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Bart D. Ehrman attributes the rapid spread of Christianity to five factors: (1) the promise of salvation and eternal life for everyone was an attractive alternative to Roman religions; (2) stories of miracles and healings purportedly showed that the one Christian God was more powerful than the many Roman gods; (3) Christianity began as a ...
Christianity arrived in Africa in the 1st century AD; as of 2024, a majority of Africans are Christians. [1] Several African Christians influenced the early development of Christianity and shaped its doctrines, including Tertullian, Perpetua, Felicity, Clement of Alexandria, Origen of Alexandria, Cyprian, Athanasius and Augustine of Hippo.
Religion has been a factor of the human experience throughout history, from pre-historic to modern times. The bulk of the human religious experience pre-dates written history , which is roughly 7,000 years old. [ 1 ]
The Catholic Church during the Age of Discovery inaugurated a major effort to spread Christianity in the New World and to convert the indigenous peoples of the Americas and other indigenous peoples. The evangelical effort was a major part of, and a justification for, the military conquests of European powers such as Portugal , Spain , and France .
In the Americas and other colonies in Asia and Africa, most missions were run by religious orders such as the Augustinians, Franciscans, Jesuits and Dominicans. In both Portugal and Spain , religion was an integral part of the state and Christianization was seen as having both secular and spiritual benefits.
However, the Islamic conquest in the 7th century resulted in a harsh decline for Christianity in Northern Africa. Yet, at least outside the Islamic majority parts of Northern Africa, the presence of the Catholic Church has grown in the modern era, in Africa as a whole, one of the reasons being the French colonization of several countries in ...
Indian religions, also called Dharmic religions are the oldest religions of Asia. All Indian religions originated in the Indian subcontinent. These religions all have the similar concepts like dharma, karma, and reincarnation, but the interpretation of these concepts varies with each religion. Vrah Viṣṇuloka, Hindu Temple, Cambodia
Christianity further spread eastward under the Parthian Empire, which displayed a high tolerance of religious matters. [7] According to tradition, Christian proselytism in Central Asia, starting with Mesopotamia and the Iranian plateau, was put under the responsibility of Saint Thomas the Apostle, and started in the first century AD. [8]