Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Christianity and Islam are the two largest religions in the world, with approximately 2.3 billion and 1.8 billion adherents, respectively. [1] Both religions are Abrahamic and monotheistic , having originated in the Middle East .
This is an overview of religion by country or territory in 2010 according to a 2012 Pew Research Center report. [1] The article Religious information by country gives information from The World Factbook of the CIA and the U.S. Department of State .
Christian influences in Islam can be traced back to Eastern Christianity, which surrounded the origins of Islam. [1] Islam, emerging in the context of the Middle East that was largely Christian, was first seen as a Christological heresy known as the "heresy of the Ishmaelites", described as such in Concerning Heresy by Saint John of Damascus, a Syriac scholar.
The term Abrahamic religions (and its variations) is a collective religious descriptor for elements shared by Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. [4] It features prominently in interfaith dialogue and political discourse but also has entered academic discourse.
For approximately a millennium, the Abrahamic religions have been predominant throughout all of the Middle East. [1] [2] [3] The Abrahamic tradition itself and the three best-known Abrahamic religions originate from the Middle East: Judaism and Christianity emerged in the Levant in the 6th century BCE and the 1st century CE, respectively, while Islam emerged in Arabia in the 7th century CE.
Christianity is the predominant religion and faith in Europe, the Americas, the Philippines, East Timor, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Oceania. [11] There are also large Christian communities in other parts of the world, such as Indonesia, Central Asia, the Middle East, and West Africa where Christianity is the second-largest religion after Islam.
The list of religious populations article provides a comprehensive overview of the distribution and size of religious groups around the world. This article aims to present statistical information on the number of adherents to various religions, including major faiths such as Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and others, as well as smaller religious communities.
Changes in worldwide Christianity over the last century have been significant, since 1900, Christianity has spread rapidly in the Global South and Third World countries. [63] The late 20th century has shown the shift of Christian adherence to the Third World and the Southern Hemisphere in general, [ 64 ] by 2010 about 157 countries and ...