Kristni er eingyðistrú af abrahamískum stofni. Upphafsmaður trúarbragðanna og sá sem þau eru kennd við var Jesú frá Nasaret sem meðal kristinna manna er kallaður Jesús Kristur. Kristni er stærstu trúarbrögð heims, með um 2,5 milljarða fylgjenda.[1] Kristnir eru í meirihluta í 157 löndum heims.[2] Kristnir trúa því að Jesús hafi verið sá messías sem Hebreska biblían (sem þeir kalla Gamla testamentið) boðar að muni koma. Flestir kristnir söfnuðir trúa því að hann hafi verið sonur guðs og risið upp frá dauðum, svo að þeir sem á hann trúi öðlist eilíft líf. Sagt er frá lífi hans og boðskap í Nýja testamentinu, sem er síðari hluti Biblíunnar, trúarrits kristinna manna.[3]
Fjórar stærstu greinar kristni eru rómversk-kaþólsk trú (1,3 milljarðar/50,1%), mótmælendatrú (920 milljónir/36,7%), rétttrúnaðarkirkjan (230 milljónir) og kirkjur austræna réttrúnaðarins (62 milljónir). Rétttrúnaðarkirkjur eru samanlagt 11,9% kristinna.[11][12] Þúsundir minni safnaða eru til, þrátt fyrir tilraunir til sameiningar.[13] Þótt aðild að kristnum söfnuðum hafi minnkað á Vesturlöndum er kristni enn ríkjandi trúarbrögð í heimshlutanum þar sem um 70% telja sig kristna.[14] Auk þess fer fjöldi kristinna vaxandi í Asíu og Afríku.[15] Kristnir menn sæta ofsóknum sum staðar í heiminum, einkum í Mið-Austurlöndum, Norður-Afríku, Suður-Asíu og Austur-Asíu.[16][17]
↑Religions in Global Society. p. 146, Peter Beyer, 2006
↑Cambridge University Historical Series, An Essay on Western Civilization in Its Economic Aspects, p. 40: Hebraism, like Hellenism, has been an all-important factor in the development of Western Civilization; Judaism, as the precursor of Christianity, has indirectly had had much to do with shaping the ideals and morality of western nations since the christian era.
↑Caltron J.H Hayas, Christianity and Western Civilization (1953), Stanford University Press, p. 2: "That certain distinctive features of our Western civilization—the civilization of western Europe and of America—have been shaped chiefly by Judaeo – Graeco – Christianity, Catholic and Protestant."
↑Fred Reinhard Dallmayr, Dialogue Among Civilizations: Some Exemplary Voices (2004), p. 22: Western civilization is also sometimes described as "Christian" or "Judaeo- Christian" civilization.
↑Muslim-Christian Relations. Amsterdam University Press. 2006. ISBN978-90-5356-938-2. Sótt 18. október 2007. „The enthusiasm for evangelization among the Christians was also accompanied by the awareness that the most immediate problem to solve was how to serve the huge number of new converts. Simatupang said, if the number of the Christians were double or triple, then the number of the ministers should also be doubled or tripled and the role of the laity should be maximized and Christian service to society through schools, universities, hospitals and orphanages, should be increased. In addition, for him the Christian mission should be involved in the struggle for justice amid the process of modernization.“
↑Fred Kammer (1. maí 2004). Doing Faith Justice. Paulist Press. bls. 77. ISBN978-0-8091-4227-9. Sótt 18. október 2007. „Theologians, bishops, and preachers urged the Christian community to be as compassionate as their God was, reiterating that creation was for all of humanity. They also accepted and developed the identification of Christ with the poor and the requisite Christian duty to the poor. Religious congregations and individual charismatic leaders promoted the development of a number of helping institutions-hospitals, hospices for pilgrims, orphanages, shelters for unwed mothers-that laid the foundation for the modern "large network of hospitals, orphanages and schools, to serve the poor and society at large."“
↑„Christian Traditions“. Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project. 19. desember 2011. „About half of all Christians worldwide are Catholic (50%), while more than a third are Protestant (37%). Orthodox communions comprise 12% of the world's Christians.“