Christianity

Christianity is a monotheistic^[1] religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as depicted in the New Testament.^[2] Christians believe Jesus is the Son of God and the Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament, and that the New Testament records the Gospel that was revealed by Jesus. With an estimated 2.1 billion adherents, or approximately 33% of the world's population in 2007,^[3] Christianity is the world's largest religion. It is the predominant religion in Europe, the Americas, Southern Africa, the Philippines and Oceania.^[4] It is also growing rapidly in Africa and Asia, particularly in China, South Korea and the Middle East.^[5] It is shrinking in other countries including Australia.

Christianity began as an offshoot of Judaism,^[6] and includes the Hebrew Bible (known to Christians as the Old Testament) as well as the New Testament as its canonical scriptures.^[7] Like Judaism and Islam, Christianity is classified as an Abrahamic religion (see also, Judeo-Christian).^[8][9]

The name "Christian" (Greek Χριστιανός Strong's G5546), meaning "belonging to Christ" or "partisan of Christ",^[10] was first applied to the disciples in Antioch, as recorded in Acts 11:26.^[11] The earliest recorded use of the term "Christianity" (Greek Χριστιανισμός) is by Ignatius of Antioch.^[12]