Christian facts for kids

Set of pictures for a number of famous Christians from various fields

A Christian is a person who follows Christianity. This is a religion where people believe in one God. Christianity is mostly about the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. These teachings are found in the New Testament part of the Holy Bible. Some of these ideas were also predicted in the Hebrew Bible (also called the Old Testament). Christianity is the world's largest religion. It has over 2.1 billion followers around the globe.

What Do Christians Believe?

Christians consider the Holy Bible to be a very special book. They believe it was inspired by God. The Holy Bible is made up of two main parts. One part is the Hebrew Bible, also known as the Torah. The other part is a collection of writings called the New Testament.

Christians have different ideas about how important each part of the Bible is. Some Christian groups focus more on the New Testament. Others believe that both the Old and New Testaments are equally important.

In some Christian groups, like Fundamentalism and Evangelicalism, a person can become a "born-again Christian." This means they experience a "spiritual rebirth" in their faith.

Where Do Christians Live?

Today, Christians live all over the world. About 37% of all Christians live in the Americas. Around 26% live in Europe. About 24% live in sub-Saharan Africa. Around 13% live in Asia and the Pacific. Only about 1% live in the Middle East and North Africa.

About half of all Christians worldwide are Catholic. More than a third are Protestant (37%). Orthodox Christians make up 12% of the world's Christians. Other Christian groups make up the rest. Christians are the main population in 158 countries and territories. However, 280 million Christians live as a minority group.

Related pages

• Christianity
• Religion
• Salvation

Images for kids

• 

  The Church of Saint Peter near Antioch (modern-day Antakya). This is the city where the disciples were first called "Christians."

• 

  chrestianos, the first mention of Christians in Tacitus' Annals. This is an 11th-century copy.

• 

  The Latin cross and Ichthys symbols. These are two symbols often used by Christians to represent their religion.

• 

  Nazareth is known as the childhood home of Jesus. Many languages use the word "Nazarene" to describe people of Christian faith.

• 

  Japanese Christians ("Kurisuchan") wearing Portuguese costumes, from the 16th–17th century.

See also

In Spanish: Cristianismo para niños