History of George Whitefield's Home for Boys\|title-url=https://books.google.com/books/about/Beloved_Bethesda.html?id=XEmvyv3LO2AC\|publisher=Mercer University Press\|isbn=9780865547223\|trans-lang=English}}</ref><ref>{{News citation\|author=Juan Siliezar\|newspaper=Harvard Gazette\|title=Slavery alongside Christianity\|date=2019-1-7\|url=https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2019/01/a-harvard-exhibit-on-slavery-and-christianity/\|retrieved=2022-6-16}}</ref> [[feudalism]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Gerd Althoff\|year=2007\|title=Christian Values and Noble Ideas of Rank and their Consequences on Symbolic Acts\|title-url=https://journals.openedition.org/e-spania/4053}}</ref> [[fascism]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Roger Eatwell\|year=2003\|title=Reflections on Fascism and Religion\|title-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070501024852/http://staff.bath.ac.uk/mlsre/ReflectionsonFascismandReligion.htm\|trans-lang=English}}</ref> [[genocide]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Willliam E. Weeks\|year=1996\|title=Building the Continental Empire: American Expansion from the Revolution to the Civil War\|title-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vcsk8UsgNRsC\|page=61\|trans-lang=English}}</ref> [[capitalism]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Kate Bowler\|year=2013\|title=Blessed: A History of the American Prosperity Gospel\|title-url=https://oxford.universitypressscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199827695.001.0001/acprof-9780199827695\|isbn=9780199827695\|trans-lang=English}}</ref> and [[colonialism]].<ref name=":1">{{Web citation\|newspaper=[[Tricontinental]]\|title=Religious Fundamentalism and Imperialism in Latin America: Action and Resistance\|date=2022-12-19\|url=https://thetricontinental.org/dossier-59-religious-fundamentalism-and-imperialism-in-latin-america/\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221222193617/https://thetricontinental.org/dossier-59-religious-fundamentalism-and-imperialism-in-latin-america/\|archive-date=2022-12-22\|retrieved=2023-01-05}}</ref>

	With the rise of ~~mass public schooling~~, ~~literacy~~, ~~and~~ other factors, adherence of religion has declined, with an increasing rate of [[secularism]], [[agnosticism]], [[atheism]], and other lack of religion.<ref>{{News citation\|author=Ronald F. Inglehart\|newspaper=Foreign Affairs\|title=Giving Up on God:		With the rise of literacy, scientifical developments, among other factors, adherence of religion has declined, with an increasing rate of [[secularism]], [[agnosticism]], [[atheism]], and other lack of religion.<ref>{{News citation\|author=Ronald F. Inglehart\|newspaper=Foreign Affairs\|title=Giving Up on God:
	The Global Decline of Religion\|date=September/October 2020\|url=https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/world/2020-08-11/religion-giving-god}}</ref>		The Global Decline of Religion\|date=September/October 2020\|url=https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/world/2020-08-11/religion-giving-god}}</ref>
	== History ==		== History ==

Ledlecreeper27: Map

2024-04-07T17:23:47Z

Map

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:23, 7 April 2024
Line 34:		Line 34:

	==== Spread of Christianity during the low medieval period ====		==== Spread of Christianity during the low medieval period ====
			[[File:Christianization of Europe.png\|thumb\|Spread of Christianity across Europe between 100 and 1800]]
	In spite of the rapidly decaying societal state of western Europe in the decades following the fall of the western Roman empire, Christianity was nonetheless able to spread rapidly by means of missionaries. The primary regions that were converted to Christianity were the British Isles, largely [[Anglo-Saxons]] at first, and the barbarian rulers located in what is now [[France]]. Later on, the pagan regions in what is now northern [[Germany]] were forcefully converted to Christianity.		In spite of the rapidly decaying societal state of western Europe in the decades following the fall of the western Roman empire, Christianity was nonetheless able to spread rapidly by means of missionaries. The primary regions that were converted to Christianity were the British Isles, largely [[Anglo-Saxons]] at first, and the barbarian rulers located in what is now [[France]]. Later on, the pagan regions in what is now northern [[Germany]] were forcefully converted to Christianity.

