Pelikan, Jaroslav; Hotchkiss, Valerie (ed.). [45] Among Christian beliefs, the death and resurrection of Jesus are two core events on which much of Christian doctrine and theology is based. [358] Estimates vary, mainly over the question of which denominations to classify as Protestant. Assuming your definition of "soft polytheism" is correct, I would contend that Christianity can be considered both monotheistic and soft-polytheistic. Christianity requires the worship of a single god. Though Western culture contained several polytheistic religions during its early years under the Greek and Roman empires, as the centralized Roman power waned, the dominance of the Catholic Church was the only consistent force in Western Europe. "Why I Believe in Christianity – Society of Gilbert Keith Chesterton", "Faith and Paradox: G.K. Chesterton's Philosophy of Christian Paradox", The Dartmouth Apologia: A Journal of Christian Thought, Mercy and Judgment. [179], Constantine I was exposed to Christianity in his youth, and throughout his life his support for the religion grew, culminating in baptism on his deathbed. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are widely practiced forms of monotheism. Chambers, Mortimer; Crew, Herlihy, Rabb, Woloch. With the decline and fall of the Roman Empire in the West, the papacy became a political player, first visible in Pope Leo's diplomatic dealings with Huns and Vandals. You can test out of the However, Christians are unique in that they believe that this one God exists as three beings: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Then The Son appeared, Jesus and later The Holy Spirit. [472] In the 19th century, Nietzsche began to write a series of polemics on the "unnatural" teachings of Christianity (e.g. [125][126], In the second century Apostolic Tradition, Hippolytus instructed Christians to pray at seven fixed prayer times: "on rising, at the lighting of the evening lamp, at bedtime, at midnight" and "the third, sixth and ninth hours of the day, being hours associated with Christ's Passion. [282] A study conducted by St. Mary's University estimated about 10.2 million Muslim converts to Christianity in 2015. Christianity is considered one of the most monotheistic religions around the world. Some believe that divine inspiration makes our present Bibles inerrant. The philosopher Thomas Aquinas presented five arguments for God's existence in the Summa Theologica, while his Summa contra Gentiles was a major apologetic work. While Christianity is known as a monotheistic religion, most Christians accept that the one God of their faith is represented by a Trinity of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. [80] Nontrinitarianism reappeared in the Gnosticism of the Cathars between the 11th and 13th centuries, among groups with Unitarian theology in the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century,[81] in the 18th-century Enlightenment, and in some groups arising during the Second Great Awakening of the 19th century. "Our politicians may not care, but Christians are under siege across the world". Other Christian religions including Unitarian Universalism, Jehovah's Witnesses, and Mormonism, do not share those views on the Trinity. The following is a brief review of some of them. This particular creed was developed between the 2nd and 9th centuries. Would you be upset if I told you it isn't? [185][37] Nicaea was the first of a series of ecumenical councils, which formally defined critical elements of the theology of the Church, notably concerning Christology. [394] American Millennialism and Adventism, which arose from Evangelical Protestantism, influenced the Jehovah's Witnesses movement and, as a reaction specifically to William Miller, the Seventh-day Adventists. and career path that can help you find the school that's right for you. To unlock this lesson you must be a Study.com Member. [16][273][274][275] By 2010 about 157 countries and territories in the world had Christian majorities. [note 4][95] Instruction is given based on these readings, called a sermon or homily. Visit the Introduction to World Religions: Help and Review page to learn more. Anyone can earn It was not an entirely new religion in Armenia, having penetrated into the country from at least the third century, but it may have been present even earlier. [191] Monasticism became a powerful force throughout Europe,[191] and gave rise to many early centers of learning, most famously in Ireland, Scotland, and Gaul, contributing to the Carolingian Renaissance of the 9th century. Various smaller Independent Catholic communities, such as the Old Catholic Church, include the word Catholic in their title, and arguably have more or less liturgical practices in common with the Catholic Church, but are no longer in full communion with the Holy See. [48] Some modern scholars use the belief of Jesus' followers in the resurrection as a point of departure for establishing the continuity of the historical Jesus and the proclamation of the early church. Views concerning both which rites are sacramental, and what it means for an act to be a sacrament, vary among Christian denominations and traditions. [27], While Christians worldwide share basic convictions, there are also differences of interpretations and opinions of the Bible and sacred traditions on which Christianity is based.