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Christianity has been intricately intertwined with the history and formation of Western society.Throughout its long history, the Church has been a major source of social services like schooling and medical care; an inspiration for art, culture and philosophy; and an influential player in politics and religion.
Vatican City and St. Peter's Basilica.. Christianity played a prominent role in the development of Western civilization, in particular, the Catholic Church and Protestantism. [5] [50] Western culture, throughout most of its history, has been nearly equivalent to Christian culture, and much of the population of the Western hemisphere could broadly be described as cultural Christians.
According to Pew Research Center "most Christians in Western Europe today are non-practicing, but Christian identity still remains a meaningful religious, social and cultural marker", [29] where 55% of Western Europeans identified themselves as non-practicing Christians, and 18% identified themselves as church-attending Christians. [30]
Christianity by country. Christianity is a religion open to all humanity [5] that counts one out of every three people on earth among its members. [5] The Christian world encompasses a greater area of land than that of any other religious territory. [8] In terms of both population and geography, Christianity is the world's largest religion. [9]
The Druze faith shows influence of Christian monasticism, among other religious practices. [36] [33] Some scholars suggest that early Christian Gnostic beliefs might have influenced Druze theology, particularly in concepts of divine knowledge and reincarnation. [33]
Christian architecture encompasses a wide range of both secular and religious styles from the foundation of Christianity to the present day, influencing the design and construction of buildings and structures in Christian culture.
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 first state to recognize Christianity as its official religion was the Kingdom of Armenia in 301. [1] Christianity gained prominence in Roman politics during the reign of Constantine the Great, who favored Christianity and legalized its practice in the empire in 313. [2] Christians were also appointed to government positions at this time. [3]