	However, ~~''christendom'', or~~ the ~~lands~~ where Christianity was the dominant religion, would contract in size during the rise of [[Islam]], which happened during the seventh~~-to-eight~~ centuries CE. Before the Islamic invasions, regions such as northern [[Africa]] and the ~~levant~~ (a region comprising modern-day Palestine, [[Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan\|Jordan]], [[Lebanese Republic\|Lebanon]], and [[Syrian Arab Republic\|Syria]]) were largely Christian, and ruled by [[Byzantium]], a Christian empire; after the Islamic invasions of around 622 to 750 CE, these region would become mostly Muslim, and remain that way into the present era.<ref>{{Citation\|author=Fred M. Donner\|year=2014\|title=The Early Islamic Conquests\|title-url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Early_Islamic_Conquests/l5__AwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0\|pdf=https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Early_Islamic_Conquests/l5__AwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1\|publisher=Princeton University Press\|isbn=1400847877\|trans-lang=English}}</ref>		However, the area where Christianity was the dominant religion, would contract in size during the rise of [[Islam]], which happened during the seventh and eighth centuries CE. Before the Islamic invasions, regions such as northern [[Africa]] and the Levant (a region comprising modern-day Palestine, [[Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan\|Jordan]], [[Lebanese Republic\|Lebanon]], and [[Syrian Arab Republic\|Syria]]) were largely Christian, and ruled by [[Byzantium]], a Christian empire; after the Islamic invasions of around 622 to 750 CE, these region would become mostly Muslim, and remain that way into the present era.<ref>{{Citation\|author=Fred M. Donner\|year=2014\|title=The Early Islamic Conquests\|title-url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Early_Islamic_Conquests/l5__AwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0\|pdf=https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Early_Islamic_Conquests/l5__AwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1\|publisher=Princeton University Press\|isbn=1400847877\|trans-lang=English}}</ref>

	==== Eastern Roman Christianity during the low medieval period ====		==== Eastern Roman Christianity during the low medieval period ====

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:53, 30 January 2025
Line 1:		Line 1:
	{{Infobox religion\|name=Christianity\|scripture=The Bible\|type=Monotheistic, Abrahamic\|number_of_followers=2.6 billion\|icon=Christian cross.png\|founded_date=~150 CE}}		{{Infobox religion\|name=Christianity\|scripture=The Bible\|type=Monotheistic, Abrahamic\|number_of_followers=2.6 billion\|icon=Christian cross.png\|founded_date=~150 CE}}
	[[File:Christianity map.svg\|thumb\|Map of Christianity by country]]		[[File:Christianity map.svg\|thumb\|Map of Christianity by country]]
	'''Christianity''' is an Abrahamic and monotheistic [[religion]] as well as the ~~biggest~~ religion on Earth with about 2.6 billion adherents as of 2020.<ref>{{News citation\|newspaper=countrymeters.info\|title=World Population\|date=2020\|url=https://countrymeters.info/en/World#religion}}</ref> Over 45,000 sects of Christianity exist, of which the Roman Catholic church is the largest in terms of membership, followed by Protestantism (which itself is extremely fragmented) and Eastern Orthodoxy.<ref>{{News citation\|author=Donavyn Coffey\|newspaper=Live Science\|title=Why does Christianity have so many denominations?\|date=2021-2-27\|url=https://www.livescience.com/christianity-denominations.html}}</ref>		'''Christianity''' is an Abrahamic and monotheistic [[religion]] as well as the largest religion on Earth with about 2.6 billion adherents as of 2020.<ref>{{News citation\|newspaper=countrymeters.info\|title=World Population\|date=2020\|url=https://countrymeters.info/en/World#religion}}</ref> Over 45,000 sects of Christianity exist, of which the Roman Catholic church is the largest in terms of membership, followed by Protestantism (which itself is extremely fragmented) and Eastern Orthodoxy.<ref>{{News citation\|author=Donavyn Coffey\|newspaper=Live Science\|title=Why does Christianity have so many denominations?\|date=2021-2-27\|url=https://www.livescience.com/christianity-denominations.html}}</ref>