[28]. [128] Breviaries such as the Shehimo and Agpeya are used by Oriental Orthodox Christians to pray these canonical hours while facing in the eastward direction of prayer. However, there are other present[341] and historical[342] Christian groups that do not fit neatly into one of these primary categories. Christian commitment in Europe dropped as modernity and secularism came into their own,[242] particularly in Czechia and Estonia,[243] while religious commitments in America have been generally high in comparison to Europe. They offer communion to those who are already united in that denomination or sometimes individual church. An error occurred trying to load this video. [citation needed], Christians differ in their views on the extent to which individuals' salvation is pre-ordained by God. "[135] The Book of Common Prayer in the Anglican tradition is a guide which provides a set order for services, containing set prayers, scripture readings, and hymns or sung Psalms. [467][466], By the 3rd century, criticism of Christianity had mounted. "[20][note 1] According to Acts 11:26, the term "Christian" (Greek: Χριστιανός) was first used in reference to Jesus's disciples in the city of Antioch, meaning "followers of Christ," by the non-Jewish inhabitants of Antioch. Most Baptists do not use creeds "in that they have not sought to establish binding authoritative confessions of faith on one another. In the 16th century, the Western, or Catholic, Christian Church experienced another major division. [392] A common belief held by Restorationists was that the other divisions of Christianity had introduced doctrinal defects into Christianity, which was known as the Great Apostasy. Nontrinitarianism (or antitrinitarianism) refers to theology that rejects the doctrine of the Trinity. [371], In 1521, the Edict of Worms condemned Martin Luther and officially banned citizens of the Holy Roman Empire from defending or propagating his ideas. [455] The community emphasizes the reconciliation of all denominations and its main church, located in Taizé, Saône-et-Loire, France, is named the "Church of Reconciliation". [449], Christian groups and denominations have long expressed ideals of being reconciled, and in the 20th century, Christian ecumenism advanced in two ways. Sykes, Stephen; Booty, John; Knight, Jonathan. This concept of these three facets of one God is known as the 'Trinity' in the Christian faith. [283] The results also state that significant numbers of Muslims converts to Christianity in Afghanistan,[284] Albania,[283] Azerbaijan,[285][286] Algeria,[287][288] Belgium,[289] France,[288] Germany,[290] Iran,[291] India,[288] Indonesia,[292] Malaysia,[293] Morocco,[288][294] Russia,[288] the Netherlands,[295] Saudi Arabia,[296] Tunisia,[283] Turkey,[288][297][298][299] Kazakhstan,[300] Kyrgyzstan,[283] Kosovo,[301] the United States,[302] and Central Asia. [162] This original intended meaning of the text is drawn out through examination of the passage in light of the grammatical and syntactical aspects, the historical background, the literary genre, as well as theological (canonical) considerations. Why do Christians believe in the trinity? Sikhism is a monotheistic religion that originated around the 17th century. [90], Some Christian groups, such as Seventh-day Adventists, hold to mortalism, the belief that the human soul is not naturally immortal, and is unconscious during the intermediate state between bodily death and resurrection. The followers of Christianity believe in only one spirit. [370], The Ancient Church of the East distinguished itself from the Assyrian Church of the East in 1964. ", The Foundations of New Testament Christology, A History of Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years, Three Pictures of God in Western Theology, Historical background of the New Testament, New Testament places associated with Jesus, Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria, Coptic Catholic Patriarchate of Alexandria, Chaldean Catholic Patriarchate of Babylon, Rise of the Evangelical Church in Latin America, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Christianity&oldid=993138778, Articles lacking reliable references from August 2020, Articles containing Ancient Greek (to 1453)-language text, Short description is different from Wikidata, Wikipedia indefinitely semi-protected pages, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, Articles with unsourced statements from June 2020, Pages using multiple image with auto scaled images, Wikipedia articles needing clarification from May 2020, Wikipedia articles with TDVİA identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, The injunction that all other senses of sacred scripture are based on the, That the historicity of the Gospels must be absolutely and constantly held, That scripture must be read within the "living Tradition of the whole Church", That "the task of interpretation has been entrusted to the bishops in communion with the successor of Peter, the. Its central doctrines are those of the Trinity and God the Creator. [195] In the early 10th century, Western Christian monasticism was further rejuvenated through the leadership of the great Benedictine monastery of Cluny. These events intensified the Christian debate on persecution and toleration. New Dictionary of Theology. Weber, Jeremy. [478] In 2017, Open Doors estimated approximately 260 million Christians are subjected annually to "high, very high, or extreme persecution"[479] with North Korea considered the most hazardous nation for Christians. The main distinction is that Christianity, as a monotheistic religion, restricts itself to three Persons, whereas primitive religions have no reason to restrict the number of … Martin Luther believed that without God's help, Scripture would be "enveloped in darkness". [133] The reformer Huldrych Zwingli admitted that he had offered prayers to the saints until his reading of the Bible convinced him that this was idolatrous.[134]. ", "Number of Christians among young Koreans decreases by 5% per year", "Christianity fading in Taiwan | American Buddhist Net", "A Gambling-Fueled Boom Adds to a Church's Bane", "American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS) 2008", Table 28, 2006 Census Data – QuickStats About Culture and Identity – Tables, "Moved by the Spirit: Pentecostal Power and Politics after 100 Years", "Believers in Christ from a Muslim Background: A Global Census", "International Religious Freedom Report 2009", "5,000 Azerbaijanis adopted Christianity", "Christian Missionaries Becoming Active in Azerbaijan", "Algeria: Situation of Christians, including the treatment of Christians by society and by the authorities; availability of state protection; the fire at Tafat church; whether there were convictions for proselytism (2010 – July 2013) [DZA104491.FE]", "In Europe, many Muslims renounce Islam, embrace Christianity: Report", "Christian Converts in Morocco Fear Fatwa Calling for Their Execution", "Turkey: Protestant church closed down – Church in Chains – Ireland :: An Irish voice for suffering, persecuted Christians Worldwide", "Ekklesia – Turkish Protestants still face 'long path' to religious freedom", "35,000 Muslims convert into Christianity each year in Turkey", "Why Are Millions of Muslims Becoming Christian? This split Christendom into Western (Roman Catholic) and Eastern (Orthodox) Rome by the Nicene Creed. This page was last edited on 9 December 2020, at 00:33. [174][175][176] Important Africans who influenced the early development of Christianity include Tertullian, Clement of Alexandria, Origen of Alexandria, Cyprian, Athanasius, and Augustine of Hippo. [199] Historically, Christianity has often been a patron of science and medicine; many Catholic clergy,[411] Jesuits in particular,[412][413] have been active in the sciences throughout history and have made significant contributions to the development of science. [317] Some sources view this simply as part of a drift away from traditional membership institutions,[318] while others link it to signs of a decline in belief in the importance of religion in general. - Definition & Cycle, The Four Goals of Hindu Life: Kama, Artha, Dharma & Moksha, Balcony Scene in Romeo and Juliet: Summary & Analysis, Impact of the Protestant Reformation on the Study of History, The 7 Catholic Sacraments: Definition & History, The Theory of Forms by Plato: Definition & Examples, The Agricultural Revolution: Timeline, Causes, Inventions & Effects, Causes of the First Industrial Revolution: Examples & Summary, Polar and Nonpolar Covalent Bonds: Definitions and Examples, UExcel Business Ethics: Study Guide & Test Prep, Principles of Business Ethics: Certificate Program, Introduction to Humanities: Help and Review, Philosophy 103: Ethics - Theory & Practice, MTTC Social Studies (Elementary) (105): Practice & Study Guide, English 103: Analyzing and Interpreting Literature. [319] Europe's Christian population, though in decline, still constitutes the largest geographical component of the religion. For example, Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, and Unitarianists do not believe that the Godhead consists of three separate beings. [415] The civilizing influence of Christianity includes social welfare,[416] founding hospitals,[417] economics (as the Protestant work ethic),[418][419][420] architecture,[421] politics,[422] literature,[423] personal hygiene (ablution),[424][425][426] and family life. - Definition & Overview, William Tyndale: Biography, Facts & Books, Pope Gregory the Great: Biography & Quotes, Pope Gregory II: Biography & Accomplishments, Pope Gregory VII: Biography & Accomplishments, Pope Gregory VIII: Biography & Accomplishments, Pope Gregory X: Biography & Accomplishments, Pope Gregory XII: Biography & Accomplishments, Pope Gregory XIII: Accomplishments & Legacy, Pope Gregory XV: Biography & Accomplishments, Pope Gregory XVI: Biography & Accomplishments, Palmarian Catholic Church: Rules and History, Introduction to World Religions: