Christians
Reformed churches, Lutheranism, Methodism, Pentecostalism and other denominations)[4] | |
Scriptures | |
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Bible (Old and New Testament) | |
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A Christian (
According to a 2011
Etymology
The Greek word Χριστιανός (Christianos), meaning "follower of Christ", comes from Χριστός (Christos), meaning "anointed one",[19] with an adjectival ending borrowed from Latin to denote adhering to, or even belonging to, as in slave ownership.[20] In the Greek Septuagint, christos was used to translate the Hebrew מָשִׁיחַ (Mašíaḥ, messiah), meaning "[one who is] anointed".[21] In other European languages, equivalent words to Christian are likewise derived from the Greek, such as Chrétien in French and Cristiano in Spanish.
The abbreviations Xian and Xtian (and similarly formed other parts of speech) have been used since at least the 17th century: Oxford English Dictionary shows a 1634 use of Xtianity and Xian is seen in a 1634–38 diary.[22][23] The word Xmas uses a similar contraction.
Early usage
The first recorded use of the term (or its
Kenneth Samuel Wuest holds that all three original New Testament verses' usages reflect a derisive element in the term Christian to refer to followers of Christ who did not acknowledge the emperor of Rome.
The earliest occurrences of the term in non-Christian literature include
Nazarenes
Another
The term Nazarene was also used by the Jewish lawyer
Modern usage
This section should specify the language of its non-English content, using {{lang}}, {{transliteration}} for transliterated languages, and {{IPA}} for phonetic transcriptions, with an appropriate ISO 639 code. Wikipedia's multilingual support templates may also be used. (November 2021) |
Definition
A wide range of beliefs and practices are found across the world among those who call themselves Christian.
Hebrew terms
The identification of Jesus as the Messiah is not accepted by Judaism. The term for a Christian in Hebrew is נוֹצְרִי (Notzri—"Nazarene"), a Talmudic term originally derived from the fact that Jesus came from the Galilean village of Nazareth, today in northern Israel.[35] Adherents of Messianic Judaism are referred to in modern Hebrew as יְהוּדִים מְשִׁיחִיִּים (Yehudim Meshihi'im—"Messianic Jews").
Arabic terms
In Arabic-speaking cultures, two words are commonly used for Christians: Naṣrānī (نصراني), plural Naṣārā (نصارى) is generally understood to be derived from Nazarenes, believers of Jesus of Nazareth through Syriac (Aramaic); Masīḥī (مسيحي) means followers of the Messiah.[36] Where there is a distinction, Nasrani refers to people from a Christian culture and Masihi is used by Christians themselves for those with a religious faith in Jesus.[37] In some countries Nasrani tends to be used generically for non-Muslim Western foreigners.[38]
Another Arabic word sometimes used for Christians, particularly in a political context, is Ṣalībī (صليبي "Crusader") from ṣalīb (صليب "cross"), which refers to
Asian terms
This section needs additional citations for verification. (October 2021) |
The most common
An old Kurdish word for Christian frequently in usage was felle (فەڵە), coming from the root word meaning "to be saved" or "attain salvation".[44]
The Syriac term Nasrani (Nazarene) has also been attached to the
In the past, the Malays used to call Christians in Malay language by the Portuguese loanword Serani (from Arabic Nasrani), but the term now refers to the modern Kristang creoles of Malaysia. In the Indonesian language, the term Nasrani" is also used alongside Kristen.
The Chinese word is
In Japan, the term
Korean still uses 기독교도 (
In Thailand, the most common terms are คนคริสต์ (RTGS: khon khrit) or ชาวคริสต์ (RTGS: chao khrit) which literally means "Christ person/people" or "Jesus person/people". The Thai word คริสต์ (RTGS: khrit) is derived from "Christ".
In the Philippines, the most common terms are Kristiyano (for "Christian") and Kristiyanismo (for "Christianity") in most Philippine languages; both derives from Spanish cristiano and cristianismo (also used in Chavacano) due to the country's rich history of early Christianity during the Spanish colonial era. Some Protestants in the Philippines uses the term Kristiyano (before the term "born again" became popular) to differentiate themselves from Catholics (Katoliko).