	Christianity, along with most religions in general, has been used by the [[ruling class]] during various stages of economic and historical development, mostly as a tool of justifying the social and economic order relative to that historical epoch, which would further secure the power and wealth of said ruling class. Things such as a "divine mandate" or a "god-given mission" and things of that nature have been used, be it in past or present eras, to legitimize [[slavery]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Edward J. Cashin\|year=2001\|title=Beloved Bethesda : A History of George Whitefield's Home for Boys\|title-url=https://books.google.com/books/about/Beloved_Bethesda.html?id=XEmvyv3LO2AC\|publisher=Mercer University Press\|isbn=9780865547223\|trans-lang=English}}</ref><ref>{{News citation\|author=Juan Siliezar\|newspaper=Harvard Gazette\|title=Slavery alongside Christianity\|date=2019-1-7\|url=https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2019/01/a-harvard-exhibit-on-slavery-and-christianity/\|retrieved=2022-6-16}}</ref> [[feudalism]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Gerd Althoff\|year=2007\|title=Christian Values and Noble Ideas of Rank and their Consequences on Symbolic Acts\|title-url=https://journals.openedition.org/e-spania/4053}}</ref> [[fascism]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Roger Eatwell\|year=2003\|title=Reflections on Fascism and Religion\|title-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070501024852/http://staff.bath.ac.uk/mlsre/ReflectionsonFascismandReligion.htm\|trans-lang=English}}</ref> [[genocide]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Willliam E. Weeks\|year=1996\|title=Building the Continental Empire: American Expansion from the Revolution to the Civil War\|title-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vcsk8UsgNRsC\|page=61\|trans-lang=English}}</ref> [[capitalism]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Kate Bowler\|year=2013\|title=Blessed: A History of the American Prosperity Gospel\|title-url=https://oxford.universitypressscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199827695.001.0001/acprof-9780199827695\|isbn=9780199827695\|trans-lang=English}}</ref> and [[colonialism]].<ref name=":1">{{Web citation\|newspaper=[[Tricontinental]]\|title=Religious Fundamentalism and Imperialism in Latin America: Action and Resistance\|date=2022-12-19\|url=https://thetricontinental.org/dossier-59-religious-fundamentalism-and-imperialism-in-latin-america/\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221222193617/https://thetricontinental.org/dossier-59-religious-fundamentalism-and-imperialism-in-latin-america/\|archive-date=2022-12-22\|retrieved=2023-01-05}}</ref> While modern times have seen a number of [[progressive]] currents within the Christian church, such as [[Liberation theology]] and other movements of leftist clerics and laypeople, the largest and most organized Christian churches continue to advance [[reactionary]], anti-communist causes.<ref name="GSE1">"[https://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Christianity Christianity]," in ''Great Soviet Encyclopedia: A Translation of the Third Edition'' (New York: Macmillan, 1974–1983), vol. 28, pp. 160-163.</ref>		Christianity, along with most religions in general, has been used by the [[ruling class]] during various stages of economic and historical development, mostly as a tool of justifying the social and economic order relative to that historical epoch, which would further secure the power and wealth of said ruling class. Things such as a "divine mandate" or a "god-given mission" and things of that nature have been used, be it in past or present eras, to legitimize [[slavery]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Edward J. Cashin\|year=2001\|title=Beloved Bethesda : A History of George Whitefield's Home for Boys\|title-url=https://books.google.com/books/about/Beloved_Bethesda.html?id=XEmvyv3LO2AC\|publisher=Mercer University Press\|isbn=9780865547223\|trans-lang=English}}</ref><ref>{{News citation\|author=Juan Siliezar\|newspaper=Harvard Gazette\|title=Slavery alongside Christianity\|date=2019-1-7\|url=https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2019/01/a-harvard-exhibit-on-slavery-and-christianity/\|retrieved=2022-6-16}}</ref> [[feudalism]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Gerd Althoff\|year=2007\|title=Christian Values and Noble Ideas of Rank and their Consequences on Symbolic Acts\|title-url=https://journals.openedition.org/e-spania/4053}}</ref> [[fascism]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Roger Eatwell\|year=2003\|title=Reflections on Fascism and Religion\|title-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070501024852/http://staff.bath.ac.uk/mlsre/ReflectionsonFascismandReligion.htm\|trans-lang=English}}</ref> [[genocide]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Willliam E. Weeks\|year=1996\|title=Building the Continental Empire: American Expansion from the Revolution to the Civil War\|title-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vcsk8UsgNRsC\|page=61\|trans-lang=English}}</ref> [[capitalism]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Kate Bowler\|year=2013\|title=Blessed: A History of the American Prosperity Gospel\|title-url=https://oxford.universitypressscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199827695.001.0001/acprof-9780199827695\|isbn=9780199827695\|trans-lang=English}}</ref> and [[colonialism]].<ref name=":1">{{Web citation\|newspaper=[[Tricontinental]]\|title=Religious Fundamentalism and Imperialism in Latin America: Action and Resistance\|date=2022-12-19\|url=https://thetricontinental.org/dossier-59-religious-fundamentalism-and-imperialism-in-latin-america/\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221222193617/https://thetricontinental.org/dossier-59-religious-fundamentalism-and-imperialism-in-latin-america/\|archive-date=2022-12-22\|retrieved=2023-01-05}}</ref> While modern times have seen a number of [[progressive]] currents within the Christian church, such as [[Liberation theology]] and other movements of leftist clerics and laypeople, the largest and most organized Christian churches continue to advance [[reactionary]], anti-communist causes.<ref name="GSE1">"[https://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Christianity Christianity]," in ''Great Soviet Encyclopedia: A Translation of the Third Edition'' (New York: Macmillan, 1974–1983), vol. 28, pp. 160-163.</ref>

