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Christianity, which originated in the Middle East during the 1st century AD, [26] is a significant minority religion within the region, characterized by the diversity of its beliefs and traditions, compared to Christianity in other parts of the Old World.
Key schisms in Middle Eastern Christian denominations. The issue of self-identification arises regarding specific Christian communities across the Arab world. A significant proportion of Maronites claim descent from the Phoenicians, whilst a significant proportion of Copts claim that they descend from the Ancient Egyptians. [214] [215]
Christianity in the Middle East is characterized by its diverse beliefs and traditions, compared to Christianity in other parts of the Old World. In 2010, Christians were estimated to make up 5% of the total Middle Eastern population, down from 20% in the early 20th century. [1] This was before the devastating civil wars in Syria and Iraq.
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.
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.
Christianity has been, historically, a Middle Eastern religion with its origin in Judaism. Eastern Christianity refers collectively to the Christian traditions and churches which developed in the Middle East, Egypt, Asia Minor, the Far East, Balkans, Eastern Europe, Northeastern Africa and southern India over several centuries of religious antiquity.
The Christian community in Israel is the one of the few growing Christian populations in the Middle East. [ 9 ] [ 10 ] Israeli Arab Christians generally have higher educational achievements and enjoy higher incomes.
There are also large Christian communities in other parts of the world, such as Central Asia, the Middle East and North Africa, East Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Indian subcontinent. [1] In Asia, it is the dominant religion in Armenia, Cyprus, Georgia, East Timor, and the Philippines. [ 306 ]