Eastern European terms
The region of modern Eastern Europe and Central Eurasia has a long history of Christianity and Christian communities on its lands. In ancient times, in the first centuries after the birth of Christ, when this region was called Scythia, the geographical area of Scythians – Christians already lived there.[50] Later the region saw the first states to adopt Christianity officially – initially Armenia (301 AD) and Georgia (337 AD), later Bulgaria (c. 864) and Kyivan Rus (c. 988 AD).
In some areas, people came to denote themselves as Christians (
In time the Russian term "крестьяне" (khrest'yane) acquired the meaning "peasants of Christian faith" and later "peasants" (the main part of the population of the region), while the term Russian: христиане (khristiane) retained its religious meaning and the term Russian: русские (russkie) began to mean representatives of the heterogeneous Russian nation formed on the basis of common Christian faith and language,[citation needed] which strongly influenced the history and development of the region. In the region the term "Orthodox faith" (Russian: православная вера, pravoslavnaia vera) or "Russian faith" (Russian: русская вера, russkaia vera) from earliest times became almost as known as the original "Christian faith" (Russian: христианская, крестьянская вера khristianskaia, krestianskaia).[citation needed]
Also in some contexts the term
Other non-religious usages
Nominally "Christian" societies made "Christian" a default label for citizenship or for "people like us".[51] In this context, religious or ethnic minorities can use "Christians" or "you Christians" loosely as a shorthand term for mainstream members of society who do not belong to their group – even in a thoroughly secular (though formerly Christian) society.[52]
Demographics
As of 2020,
Christianity remains the dominant religion in the
Region | Christians | % Christian |
---|---|---|
Europe | 558,260,000 | 75.2 |
Latin America–Caribbean | 531,280,000 | 90.0 |
Sub-Saharan Africa | 517,340,000 | 62.9 |
Asia Pacific
|
286,950,000 | 7.1 |
North America | 266,630,000 | 77.4 |
Middle East–North Africa | 12,710,000 | 3.7 |
World | 2,173,180,000 | 31.5 |
Socioeconomics
According to a study from 2015, Christians hold the largest amount of wealth (55% of the total world wealth), followed by Muslims (5.8%), Hindus (3.3%) and Jews (1.1%). According to the same study it was found that adherents under the classification Irreligion or other religions hold about 34.8% of the total global wealth.[70] A study done by the nonpartisan wealth research firm New World Wealth found that 56.2% of the 13.1 million millionaires in the world were Christians.[71]
A
According to the study, Christians in
Culture
Christian culture describes the cultural practices common to Christian peoples. There are variations in the application of Christian beliefs in different cultures and traditions.[74] Christian culture has influenced and assimilated much from the Greco-Roman, Byzantine, Western culture,[75] Middle Eastern,[76][77] Slavic,[78] Caucasian,[78] and Indian cultures.
Since the spread of Christianity from the
Western culture, throughout most of its history, has been nearly equivalent to Christian culture, and a large portion of the population of the Western Hemisphere can be described as practicing or nominal Christians. The notion of "Europe" and the "Western World" has been intimately connected with the concept of "Christianity and Christendom".[83] Outside the Western world, Christians has had an influence and contributed on various cultures, such as in Africa, the Near East, Middle East, East Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Indian subcontinent.[84][85]
Christians have made noted contributions to a range of fields, including philosophy,
Persecution
In 2017, Open Doors, a human rights NGO, estimated approximately 260 million Christians are subjected annually to "high, very high, or extreme persecution",[101] with North Korea considered the most hazardous nation for Christians.[102][103]
In 2019, a report
See also
- Christendom
- Conversion to Christianity
- Cultural Christian
- Early Christianity
- List of Christian denominations
- List of Christian denominations by number of members
- List of Christian synonyms
- List of religions and spiritual traditions
- List of religious organizations
- Lists of Christians
- Saint John Christians
References
- ^ a b "Religion Information Data Explorer | GRF". www.globalreligiousfutures.org. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
- ^ a b Johnson, Todd M.; Grim, Brian J., eds. (2020). "All Religions (global totals)". World Religion Database. Leiden, Boston: BRILL, Boston University.
