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Christianity is an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest religion, with about 2.4 billion followers. Its adherents, known as Christians, make up a majority of the population in 157 countries and territories, and believe that Jesus is the Christ, whose coming as the Messiah was prophesied in the Hebrew Bible and chronicled in the New Testament.
Christendom historically refers to the "Christian world": Christian states, Christian-majority countries and the countries in which Christianity dominates or prevails.
The history of Christianity concerns the Christian religion, Christian countries, and the Christians with their various denominations, from the 1st century to the present.
The "Dark Ages" is a term for the Early Middle Ages or Middle Ages in the area of the Roman Empire in Europe, after its fall in the fifth century, characterizing it as marked by economic, intellectual and cultural decline.
Christianization was the conversion of societies to Christianity beginning in late antiquity in the Roman Empire and continuing through the late Middle Ages in Europe. Outside of Europe, the process was significantly halted by the parallel process of Islamisation, beginning in Arabia and the Near East.
Criticism of Christianity has a long history which stretches back to the initial formation of the religion during the Roman Empire. Critics have challenged Christian beliefs and teachings as well as Christian actions, from the Crusades to modern terrorism. The intellectual arguments against Christianity include the suppositions that it is a faith of violence, corruption, superstition, polytheism, bigotry, pontification, and sectarianism.
A History of Christianity is a 1976 study of the history of Christianity by the British historian Paul Johnson. It has since been reissued and updated. The author aims to present a comprehensive factual history of the Christian religion.
The history of Christian thought has included concepts of both inclusivity and exclusivity from its beginnings, that have been understood and applied differently in different ages, and have led to practices of both persecution and toleration. Early Christian thought established Christian identity, defined heresy, separated itself from polytheism and Judaism and invented supersessionism. In the centuries after Christianity became the official religion of Rome, some scholars say Christianity became a persecuting religion, while others say the change to Christian leadership did not cause any substantive persecution of pagans.
Christianity has been intricately intertwined with the history and formation of Western society. Throughout its long history, the Church has been a major source of social services like schooling and medical care; an inspiration for art, culture and philosophy; and an influential player in politics and religion. In various ways it has sought to affect Western attitudes towards vice and virtue in diverse fields. Festivals like Easter and Christmas are marked as public holidays; the Gregorian Calendar has been adopted internationally as the civil calendar; and the calendar itself is measured from the date of Jesus's birth.
The history of the Catholic Church is the formation, events, and transformation of the Catholic Church through time.
Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, in particular the accepted beliefs of a church or religious organization. The term is usually used in reference to violations of important religious teachings, but is also used of views strongly opposed to any generally accepted ideas. A heretic is a proponent of heresy.
The Western world, also known as the West, refers to various regions, nations and states, depending on the context, most often consisting of the majority of Europe, the Americas, and Australasia. The Western world is also known as the Occident, in contrast to the Orient or Eastern world. It might mean the Northern half of the North–South divide.
The Historiography of the Crusades relates to the study by historians of the religious wars known as the Crusades, which began with the First Crusade in 1096. This article discusses how these interpretations have changed over time, an evolution which continues.
Christianity in the 18th century is marked by the First Great Awakening in the Americas, along with the expansion of the Spanish and Portuguese empires around the world, which helped to spread Catholicism.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Christianity:
The history of modern Christianity concerns the Christian religion from the beginning of the 15th century to the end of World War II. It can be divided into the early modern period and the late modern period. The history of Christianity in the early modern period coincides with the Age of Exploration, and is usually taken to begin with the Protestant Reformation c. 1517–1525 and ending in the late 18th century with the onset of the Industrial Revolution and the events leading up to the French Revolution of 1789. It includes the Protestant Reformation, the Counter-Reformation and the Catholic Church and the Age of Discovery. Christianity expanded throughout the world during the Age of Exploration. Christianity has thus become the world's largest religion.
Christianity and colonialism are often closely associated with each other because Protestantism, Orthodoxy and Catholicism participated as the state religions of the European colonial powers and in many ways they acted as the "religious arms" of those powers. According to Edward Andrews, Christian missionaries were initially portrayed as "visible saints, exemplars of ideal piety in a sea of persistent savagery". However, by the time the colonial era drew to a close in the last half of the twentieth century, missionaries became viewed as "ideological shock troops for colonial invasion whose zealotry blinded them", colonialism's "agent, scribe and moral alibi".
Honest Doubt: The History of an Epic Struggle is a series of twenty 15-minute radio essays by the author and former Bishop of Edinburgh, Richard Holloway. It was originally broadcast on BBC Radio 4 between 28 May and 22 June 2012, rebroadcast as four 1-hour omnibus editions on Friday evenings throughout June 2012. The series was written and presented by Richard Holloway, and produced by Olivia Landsberg at Ladbroke Productions.
Most sources of knowledge available to early Christians were connected to pagan world-views. There were various opinions on how Christianity should regard pagan learning, which included its ideas about nature. For instance, among early Christian teachers, Tertullian held a generally negative opinion of Greek philosophy, while Origen regarded it much more favorably and required his students to read nearly every work available to them.
The historiography of religion is how historians have studied religion in terms of themes, sources and conflicting ideas. Historians typically focus on one particular topic in the overall history of religions in terms of geographical area or of theological tradition.
References
- ↑ "Christianity: A History". Pioneer TV. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 17 April 2013.
- ↑ Jacobson, Howard: Behold! The Jewish Jesus at The Guardian , 9 January 2009. Accessed 17 April 2013
- ↑ "Christianity: A History". Channel 4. Retrieved 17 April 2013.
- ↑ "Christianity: A History (TV Series 2009– ) - IMDb" – via www.imdb.com.
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