The Spread Of Christianity In Africa And Latin America

Christianity is currently the largest practiced religion in the world with 2.4 billion followers worldwide. The religion started in Palestine about 2000 years ago, which was seen as the Promise Land by the Jews. The area was under rule by the Roman Empire when Jesus the Nazareth was born and Judaism was the religion that was being practiced in the area. The Jews disliked being ruled by the Roman Empire because the Romans oppressed them. As a result of the area being heavily influenced by Judaism, Jesus and the apostles were originally Jews, however at the age of 30 he was baptized. After being baptized he began teaching, miracle working and healing as well as talking to people about Christianity. He traveled between different villages and taught in various …show more content…
The New Testament states how Christianity started and the history of how it spread. There are three major branches of Christianity – Catholic Communion, the Orthodox Christian Churches and Protestant movements. However, there are hundreds of different churches today and Christianity is growing rapidly in Africa and Latin America. It is still the dominant religion in Europe and North America today and surveys indicate that 83% of Americans identify themselves as Christians. Some argue that Anglicanism is also considered a major branch of Christianity as the movement has been growing greatly. Independent churches are also appearing in mostly Latin America. The practices of Christianity usually include Sunday worship service, participation in rites (baptism, communion, etc.) and Bible study. The Holy Bible is the holy text of Christianity and contains a collection of teachings and worships. The worship service includes singing, sermons and prayers. Many Christians have been baptized as either infants or adults and participate in communion, which is considered a sacrament. There are several Christian holidays – the most important being Easter, which is the celebration of Christ’s