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:05, 13 November 2024
Line 1:		Line 1:
	{{Infobox religion\|name=Christianity\|scripture=The Bible\|type=Monotheistic, Abrahamic\|number_of_followers=2.6 billion\|icon=Christian cross.png\|founded_date=~150 CE}}		{{Infobox religion\|name=Christianity\|scripture=The Bible\|type=Monotheistic, Abrahamic\|number_of_followers=2.6 billion\|icon=Christian cross.png\|founded_date=~150 CE}}
			[[File:Christianity map.svg\|thumb\|Map of Christianity by country]]
	'''Christianity''' is an Abrahamic and monotheistic [[religion]] as well as the biggest religion on Earth with about 2.6 billion adherents as of 2020.<ref>{{News citation\|newspaper=countrymeters.info\|title=World Population\|date=2020\|url=https://countrymeters.info/en/World#religion}}</ref> Over 45,000 sects of Christianity exist, of which the Roman Catholic church is the largest in terms of membership, followed by Protestantism (which itself is extremely fragmented) and Eastern Orthodoxy.<ref>{{News citation\|author=Donavyn Coffey\|newspaper=Live Science\|title=Why does Christianity have so many denominations?\|date=2021-2-27\|url=https://www.livescience.com/christianity-denominations.html}}</ref>		'''Christianity''' is an Abrahamic and monotheistic [[religion]] as well as the biggest religion on Earth with about 2.6 billion adherents as of 2020.<ref>{{News citation\|newspaper=countrymeters.info\|title=World Population\|date=2020\|url=https://countrymeters.info/en/World#religion}}</ref> Over 45,000 sects of Christianity exist, of which the Roman Catholic church is the largest in terms of membership, followed by Protestantism (which itself is extremely fragmented) and Eastern Orthodoxy.<ref>{{News citation\|author=Donavyn Coffey\|newspaper=Live Science\|title=Why does Christianity have so many denominations?\|date=2021-2-27\|url=https://www.livescience.com/christianity-denominations.html}}</ref>

← Older revision		Revision as of 23:04, 4 September 2024
Line 3:		Line 3:
	'''Christianity''' is an Abrahamic and monotheistic [[religion]] as well as the biggest religion on Earth with about 2.6 billion adherents as of 2020.<ref>{{News citation\|newspaper=countrymeters.info\|title=World Population\|date=2020\|url=https://countrymeters.info/en/World#religion}}</ref> Over 45,000 sects of Christianity exist, of which the Roman Catholic church is the largest in terms of membership, followed by Protestantism (which itself is extremely fragmented) and Eastern Orthodoxy.<ref>{{News citation\|author=Donavyn Coffey\|newspaper=Live Science\|title=Why does Christianity have so many denominations?\|date=2021-2-27\|url=https://www.livescience.com/christianity-denominations.html}}</ref>		'''Christianity''' is an Abrahamic and monotheistic [[religion]] as well as the biggest religion on Earth with about 2.6 billion adherents as of 2020.<ref>{{News citation\|newspaper=countrymeters.info\|title=World Population\|date=2020\|url=https://countrymeters.info/en/World#religion}}</ref> Over 45,000 sects of Christianity exist, of which the Roman Catholic church is the largest in terms of membership, followed by Protestantism (which itself is extremely fragmented) and Eastern Orthodoxy.<ref>{{News citation\|author=Donavyn Coffey\|newspaper=Live Science\|title=Why does Christianity have so many denominations?\|date=2021-2-27\|url=https://www.livescience.com/christianity-denominations.html}}</ref>

