Christian Religion

Christianity is the most popular religion in the world with well over 1 billion followers. It is also the largest religion in Britain, with around 30 million people regarding themselves as nominally Christian; about 6 million of these are actively committed to the faith. Christians are people who believe that Jesus Christ, who lived in the Holy Land 2,000 years ago, was the Son of God, and who follow his teachings and those of the Christian churches that grew up after his death.

This history of Christianity is focussed on the life, death and resurrection of one person, Jesus Christ.

History
Background to life and death of Jesus Christ The story of his birth to a virgin, Mary in a stable in Bethlehem is told in the writings of Matthew and Luke in the New Testament. His birth is believed by Christians to be the fulfilment of prophecies in the Jewish Old Testament which claimed that the Messiah would deliver the Jewish people from captivity.

After the story of his birth, little is known about Jesus until he began his ministry at the age of about 30. He then spent three years wandering about as a teacher, healer and miracle worker.He taught in parables - everyday stories which had divine message for those who would hear it. He had twelve disciples whom he called to follow him and help him in his work. Because of this, he upset the religious authorities in Palestine and was handed over to the Roman authorities as a revolutionary.He was tried for heresy, condemned and put to death by means of crucifixion.

Resurrection
On the Sunday following his execution, some of his women disciples discovered that the tomb into which his body had been placed was empty. And Jesus then appeared to them, alive, as the Jesus they had known prior to his death. These accounts of his resurrection appearances put about by his believers, demonstrated to them that he had overcome death. He was seen by many of his disciples and followers over the next few days before, according to the Gospel accounts, he was taken up into heaven.

Customs

• Rites of Passage
  Like all faiths, Christianity has a strong set of traditions that mark the believer's road past life's milestones.
• Baptism
  In those Christian communities that practice infant baptism, this is the first rite of life. During this ritual the minister sprinkles water onto the baby's head and says "I baptise you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Since the baby is too young to understand what is happening, vows are made on the child's behalf by the Godparents. The baby is also given its Christian names during this ceremony, which is also called christening.
• Adult Baptism
  Some churches, such as the Baptists, think it is wrong to baptise a person until the person is able to come to a full understanding and belief in the Christian faith.These churches only baptise adults in what is called a "believer's baptism". Such churches usually baptise by totally immersing the person in water, as a symbol of them dying and being born again into the Christian faith. Such churches will often have a small but deep pool at the front of the church especially for this ceremony. The pool is concealed by a false floor during normal services.
• Confirmation
  This service enables those who were baptised as babies to become full adult members of their church. Before a person can be confirmed they have to undergo a period of study and preparation with their church minister. The act of confirmation is performed by a Bishop.

Worship

• Church Service
  Christian worship involves praising God in music and speech, readings from scripture, prayers of various sorts, a "sermon", and various holy ceremonies such as the Eucharist. While worship is often thought of only as services in which Christians come together in a group, individual Christians can worship God on their own, and in any place.

Origins

• Christian worship grew out of Jewish worship
  Jesus Christ was a religious Jew who attended the synagogue, and celebrated Jewish festivals, and his disciples were familiar with Jewish ritual and tradition.The first obvious divergence from Judaism was making Sunday the holy day instead of Saturday. By doing this the day of Christian worship is the same as the day that Jesus rose from the dead. Jesus's promise to stay with his followers, fulfilled in the sending of the Holy Spirit, illuminated the development of Christian worship from early times.
• God is present
  So Christians regard worship as something that they don't only do for God, but that God, through Jesus's example and the presence of the Holy Spirit is also at work in. The Eucharist and the Word Church services on a Sunday divide into two general types: Eucharistic services and services of the Word. Both types of service will include hymns, readings and prayers.
  
  The Eucharistic service will be focussed on the act of Holy Communion. The service of the Word will not have this rite, but will include a much longer sermon, in which the preacher will speak at length to expound a biblical text, and bring out its relevance to those present.
• Style
  Different churches, even within the same denomination, will use very different styles of worship. Some will be elaborate, with a choir singing difficult music, others will hand the music over to the congregation, who sing simpler hymns or worship songs. Some churches leave much of the action to the minister, while others encourage great congregational participation. (Of course all churches encourage the full participation of the congregation in praising God with heart, mind, and soul, but some churches give the congregation more physical participation.)

Holy Days

• The Christian Year
  The Church year is divided up by various festivals and seasons. Some, like Christmas Day, happen on the same date every year, while others move around within a range of dates. The main festival that moves is Easter, and since many other festivals have their dates fixed in relation to Easter, they move with it.