How Christianity Became the World's Most Popular Religion

Early Foundations and Roman Empire Growth

• 💡 Christianity originated with Jesus Christ in Roman Judea, with his death by crucifixion around 30 AD widely accepted as historical fact.
• 🚀 The apostles and Paul were crucial for early spread, with Paul winning converts across the Mediterranean and establishing communities.
• 👑 Despite initial persecution where emperors were considered divine, Emperor Constantine legalized Christianity with the Edict of Milan in 313 AD.
• 📜 The Council of Nicaea in 325 AD, attended by 300 bishops, established the Nicene Creed and demonstrated early growth and organization.

Becoming a State Religion and European Expansion

• 🌍 In 380 AD, Emperor Theodosius defined Orthodox Christian belief, paving the way for Christianity to become the Roman Empire's state religion.
• ⚔️ "Barbarian" tribes like Visigoths and Ostrogoths converted, even if initially to Arianism, as Christianity spread through Western Europe despite the fall of the Western Roman Empire.
• 🗺️ Key missionaries like St. Patrick in Ireland, Clovis in Gaul, and St. Augustine in Britain facilitated the conversion of entire realms by converting influential rulers.
• 👑 Charlemagne extended his rule and converted new subjects to Christianity, often by force, and was crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 800 AD.

Global Expansion and Major Divisions

• 💔 The Great Schism of 1054 divided Christianity into the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church due to tensions between Constantinople and Rome.
• 🌎 The Age of Discovery saw Western European powers carry Christianity to new lands, with Christopher Columbus reaching the Americas in 1492, leading to widespread colonization and conversion.
• ✝️ In the Americas, Spanish and Portuguese expeditions imposed Roman Catholicism, often through forced conversion of indigenous peoples and attempts to eradicate native religions.
• 💥 The Protestant Reformation, launched by Martin Luther in 1517, challenged the Roman Catholic Church and led to the rise of various Protestant sects across Northern Europe.

Modern Missions and Resilience

• 🌊 European imperialism and missionary work spread Christianity to Australia, Polynesia, New Zealand, and India, with figures like William Carey translating the Bible into Indian languages.
• 🌍 Missionaries like David Livingston in Africa and Adoniram Judson in Burma embarked on long, dangerous journeys, contributing to the "Scramble for Africa" which brought Christianity to 90% of the continent by 1914.
• 🇨🇳 Despite initial resistance and the Boxer Rebellion, extensive missionary work in China led to millions of converts by 1945.
• 💪 Christianity proved resilient against communist governments in the 20th century, re-emerging with popular support and continuing to grow even in tightly regulated states like China.