Christianity: introduction and definitions

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Who is a Christian? A simple question
with many answers and no consensus.

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Quotations:

"Any phenomenon as complex and as vital as Christianity is easier to describe historically than to define logically." From Encarta's definition of "Christianity." 1

"What is a Christian, anyway? Someone of European descent? A persecutor of Jews? Someone who votes for only the most conservative Republicans? At times all of these answers have seemed plausible. Some use these definitions to this day. In Christian circles the answers are no clearer. A Christian is sometimes said to be someone who has made a decision; sometimes, someone who belongs to a church; far too often, someone who confesses the right creeds." Mark M. Mattison 2

Important note:

This section acts as a bit of a lightning rod. It seems to attract Christians who strongly disagree with what it says.

We get many Emails from angry Christians who denounce it.

Rather than send us an Email, please read what others have written us and our answers. It might save you the trouble of writing an Email to us.

Overview:

One of the more interesting, and frustrating, features of religion is the variety of meanings given to common words and terms. Many religious words have multiple -- often mutually exclusive -- meanings. For example:

	We have found 9 meanings for the term "cult:" one positive, four neutral, three negative and one very negative.
	We have found 17 meanings for the term "witch" - mostly unrelated to each other; mostly negative.

There are also many distinct definitions of the term "Christian" (pronounced 'kristee`©n). Four examples are:

	Most liberal Christian denominations, secularists, public opinion pollsters, and this web site define "Christian" very broadly as any person or group who sincerely believes themselves to be Christian. Thus, Fundamentalist and other Evangelical Protestants, Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox believers, Presbyterians, Methodists, Episcopalians, United Church members, Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, Christian Scientists, etc. are all considered Christian. Using this definition, Christians total about 75% of the North American adult population.
	However, many Fundamentalist and other Evangelical Protestants define "Christian" more narrowly to include only those persons who have been "born again" regardless of their denomination. About 35% of the North American adult population identify themselves in this way.
	Some Protestant Christian denominations, para-church groups, and individuals have assembled their own lists of cardinal Christian doctrines. Many would regard anyone who denies even one of their cardinal doctrines to be a non-Christian. Unfortunately, there is a wide diversity of belief concerning which historical Christian beliefs are cardinal.
	Other denominations regard their own members to be the only true Christians in the world. Some are quite small, numbering only a few thousand followers.

Different definitions on such a fundamental topic makes dialog and debate among Christian groups very difficult. It also makes estimating the number of Christians in the U.S. quite impossible. By some definitions, 75% of Americans are Christians; by other definitions, it is a small fraction of 1%.

Yet, from the negative Emails that we receive on this topic, there are many Christians out there who hold with fierce determination to their own definition of "Christian" as the only valid one. We wrote a special essay to address their concerns

Topics in this section about "who is a Christian?:"

	The scope of the problem
	Definitions according to Various faith groups   The Apostles' Creed, one philosopher, dictionaries, and Google   The earliest Christians, secular sources, and this website
	Which definition is correct?   Which one is used on this web site?
	How we define "Christian." Emails from people who disagree   More Emails from people who disagree

Closely related essay on this web site:

Lists of the cardinal beliefs of Christianity.

References:

1. The Encarta Encyclopedia is online at: http://encarta.msn.com/
2. Mark M. Mattison, "What is a Christian," True Grace Ministries, at: http://www.auburn.edu/
3. We were invited to exchange links with Jesus Christ Saves Ministries (JCSM).

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Copyright © 2000 to 2008 by Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance.
Originally written: 2000-MAR-19
Latest update: 2008-JUN-17
Author: B.A. Robinson

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