Today, Christianity is by far the largest religion in the world, making up about 33 percent or 2 billion of the world population. It is followed by Islam (20 percent), Hinduism (13 percent), Chinese folk religion (6.3 percent) and Buddhism (5.9 percent). Christianity is basically a type of monotheistic religion (believing in just one God) that is centered in the life and in the teachings made by Jesus of Nazareth, which is presented in the Holy Bible’s New Testament. The Christian faith is essentially built on the faith in Jesus as the only Christ, the Son of God, and the Savior and Lord.
Of the two billion Christians all over the world, about half are members of the Roman Catholic Church, which is led by the Pope. The other half are either members of the Eastern Orthodox Church or of the other Protestant sects. Throughout history, the Christian Church has suffered numerous schisms, the most significant being the East-West Schism in 1054 and the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century.
Christianity actually started out as a Jewish sect. It has been the largest religion in the world for about 1600 years, from the moment that Emperor Theodosius I declared Christianity as the Roman Empire’s official religion. That was back in 380 AD. It ended the hundreds of years that Roman mythology was considered as the state religion. Before that declaration, the largest religion in the world would probably be Hinduism, a religion that is so old that its origins have been poorly understood. During the 980s, Christianity again received a major boost when Vladimir the Great was baptized as a Christian, spreading Christianity throughout Russia.
The adherents of Christians increased even more during the 15th to 16th centuries, when hundreds of missionaries, particularly the Spanish and Portuguese, spread the religion throughout the other continents such as Asia, Africa and the Americas. Presently, South America continues to be the continent with the highest percentage of Christians, with 90 percent of its inhabitants saying that they belong to the Christian faith, almost entirely to the Roman Catholic Church.
Over the past couple of years, although Christianity remains to be the largest religion in the world, there has been a consistent decline in the more industrialized regions such as Europe and the US, while increasing its influence and adherents in the developing regions such as Asia, Africa and South America.
Today, Christianity is still faced with a lot of challenges but remains strong, with the number of adherents growing steadily each year. Especially with the economic crisis today, people seem to be turning to religion, faith and prayer to help them in their difficulties. In a way, this could be considered as beneficial in that they are able to strengthen their beliefs while trying to act on their problems as well. There are many other ways in order to strengthen our religion, whether it is Christianity or not. Try searching online for more information on the different religions to have a better understanding of the religion and spirituality of people from all over the globe. With the internet being the most powerful tool today, you can almost do anything online, including shopping for products such as advantageous sunglasses and Yves Saint Laurent sunglasses.