What is Christianity?

The core in one paragraph

Christians believe there is one God who made everything and who has made himself known — first through the history of Israel recorded in the Old Testament, and decisively in Jesus. They believe Jesus was fully human and fully divine, that his death dealt with human sin, and that his resurrection on the third day is the turning point of history. Christians follow him by trusting him, joining his community (the Church), and trying to live by his teaching, above all love of God and neighbour.

Where it came from

Christianity began in first-century Judea among Jewish followers of Jesus, who was crucified under the Roman governor Pontius Pilate around AD 30. Within a few decades communities of believers existed across the eastern Mediterranean. The name itself is recorded in the book of Acts: "the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch" (Acts 11:26, KJV). In the fourth century the faith moved from persecuted minority to the official religion of the Roman Empire, and the great creeds were written to define its central claims.

What almost every Christian shares

• One God in three persons — Father, Son and Holy Spirit (the Trinity).
• Jesus as Lord — his incarnation, death, bodily resurrection and expected return.
• Scripture — the Bible as inspired and authoritative (though traditions disagree about how it is interpreted and which books belong in it).
• Grace — salvation as God's gift, not something earned.
• Baptism and the Lord's Supper as practices Jesus commanded.
• Love — the double command to love God and neighbour as the summary of the law.

These are essentially the claims of the Nicene Creed, which Catholic, Orthodox and many Protestant churches still recite. Our guide What Christians actually agree on goes through them one by one.

Why there are so many kinds of Christianity

Two large splits shaped the map. In 1054 the Latin West and Greek East separated (the Great Schism), largely over the authority of the Bishop of Rome. In the sixteenth century the Reformation divided Western Christianity again, producing the Lutheran, Reformed, Anglican and Anabaptist traditions, from which Baptist, Methodist, Pentecostal and many other churches later grew. The differences are real — but they are differences inside a shared story, not separate religions.

In Scripture

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.John 3:16 · KJV

For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:1 Corinthians 15:3–4 · KJV

Where the traditions differ

Each position is attributed to the tradition that holds it; we do not rank them. See the full comparison.

Context