Help and Review, Biological and Biomedical This concept is known as sola scriptura. They generally saw themselves as restoring the original church of Jesus Christ rather than reforming one of the existing churches. The two principal mendicant movements were the Franciscans[200] and the Dominicans,[201] founded by St. Francis and St. Dominic, respectively. Around 500, St. Benedict set out his Monastic Rule, establishing a system of regulations for the foundation and running of monasteries. In polytheistic religions, responsibility for reality is parceled out among multiple gods. [349] The Catholic faith is detailed in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. In this period, church building and ecclesiastical architecture reached new heights, culminating in the orders of Romanesque and Gothic architecture and the building of the great European cathedrals. Buringh, Eltjo; van Zanden, Jan Luiten: "Charting the 'Rise of the West': Manuscripts and Printed Books in Europe, A Long-Term Perspective from the Sixth through Eighteenth Centuries". This spirit is represented by the trinity of the father, the son and Jesus. [316], In most countries in the developed world, church attendance among people who continue to identify themselves as Christians has been falling over the last few decades. [320] According to data from the 2012 European Social Survey, around a third of European Christians say they attend services once a month or more,[321] Conversely about more than two-thirds of Latin American Christians; according to the World Values Survey, about 90% of African Christians (in Ghana, Nigeria, Rwand], South Africa and Zimbabwe) said they attended church regularly. sexual abstinence), and continued his criticism of Christianity to the end of his life. While most Christians do believe in the Trinity, there have been some disagreements within the Church throughout its approximately 2,000-year history. The religion, which began in the 1930s, was started in Jamaica, and is associated with dreadlocks, marijuana smoking, and chanting. [186] The Church of the East did not accept the third and following ecumenical councils and is still separate today by its successors (Assyrian Church of the East). The term is derived from the Latin word sacramentum, which was used to translate the Greek word for mystery. [336], Countries with 50% or more Christians are colored purple; countries with 10% to 50% Christians are colored pink, Nations with Christianity as their state religion are in blue. The word "apologetic" (Greek: ἀπολογητικός apologētikos) comes from the Greek verb ἀπολογέομαι apologeomai, meaning "(I) speak in defense of". [Acts 12:2] The Decian persecution was the first empire-wide conflict,[172] when the edict of Decius in 250 AD required everyone in the Roman Empire (except Jews) to perform a sacrifice to the Roman gods. The Second Ecumenical Council of Nicaea (787) finally pronounced in favor of icons. [249] The Christian share of the world's population has stood at around 33% for the last hundred years, which means that one in three persons on Earth are Christians. These methods are: by immersion; if immersion is total, by submersion; by affusion (pouring); and by aspersion (sprinkling). [113], Among the earliest Christian symbols, that of the fish or Ichthys seems to have ranked first in importance, as seen on monumental sources such as tombs from the first decades of the 2nd century. All other trademarks and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. [446] According to 100 Years of Nobel Prizes a review of the Nobel Prizes award between 1901 and 2000 reveals that (65.4%) of Nobel Prizes Laureates, have identified Christianity in its various forms as their religious preference.[447]. Beginning in 1536, the monasteries throughout England, Wales and Ireland were dissolved.[215]. If the Holy Trinity wouldn’t appear, than Christianity being a monotheistic religion wouldn’t be up to debate. [116][117] The Catholic Church also practices infant baptism,[118] usually by affusion, and utilizing the Trinitarian formula. [150], Catholic theology distinguishes two senses of scripture: the literal and the spiritual.[151]. [142] Much scholarship in the past several hundred years has gone into comparing different manuscripts in order to reconstruct the original text. The biblical accounts of Jesus' ministry include: his baptism, miracles, preaching, teaching, and deeds. [104], Taken together, these are the Seven Sacraments as recognized by churches in the High Church tradition—notably Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Independent Catholic, Old Catholic, many Anglicans, and some Lutherans. Arguments over death and resurrection claims occur at many religious debates and interfaith dialogues. Christianity is the predominant religion in Europe, the Americas, and Southern Africa. [173] The presence of Christianity in Africa began in the middle of the 1st century in Egypt and by the end of the 2nd century in the region around Carthage. Monotheists believe that this omnipotent, omniscient, ultimately good being is the creative ground for everything else.