- ^ "Christianity 2015: Religious Diversity and Personal Contact" (PDF). gordonconwell.edu. January 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 May 2017. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y Analysis (19 December 2011). "Global Christianity" (PDF). Pewforum.org. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
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- ISBN 978-0-8160-6983-5.
Today, the Christian community in India includes approximately 62 million people, about 6 percent of the population. Of these, 14 million are Roman Catholic and 3 million are Orthodox.
- ISBN 978-1-59884-204-3.
Protestants 21,100,000 Independents 18,200,000 Roman Catholics 21,700,000 (2010)
- ^ Johnson, Todd M.; Grim, Brian J. (2013). The World's Religions in Figures: An Introduction to International Religious Demography (PDF). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell. p. 10. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 October 2013. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
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- ^ Center, Pew Research (19 December 2011). "Global Christianity - A Report on the Size and Distribution of the World's Christian Population". Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
- ^ Bickerman (1949) p. 145, "The Christians got their appellation from 'Christus,' that is, 'the Anointed,' the Messiah."
- ^ a b c Woodhead, Linda (2004). Christianity: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. n.p.
- ^ Beal, Timothy (2008). Religion in America: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 35, 39. Beal states that, "Although all of them have their historical roots in Christian theology and tradition, and although most would identify themselves as Christian, many would not identify others within the larger category as Christian. Most Baptists and Fundamentalists, for example, would not acknowledge Mormonism or Christian Science as Christian. In fact, the nearly 77 percent of Americans who self-identify as Christian are a diverse pluribus of Christianities that are far from any collective unity."
- ^ Schaff, Philip. "V. St. Paul and the Conversion of the Gentiles (Note 496)". History of the Christian Church.
- ^ "Christian persecution 'at near genocide levels'". BBC News. 3 May 2019. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
- ^ a b Kay, Barbara. "Our politicians may not care, but Christians are under siege across the world". National Post. 8 May 2019. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
- ^ a b Wintour, Patrick. "Persecution of Christians coming close to genocide' in Middle East – report". The Guardian. 2 May 2019. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
- ^ Christ at Etymology Online
- ^ Bickerman, 1949 p. 147, "All these Greek terms, formed with the Latin suffix -ianus, exactly as the Latin words of the same derivation, express the idea that the men or things referred to, belong to the person to whose name the suffix is added."
p. 145, "In Latin this suffix produced proper names of the type Marcianus and, on the other hand, derivatives from the name of a person, which referred to his belongings, like fundus Narcissianus, or, by extension, to his adherents, Ciceroniani." - ^ Messiah at Etymology Online
- ^ "X, n. 10". OED Online. Oxford University Press. March 2016. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
- ISBN 9781843830436. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
Throughout his diary, Rogers abbreviates 'Christ' to 'X' and the same is true of 'Christian' ('Xian'), 'Antichrist' ('AntiX') and related words.
- ^ "Acts 11:26 and when he found him, he brought him back to Antioch. So for a full year they met together with the church and taught large numbers of people. The disciples were first called Christians at Antioch". biblehub.com.
- ^ #Wuest-1973 p. 19. "The word is used three times in the New Testament, and each time as a term of reproach or derision. Here in Antioch, the name Christianos was coined to distinguish the worshippers of the Christ from the Kaisarianos, the worshippers of Caesar."
- ^ #Wuest-1973 p. 19. "The city of Antioch in Syria had a reputation for coining nicknames."
- Acts 11:26) and which appeared next in Christian sources in Ignatius, Eph 11.2; Rom 3.2; Pol 7.3. Cf. too Did 12.4; MPol 3.1; 10.1; 12.1–2; EpDiog 1.1; 4.6; 5.1;"
- ^ Josephus. "Antiquities of the Jews — XVIII, 3:3". Christian Classics Ethereal Library. Translated by William Whiston. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023.
- ^ Tacitus, Cornelius; Murphy, Arthur (1836). The works of Cornelius Tacitus: with an essay on his life and genius, notes, supplements, &c. Thomas Wardle. p. 287.