	Christianity (along with most religions in general) has been used by the [[ruling class]] during various stages of economic and historical development, mostly as a tool of justifying the social and economic order relative to that historical epoch, which would further secure the power and wealth of said ruling class. Things such as a "divine mandate" or a "god-given mission" and things of that nature have been used, be it in past or present eras, to legitimize [[slavery]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Edward J. Cashin\|year=2001\|title=Beloved Bethesda : A History of George Whitefield's Home for Boys\|title-url=https://books.google.com/books/about/Beloved_Bethesda.html?id=XEmvyv3LO2AC\|publisher=Mercer University Press\|isbn=9780865547223\|trans-lang=English}}</ref><ref>{{News citation\|author=Juan Siliezar\|newspaper=Harvard Gazette\|title=Slavery alongside Christianity\|date=2019-1-7\|url=https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2019/01/a-harvard-exhibit-on-slavery-and-christianity/\|retrieved=2022-6-16}}</ref> [[feudalism]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Gerd Althoff\|year=2007\|title=Christian Values and Noble Ideas of Rank and their Consequences on Symbolic Acts\|title-url=https://journals.openedition.org/e-spania/4053}}</ref> [[fascism]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Roger Eatwell\|year=2003\|title=Reflections on Fascism and Religion\|title-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070501024852/http://staff.bath.ac.uk/mlsre/ReflectionsonFascismandReligion.htm\|trans-lang=English}}</ref> [[genocide]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Willliam E. Weeks\|year=1996\|title=Building the Continental Empire: American Expansion from the Revolution to the Civil War\|title-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vcsk8UsgNRsC\|page=61\|trans-lang=English}}</ref> [[capitalism]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Kate Bowler\|year=2013\|title=Blessed: A History of the American Prosperity Gospel\|title-url=https://oxford.universitypressscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199827695.001.0001/acprof-9780199827695\|isbn=9780199827695\|trans-lang=English}}</ref> and [[colonialism]].<ref name=":1">{{Web citation\|newspaper=[[Tricontinental]]\|title=Religious Fundamentalism and Imperialism in Latin America: Action and Resistance\|date=2022-12-19\|url=https://thetricontinental.org/dossier-59-religious-fundamentalism-and-imperialism-in-latin-america/\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221222193617/https://thetricontinental.org/dossier-59-religious-fundamentalism-and-imperialism-in-latin-america/\|archive-date=2022-12-22\|retrieved=2023-01-05}}</ref>		Christianity, along with most religions in general, has been used by the [[ruling class]] during various stages of economic and historical development, mostly as a tool of justifying the social and economic order relative to that historical epoch, which would further secure the power and wealth of said ruling class. Things such as a "divine mandate" or a "god-given mission" and things of that nature have been used, be it in past or present eras, to legitimize [[slavery]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Edward J. Cashin\|year=2001\|title=Beloved Bethesda : A History of George Whitefield's Home for Boys\|title-url=https://books.google.com/books/about/Beloved_Bethesda.html?id=XEmvyv3LO2AC\|publisher=Mercer University Press\|isbn=9780865547223\|trans-lang=English}}</ref><ref>{{News citation\|author=Juan Siliezar\|newspaper=Harvard Gazette\|title=Slavery alongside Christianity\|date=2019-1-7\|url=https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2019/01/a-harvard-exhibit-on-slavery-and-christianity/\|retrieved=2022-6-16}}</ref> [[feudalism]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Gerd Althoff\|year=2007\|title=Christian Values and Noble Ideas of Rank and their Consequences on Symbolic Acts\|title-url=https://journals.openedition.org/e-spania/4053}}</ref> [[fascism]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Roger Eatwell\|year=2003\|title=Reflections on Fascism and Religion\|title-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070501024852/http://staff.bath.ac.uk/mlsre/ReflectionsonFascismandReligion.htm\|trans-lang=English}}</ref> [[genocide]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Willliam E. Weeks\|year=1996\|title=Building the Continental Empire: American Expansion from the Revolution to the Civil War\|title-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vcsk8UsgNRsC\|page=61\|trans-lang=English}}</ref> [[capitalism]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Kate Bowler\|year=2013\|title=Blessed: A History of the American Prosperity Gospel\|title-url=https://oxford.universitypressscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199827695.001.0001/acprof-9780199827695\|isbn=9780199827695\|trans-lang=English}}</ref> and [[colonialism]].<ref name=":1">{{Web citation\|newspaper=[[Tricontinental]]\|title=Religious Fundamentalism and Imperialism in Latin America: Action and Resistance\|date=2022-12-19\|url=https://thetricontinental.org/dossier-59-religious-fundamentalism-and-imperialism-in-latin-america/\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221222193617/https://thetricontinental.org/dossier-59-religious-fundamentalism-and-imperialism-in-latin-america/\|archive-date=2022-12-22\|retrieved=2023-01-05}}</ref> While modern times have seen a number of [[progressive]] currents within the Christian church, such as [[Liberation theology]] and other movements of leftist clerics and laypeople, the largest and most organized Christian churches continue to advance [[reactionary]], anti-communist causes.<ref name="GSE1">"[https://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Christianity Christianity]," in ''Great Soviet Encyclopedia: A Translation of the Third Edition'' (New York: Macmillan, 1974–1983), vol. 28, pp. 160-163.</ref>

	With the rise of literacy, scientific developments, among other factors, adherence of religion has declined, with an increasing rate of [[secularism]], [[agnosticism]], [[atheism]], and other lack of religion.<ref>{{News citation\|author=Ronald F. Inglehart\|newspaper=Foreign Affairs\|title=Giving Up on God:		With the rise of literacy, scientific developments, among other factors, adherence of religion has declined, with an increasing rate of [[secularism]], [[agnosticism]], [[atheism]], and other lack of religion.<ref>{{News citation\|author=Ronald F. Inglehart\|newspaper=Foreign Affairs\|title=Giving Up on God:

← Older revision		Revision as of 08:37, 30 July 2024
Line 1:		Line 1:
	{{Infobox religion\|name=Christianity\|scripture=The Bible\|type=Monotheistic, Abrahamic\|number_of_followers=2.6 billion\|icon=Christian cross.png\|founded_date=~150 CE}}		{{Infobox religion\|name=Christianity\|scripture=The Bible\|type=Monotheistic, Abrahamic\|number_of_followers=2.6 billion\|icon=Christian cross.png\|founded_date=~150 CE}}

	'''Christianity''' is an Abrahamic and monotheistic [[religion]] as well as the biggest religion on Earth with about 2.6 billion adherents as of 2020.<ref>{{News citation\|newspaper=countrymeters.info\|title=World Population\|date=2020\|url=https://countrymeters.info/en/World#religion}}</ref> Over 45,000 sects of Christianity ~~exists~~, of which the Roman Catholic church is the largest in terms of membership, followed by Protestantism (which itself is extremely fragmented) and Eastern Orthodoxy.<ref>{{News citation\|author=Donavyn Coffey\|newspaper=Live Science\|title=Why does Christianity have so many denominations?\|date=2021-2-27\|url=https://www.livescience.com/christianity-denominations.html}}</ref>		'''Christianity''' is an Abrahamic and monotheistic [[religion]] as well as the biggest religion on Earth with about 2.6 billion adherents as of 2020.<ref>{{News citation\|newspaper=countrymeters.info\|title=World Population\|date=2020\|url=https://countrymeters.info/en/World#religion}}</ref> Over 45,000 sects of Christianity exist, of which the Roman Catholic church is the largest in terms of membership, followed by Protestantism (which itself is extremely fragmented) and Eastern Orthodoxy.<ref>{{News citation\|author=Donavyn Coffey\|newspaper=Live Science\|title=Why does Christianity have so many denominations?\|date=2021-2-27\|url=https://www.livescience.com/christianity-denominations.html}}</ref>

