Skip to main content

Christianity: The Largest Religion in the World

As you present facts about the Christian religion in the K-12 Public School classroom, it is important to remember that Christianity is not just a Western religion. In fact, its origins are anything but Western. Here are some dates and statistics about the spread and current reach of the largest religion in the world[1].

The first believers in the Christian message were Jews living in Jerusalem. Christianity spread to Europe by around 40 C.E. However, it took until the 1400’s for the Christian message to reach all of Europe. Today, around 562,000,000 Europeans say that they are Christians.

Christianity also began to spread in Asia by around 40 C.E. There have been Christians in India since 52 C.E. There have been Christians in China since 781 C.E. There have been Christians in Japan since 1549. Today, about 365,000,000 Asians say that they are Christians. Many Christians who live in Asia have been and, even today, are being persecuted, put in jail and even killed because of their faith.

Christianity reached Africa by around 50 C.E. There have been Ethiopian and Egyptian Christians since then. Christianity quickly spread across the northern coast of Africa. Today, some 510,000,000 Africans say that they are Christians.

Christianity arrived in South America by around 1520 when the first Spanish and Portuguese explorers and conquerors arrived. Catholic priests began to spread the Christian message to the first peoples of the continent.  Today, at least 556,000,000 Latin Americans say that they are Christians.

Christianity reached North America when Spanish explorers arrived in around 1530. The Spanish, French, English and Dutch colonists practiced the Christian message and spread it to the first peoples living across the continent. Today, around 228,000,000 North Americans say that they are Christians.

Christianity reached Australia and Oceana by 1788 when Australia began to be colonized by the British. Today, about 25,000,000 Australians and people from Oceana say that they are Christians.

One third of all the people who live in the world are Christians. So, how many Christians are there? In 2015 there were about 2,300,000,000 people who said they were Christians. More Iranians are converting to the Christian religion today than people from any other part of the world[2] . Almost half of the people who live in Kentucky say they are Christians[3].

By Lesley Barker PhD



[1]Pew Research Center. Global Christianity – A Report on the Size and Distribution of the World’s Christian Population. 2011. ONLINE at: https://www.pewforum.org/2011/12/19/global-christianity-exec/ ACCESSED 11/10/2020.

[2] Parke, Caleb. “Iran has world’s ‘fastest-growing church,’ despite no buildings - and it's mostly led by women: documentary”. Fox News Online. 2019. ONLINE at: https://www.foxnews.com/faith-values/worlds-fastest-growing-church-women-documentary-film. ACCESSED 11/10/2020.

[3] Association of Religious Data Archives. ONLINE at: https://www.thearda.com/ ACCESSED 11/10/2020

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Juneteenth on the Walking Trail

Are you looking for a way to celebrate Juneteenth in Kentucky? A visit to the Walking Trail at 616 Clintonville Road, Paris, KY 40361, can introduce you and your children to the contribution of African Americans in Kentucky.  June 19, 1865 was the day that General Gordon Granger issued General Order No. 3 which proclaimed the freedom of every enslaved person in the whole United States. It became known as Juneteenth and is now celebrated as a federal holiday. Granger is buried in Fernwood Cemetery in Henderson, Kentucky. General Gordon married Maria Letcher from Garrard County, Kentucky, so we can claim a Kentucky history connection to Juneteenth.  We celebrate the lives of 14 African Americans in the Eye-Spy Game on the Walking Trail. They are: Elisha Green, Effie Waller Smith, Peter Durrett, Emma C. Clement, James B. Johnson, Helen LaFrance, Albery A. Wilson, Nancy Green, Carl Brashear, Mary Britton, Rolla Blue, Martha Cross, Samuel Oldham, and Julia Chinn. Select a number. F...

First lessons about world religion for primary classes

Religion is lumped in with history, literature, languages and art as one of the humanities but we tend not to feel as comfortable teaching about religion as the other subjects. Teaching about religion does not promote any one particular faith. It introduces the fact that there are differences between people and their ideas and practices about God. Primary students can easily be introduced to the idea that there are different religions during social studies units about the community and its people. Different religions use different types of  buildings. Different religions can be identified by the way some adherents dress. When you are teaching about communities, say that people worship in different types of buildings. People who are Christians worship in churches or cathedrals. People who are Jewish worship in synagogues. People who are Muslim worship in mosques, and people who are Hindu or Buddhist worship in temples. Take pictures of any of these buildings in your school community...

George Frideric Handel- a Famous World Christian

On April 13, 1742 Handel's Messiah was performed for the first time. It happened in Dublin. This oratorio was criticized as blasphemous because it treated the life and teaching of Jesus Christ as theater. When it was performed at Westminster Abbey, however, the same work was called sacrilege because it was a theatrical work performed in a church. Sometimes you can't win. Handel eventually arranged to perform the Messiah as a fund-raiser for the London Foundling Hospital. This was well received and it became an annual event. The lyrics of the Messiah are lifted straight from the King James Bible .  Handel was born in Germany in 1685. In 1727, he became a naturalized British citizen. That same year he accepted a commission to compose a coronation anthem for King George II. Again Handel took inspiration from the Bible - this time from the coronation of Solomon. Nathan the prophet and Zadok the high priest officiated at Solomon's coronation. Hence Handel called his anthem Za...