- ISBN 0-8028-2505-2.
- ^ Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies: Volume 65, Issue 1 University of London. School of Oriental and African Studies – 2002 "around 331, Eusebius says of the place name Nazareth that 'from this name the Christ was called a Nazoraean, and in ancient times we, who are now called Christians, were once called Nazarenes';6 thus he attributes this designation"
- ^ Beal, Timothy (2008). Religion in America: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 35.
- ISBN 1-56639-081-8.
- ^ Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies: Volume 65, Issue 1 University of London. School of Oriental and African Studies – 2002.
- ^ Nazarene at Etymology Online
- ^ a b Society for Internet Research, The Hamas Charter Archived 25 May 2013 at the Wayback Machine, note 62 (erroneously, "salidi").
- ^ Jeffrey Tayler, Trekking through the Moroccan Sahara.
- ^ "Nasara". Mazyan Bizaf Show. Archived from the original on 13 October 2017. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
- Akbar S. Ahmed, Islam, Globalization, and Postmodernity, p 110.
- ^ Rashid al-din Fazl Allâh, quoted in Karl Jahn (ed.) Histoire Universelle de Rasid al-Din Fadl Allah Abul=Khair: I. Histoire des Francs (Texte Persan avec traduction et annotations), Leiden, E. J. Brill, 1951. (Source: M. Ashtiany)
- ^ سنة ٤٩١ – "ذكر ملك الفرنج مدينة أنطاكية" في الكامل في التاريخ
- ^ "Account of al-Faranj seizing Antioch" Year 491AH, The Complete History
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- ^ Hazhar Mukriyani, (1990) Hanbanaborina Kurdish-Persian Dictionary Tehran, Soroush press p.527.
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"Isai" is the most common form of address for Christians throughout northern India.
- ^ "Catholic priest in saffron robe called 'Isai Baba'". The Indian Express. 24 December 2008. Archived from the original on 13 January 2012.
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- ISBN 978-1-64508-562-1.
- ^ "基督とは".
- ^ "Вселенские Соборы - профессор Антон Владимирович Карташёв - читать, скачать". azbyka.ru.
- ^
Compare: ISBN 9780192802903. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
In modern times the name Christian ... has tended, in nominally Christian countries, to lose any credal significance and imply only that which is ethically praiseworthy (e.g. 'a Christian action') or socially customary ('Christian name').
- ^ Compare: Sandmel, Samuel (1967). We Jews and You Christians: An Inquiry Into Attitudes. Lippincott. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
- ^ 33.39% of 7.174 billion world population (under "People and Society") "World". CIA world facts. 25 February 2022.
- ^ "The List: The World's Fastest-Growing Religions". foreignpolicy.com. March 2007. Archived from the original on 11 July 2018. Retrieved 4 January 2010.
- ^ "Major Religions Ranked by Size". Adherents.com. Archived from the original on 29 January 2010. Retrieved 5 May 2009.
- ^ Pontifical Yearbook 2010, Catholic News Agency. Accessed 22 September 2011.
- ^ Johnstone, Patrick; Miller, Duane Alexander (2015). "Believers in Christ from a Muslim Background: A Global Census". Interdisciplinary Journal of Research on Religion. 11: 8. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
- ^ "Study: Christianity growth soars in Africa –". USA Today. 20 December 2011. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
- ^ a b Ostling, Richard N. (24 June 2001). "The Battle for Latin America's Soul". Time. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
- ^ "In China, Protestantism's Simplicity Yields More Converts Than Catholicism". International Business Times. 28 March 2012. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
- ^ "Understanding the rapid rise of Charismatic Christianity in Southeast Asia". Singapore Management University. 27 October 2017.
- ^ "Number of Christians in China and India". Lausanne. 8 July 2011. Archived from the original on 13 June 2020. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
- ^ "Religious Belief and National Belonging in Central and Eastern Europe". Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project. 10 May 2017.
- ^ Johnstone, Patrick; Miller, Duane Alexander (2015). "Believers in Christ from a Muslim Background: A Global Census". IJRR. 11 (10): 1–19. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
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Since the 1960s, there has been a substantial increase in the number of Muslims who have converted to Christianity
- ^ The Next Christendom: The Rise of Global Christianity. New York: Oxford University Press. 2002. 270 pp.