	Christianity (along with most religions in general) has been used by the [[ruling class]] during various stages of economic and historical development, mostly as a tool of justifying the social and economic order relative to that historical epoch, which would further secure the power and wealth of said ruling class. Things such as a "divine mandate" or a "god-given mission" and things of that nature have been used, be it in past or present eras, to legitimize [[slavery]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Edward J. Cashin\|year=2001\|title=Beloved Bethesda : A History of George Whitefield's Home for Boys\|title-url=https://books.google.com/books/about/Beloved_Bethesda.html?id=XEmvyv3LO2AC\|publisher=Mercer University Press\|isbn=9780865547223\|trans-lang=English}}</ref><ref>{{News citation\|author=Juan Siliezar\|newspaper=Harvard Gazette\|title=Slavery alongside Christianity\|date=2019-1-7\|url=https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2019/01/a-harvard-exhibit-on-slavery-and-christianity/\|retrieved=2022-6-16}}</ref> [[feudalism]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Gerd Althoff\|year=2007\|title=Christian Values and Noble Ideas of Rank and their Consequences on Symbolic Acts\|title-url=https://journals.openedition.org/e-spania/4053}}</ref> [[fascism]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Roger Eatwell\|year=2003\|title=Reflections on Fascism and Religion\|title-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070501024852/http://staff.bath.ac.uk/mlsre/ReflectionsonFascismandReligion.htm\|trans-lang=English}}</ref> [[genocide]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Willliam E. Weeks\|year=1996\|title=Building the Continental Empire: American Expansion from the Revolution to the Civil War\|title-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vcsk8UsgNRsC\|page=61\|trans-lang=English}}</ref> [[capitalism]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Kate Bowler\|year=2013\|title=Blessed: A History of the American Prosperity Gospel\|title-url=https://oxford.universitypressscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199827695.001.0001/acprof-9780199827695\|isbn=9780199827695\|trans-lang=English}}</ref> and [[colonialism]].<ref name=":1">{{Web citation\|newspaper=[[Tricontinental]]\|title=Religious Fundamentalism and Imperialism in Latin America: Action and Resistance\|date=2022-12-19\|url=https://thetricontinental.org/dossier-59-religious-fundamentalism-and-imperialism-in-latin-america/\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221222193617/https://thetricontinental.org/dossier-59-religious-fundamentalism-and-imperialism-in-latin-america/\|archive-date=2022-12-22\|retrieved=2023-01-05}}</ref>		Christianity (along with most religions in general) has been used by the [[ruling class]] during various stages of economic and historical development, mostly as a tool of justifying the social and economic order relative to that historical epoch, which would further secure the power and wealth of said ruling class. Things such as a "divine mandate" or a "god-given mission" and things of that nature have been used, be it in past or present eras, to legitimize [[slavery]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Edward J. Cashin\|year=2001\|title=Beloved Bethesda : A History of George Whitefield's Home for Boys\|title-url=https://books.google.com/books/about/Beloved_Bethesda.html?id=XEmvyv3LO2AC\|publisher=Mercer University Press\|isbn=9780865547223\|trans-lang=English}}</ref><ref>{{News citation\|author=Juan Siliezar\|newspaper=Harvard Gazette\|title=Slavery alongside Christianity\|date=2019-1-7\|url=https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2019/01/a-harvard-exhibit-on-slavery-and-christianity/\|retrieved=2022-6-16}}</ref> [[feudalism]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Gerd Althoff\|year=2007\|title=Christian Values and Noble Ideas of Rank and their Consequences on Symbolic Acts\|title-url=https://journals.openedition.org/e-spania/4053}}</ref> [[fascism]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Roger Eatwell\|year=2003\|title=Reflections on Fascism and Religion\|title-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070501024852/http://staff.bath.ac.uk/mlsre/ReflectionsonFascismandReligion.htm\|trans-lang=English}}</ref> [[genocide]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Willliam E. Weeks\|year=1996\|title=Building the Continental Empire: American Expansion from the Revolution to the Civil War\|title-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vcsk8UsgNRsC\|page=61\|trans-lang=English}}</ref> [[capitalism]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Kate Bowler\|year=2013\|title=Blessed: A History of the American Prosperity Gospel\|title-url=https://oxford.universitypressscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199827695.001.0001/acprof-9780199827695\|isbn=9780199827695\|trans-lang=English}}</ref> and [[colonialism]].<ref name=":1">{{Web citation\|newspaper=[[Tricontinental]]\|title=Religious Fundamentalism and Imperialism in Latin America: Action and Resistance\|date=2022-12-19\|url=https://thetricontinental.org/dossier-59-religious-fundamentalism-and-imperialism-in-latin-america/\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221222193617/https://thetricontinental.org/dossier-59-religious-fundamentalism-and-imperialism-in-latin-america/\|archive-date=2022-12-22\|retrieved=2023-01-05}}</ref>

