Category:Christianity: Difference between revisions

Category: Christianity — this category here on WikiIndex contains wiki sites wholly or partly focused on one or more of the Christian faiths. Fundamentally, Christianity is a major global religion, albeit culturally diverse, in which the belief is centred on a 'heavenly being', notably God. Specifically, Christianity believes in just 'one God', often called the 'heavenly father', and ultimate authority, which also the human incarnation of God sent to Earth a little over two millennia (2,000 years) ago known as Jesus Christ (also known as Jesus of Nazareth, and typically merely as Jesus). Certain branches of Christianity (though not all) believe that God is formed from a 'holy trinity' – namely 'God the father, God the son, and God the holy spirit'. Other branches of Christianity centre their belief on Jesus Christ being the most significant 'god', indeed, many believe in the 'second coming' of Jesus Christ here on Earth.

Christianity, in general, can be geographically defined, and therefore its basic beliefs aligned into western Christianity and eastern Christianity. Furthermore, throughout the ages, Christianity has sub-divided and branched into specific major sub-genres or creeds, and themselves forming further branches.

Catholicism

The largest, most populous and probably most widely known global major Christian faith is Catholicism, known colloquially as the Catholic Church. Catholicism is split into two broad creeds; the largest is western Catholicism, also known as the Latin Church, but known in common parlance as the Roman Catholic (RC) church – which is centred within Rome, the capital city of Italy, and is lead absolutely by its Pope, who is assisted (and ultimately elected by) his Cardinals. The second and lesser creed of Catholicism is eastern Catholicism, known as Oriental Catholic, or Eastern Rite Catholicism, which is primarily, though not exclusively centred in east Asia.

Protestantism

The second largest global major Christian faith is Protestant, which began in 16th-century Europe, as a result of the Protestant Reformation which arose due to various perceived abuses, errors, mistakes, and theological divergences from the then established Catholic Church. In 1517, Martin Luther, a German priest and former Augustinian friar, published an academic thesis for discussion about problems regarding the Catholic Church. This was subsequently described as a 'protestation', and forms the major tenets of Protestant Christianity. Significantly, Protestantism is more diverse than Catholicism. Lutheranism (named after the theological teachings of its founder, Martin Luther) is the earliest and largest branch; this spread from Germany, into surrounding countries including Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Latvia, Estonia, and Iceland. The second branch of Protestantism is the Calvinist churches, created by Protestant reformer John Calvin, and assisted by Huldrych Zwingli and John Knox; Calvinism also started in Germany, and spread into Hungary, the Netherlands, Scotland, Switzerland, and France. Anglicanism began in England, when King Henry VIII ordered the political separation of the Church of England from the Pope in Rome; thus bringing England and Wales into the broad Reformation movement of Protestantism, under the guidance and leadership of reformer Thomas Cranmer, the then Archbishop of Canterbury, whose work forged Anglican doctrine and identity known until today. Other main branches of Protestantism include Adventism, Anabaptism, Baptists, Methodism, and Pentecostalism; smaller branches include Moravians, Plymouth Brethren, Presbyterianism, and Quakers.

Orthodoxy

Finally, the remaining major Christian faith is Orthodox Christianity or Christian Orthodoxy. However, it it is important to recognise that Orthodoxy can also include non-Christian religious creeds; these may include Buddhism, Islam (Sunni Islam), and Judaism (Orthodox Judaism), along with some elements of Hinduism (Orthodox Hinduism).

Related categories

• Bible