- ^ Analysis (19 December 2011). "Europe". Pewforum.org. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
- ^ Analysis (19 December 2011). "Americas". Pewforum.org. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
- ^ Analysis (19 December 2011). "Global religious landscape: Christians". Pewforum.org. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
- ^ "Christians hold largest percentage of global wealth: Report". deccanherald.com. 14 January 2015.
- ^ Frank, Robert (14 January 2015). "The religion of millionaires". CNBC.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Religion and Education Around the World" (PDF). Pew Research Center. 19 December 2011. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
- ^ "المسيحيون العرب يتفوقون على يهود إسرائيل في التعليم". Bokra. Retrieved 28 December 2011.
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- ^ Caltron J.H Hayas, Christianity and Western Civilization (1953), Stanford University Press, p.2: "That certain distinctive features of our Western civilization – the civilization of western Europe and of America— have been shaped chiefly by Judaeo – Graeco – Christianity, Catholic and Protestant."
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- ISBN 9781351510721.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-14-014656-1.
- ISBN 9780521616645. Retrieved 26 January 2018.
- ^ Encarta-encyclopedie Winkler Prins (1993–2002) s.v. "christendom. §1.3 Scheidingen". Microsoft Corporation/Het Spectrum.
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- ^ ISBN 978-1-4051-9833-2.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-8132-1683-6.
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... The insights of Christian philosophy "would not have happened without the direct or indirect contribution of Christian faith" (FR 76). Typical Christian philosophers include St. Augustine, St. Bonaventure, and St. Thomas Aquinas. The benefits derived from Christian philosophy are twofold....
- ISBN 9780830868148.
- ISBN 0-521-81456-1.
... Many of the scientists who contributed to these developments were Christians...
- ISBN 978-0-19-102513-6.
... the Christian contribution to science has been uniformly at the top level, but it has reached that level and it has been sufficiently strong overall ...
- ^ Graves, Daniel (7 July 1998). "Christian Influences in the Sciences". rae.org. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015.
- William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin and James Clerk Maxwell.
- ISBN 978-1-78720-304-4.
Many prominent Catholic physicians and psychologists have made significant contributions to hypnosis in medicine, dentistry, and psychology.
- ISBN 9780195157185.
- ISBN 9781596983281.
- ISBN 9781461632924.
- ISBN 9781107031654.
- ISBN 1405108991.
Virtually every major European composer contributed to the development of church music. Monteverdi, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Rossini, and Verdi are all examples of composers to have made significant contributions in this sphere. The Catholic church was without question one of the most important patrons of musical developments, and a crucial stimulus to the development of the western musical tradition.
- ISBN 9781469626987.
- ISBN 9781469626987.
- ISBN 978-0-935047-37-0.
- ^ Weber, Jeremy. "'Worst year yet': the top 50 countries where it's hardest to be a Christian". Christianity Today. 11 January 2017. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
- ^ Enos, Olivia. "North Korea is the world's worst persecutor of Christians". Forbes. 25 January 2017. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
- ^ Worldwatchlist2020, Most dangerous countries for Christians. "Serving Persecuted Christians – Open Doors USA". www.opendoorsusa.org. Archived from the original on 2 March 2000. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Mounstephen, Philip. "Interim report". Bishop of Truro's Independent Review for the Foreign Secretary of FCO Support for Persecuted Christians. April 2019. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
- ^ a b Mounstephen, Philip. "Final Report and Recommendations". Bishop of Truro's Independent Review for the Foreign Secretary of FCO Support for Persecuted Christians. July 2019. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
Bibliography
Etymology
- Bickerman, Elias J. (April 1949). "The Name of Christians". The Harvard Theological Review. 42 (2): 109–124. ISBN 90-04-04395-0.
- Wuest, Kenneth Samuel (1973). Wuest's word studies from the Greek New Testament. Vol. 1. Wm. B. Eerdmans. ISBN 978-0-8028-2280-2.