← Older revision		Revision as of 08:37, 30 July 2024
Line 1:		Line 1:
	{{Infobox religion\|name=Christianity\|scripture=The Bible\|type=Monotheistic, Abrahamic\|number_of_followers=2.6 billion\|icon=Christian cross.png\|founded_date=~150 CE}}		{{Infobox religion\|name=Christianity\|scripture=The Bible\|type=Monotheistic, Abrahamic\|number_of_followers=2.6 billion\|icon=Christian cross.png\|founded_date=~150 CE}}

	'''Christianity''' is an Abrahamic and monotheistic [[religion]]~~, being currently~~ the ~~largest~~ religion on Earth~~. There are~~ about 2.6 billion adherents as of 2020.<ref>{{News citation\|newspaper=countrymeters.info\|title=World Population\|date=2020\|url=https://countrymeters.info/en/World#religion}}</ref> Over 45,000 sects of Christianity exists, of which, the Roman Catholic church is the largest in terms of membership, followed by Protestantism (which itself is extremely fragmented)~~, followed by~~ Eastern Orthodoxy.<ref>{{News citation\|author=Donavyn Coffey\|newspaper=Live Science\|title=Why does Christianity have so many denominations?\|date=2021-2-27\|url=https://www.livescience.com/christianity-denominations.html}}</ref>		'''Christianity''' is an Abrahamic and monotheistic [[religion]] as well as the biggest religion on Earth with about 2.6 billion adherents as of 2020.<ref>{{News citation\|newspaper=countrymeters.info\|title=World Population\|date=2020\|url=https://countrymeters.info/en/World#religion}}</ref> Over 45,000 sects of Christianity exists, of which the Roman Catholic church is the largest in terms of membership, followed by Protestantism (which itself is extremely fragmented) and Eastern Orthodoxy.<ref>{{News citation\|author=Donavyn Coffey\|newspaper=Live Science\|title=Why does Christianity have so many denominations?\|date=2021-2-27\|url=https://www.livescience.com/christianity-denominations.html}}</ref>

	Christianity (along with most religions in general) has been used by the [[ruling class]] during various stages of economic and historical development, mostly as a tool of justifying the social and economic order relative to that historical epoch, which would further secure the power and wealth of said ruling class. Things such as a "divine mandate" or a "god-given mission" and things of that nature have been used, be it in past or present eras, to legitimize [[slavery]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Edward J. Cashin\|year=2001\|title=Beloved Bethesda : A History of George Whitefield's Home for Boys\|title-url=https://books.google.com/books/about/Beloved_Bethesda.html?id=XEmvyv3LO2AC\|publisher=Mercer University Press\|isbn=9780865547223\|trans-lang=English}}</ref><ref>{{News citation\|author=Juan Siliezar\|newspaper=Harvard Gazette\|title=Slavery alongside Christianity\|date=2019-1-7\|url=https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2019/01/a-harvard-exhibit-on-slavery-and-christianity/\|retrieved=2022-6-16}}</ref> [[feudalism]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Gerd Althoff\|year=2007\|title=Christian Values and Noble Ideas of Rank and their Consequences on Symbolic Acts\|title-url=https://journals.openedition.org/e-spania/4053}}</ref> [[fascism]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Roger Eatwell\|year=2003\|title=Reflections on Fascism and Religion\|title-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070501024852/http://staff.bath.ac.uk/mlsre/ReflectionsonFascismandReligion.htm\|trans-lang=English}}</ref> [[genocide]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Willliam E. Weeks\|year=1996\|title=Building the Continental Empire: American Expansion from the Revolution to the Civil War\|title-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vcsk8UsgNRsC\|page=61\|trans-lang=English}}</ref> [[capitalism]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Kate Bowler\|year=2013\|title=Blessed: A History of the American Prosperity Gospel\|title-url=https://oxford.universitypressscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199827695.001.0001/acprof-9780199827695\|isbn=9780199827695\|trans-lang=English}}</ref> and [[colonialism]].<ref name=":1">{{Web citation\|newspaper=[[Tricontinental]]\|title=Religious Fundamentalism and Imperialism in Latin America: Action and Resistance\|date=2022-12-19\|url=https://thetricontinental.org/dossier-59-religious-fundamentalism-and-imperialism-in-latin-america/\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221222193617/https://thetricontinental.org/dossier-59-religious-fundamentalism-and-imperialism-in-latin-america/\|archive-date=2022-12-22\|retrieved=2023-01-05}}</ref>		Christianity (along with most religions in general) has been used by the [[ruling class]] during various stages of economic and historical development, mostly as a tool of justifying the social and economic order relative to that historical epoch, which would further secure the power and wealth of said ruling class. Things such as a "divine mandate" or a "god-given mission" and things of that nature have been used, be it in past or present eras, to legitimize [[slavery]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Edward J. Cashin\|year=2001\|title=Beloved Bethesda : A History of George Whitefield's Home for Boys\|title-url=https://books.google.com/books/about/Beloved_Bethesda.html?id=XEmvyv3LO2AC\|publisher=Mercer University Press\|isbn=9780865547223\|trans-lang=English}}</ref><ref>{{News citation\|author=Juan Siliezar\|newspaper=Harvard Gazette\|title=Slavery alongside Christianity\|date=2019-1-7\|url=https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2019/01/a-harvard-exhibit-on-slavery-and-christianity/\|retrieved=2022-6-16}}</ref> [[feudalism]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Gerd Althoff\|year=2007\|title=Christian Values and Noble Ideas of Rank and their Consequences on Symbolic Acts\|title-url=https://journals.openedition.org/e-spania/4053}}</ref> [[fascism]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Roger Eatwell\|year=2003\|title=Reflections on Fascism and Religion\|title-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070501024852/http://staff.bath.ac.uk/mlsre/ReflectionsonFascismandReligion.htm\|trans-lang=English}}</ref> [[genocide]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Willliam E. Weeks\|year=1996\|title=Building the Continental Empire: American Expansion from the Revolution to the Civil War\|title-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vcsk8UsgNRsC\|page=61\|trans-lang=English}}</ref> [[capitalism]],<ref>{{Citation\|author=Kate Bowler\|year=2013\|title=Blessed: A History of the American Prosperity Gospel\|title-url=https://oxford.universitypressscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199827695.001.0001/acprof-9780199827695\|isbn=9780199827695\|trans-lang=English}}</ref> and [[colonialism]].<ref name=":1">{{Web citation\|newspaper=[[Tricontinental]]\|title=Religious Fundamentalism and Imperialism in Latin America: Action and Resistance\|date=2022-12-19\|url=https://thetricontinental.org/dossier-59-religious-fundamentalism-and-imperialism-in-latin-america/\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221222193617/https://thetricontinental.org/dossier-59-religious-fundamentalism-and-imperialism-in-latin-america/\|archive-date=2022-12-22\|retrieved=2023-01-05}}</ref>

	With the rise of literacy, ~~scientifical~~ developments, among other factors, adherence of religion has declined, with an increasing rate of [[secularism]], [[agnosticism]], [[atheism]], and other lack of religion.<ref>{{News citation\|author=Ronald F. Inglehart\|newspaper=Foreign Affairs\|title=Giving Up on God:		With the rise of literacy, scientific developments, among other factors, adherence of religion has declined, with an increasing rate of [[secularism]], [[agnosticism]], [[atheism]], and other lack of religion.<ref>{{News citation\|author=Ronald F. Inglehart\|newspaper=Foreign Affairs\|title=Giving Up on God:
	The Global Decline of Religion\|date=September/October 2020\|url=https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/world/2020-08-11/religion-giving-god}}</ref>		The Global Decline of Religion\|date=September/October 2020\|url=https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/world/2020-08-11/religion-giving-god}}</ref>
	== History ==		== History ==

	=== Early development ===		=== Early development ===
	The early history of Christianity is unclear, with there being few ~~reliable~~ facts and many myths. ~~Being as how~~ Christianity ~~itself likely~~ began ~~with~~ the life of [[Jesus Christ\|Jesus]],<ref group="note">Aramaic: ''ישוע'' Koine Greek: ''Ἰησοῦς'' Latin: ''Iesus''</ref> ~~of which,~~ the earliest historical account of his life was made at around 70 CE—decades after his legendary death—it is unclear how and when Christianity first appeared as a distinct religion.<ref>{{Citation\|author=Karen Armstrong\|year=1993\|title=A History of God\|title-url=https://books.google.com/books/about/A_History_of_God.html?id=_n3cCF2I2FUC\|chapter=3\|page=79\|publisher=Alfred A. Knopf\|isbn=9780345384560\|trans-lang=English}}</ref>		The early history of Christianity is unclear, with there being few historically-attested facts and many myths. Christianity's own history says that it began during the life of [[Jesus Christ\|Jesus]],<ref group="note">Aramaic: ''ישוע'' Koine Greek: ''Ἰησοῦς'' Latin: ''Iesus''</ref> though the earliest historical account of his life was made at around 70 CE—decades after his legendary death—it is unclear how and when Christianity first appeared as a distinct religion.<ref>{{Citation\|author=Karen Armstrong\|year=1993\|title=A History of God\|title-url=https://books.google.com/books/about/A_History_of_God.html?id=_n3cCF2I2FUC\|chapter=3\|page=79\|publisher=Alfred A. Knopf\|isbn=9780345384560\|trans-lang=English}}</ref>

	==== Divergence from Judaism ====		==== Divergence from Judaism ====