57 Amazing Facts About Christianity [Definitive List]
Last Updated: 15 December 2019
Christianity is the religion that shaped cultures & heritages, art & literature, laws & policies, thoughts of many, and entire nations.
Many wars have been waged and atrocities committed in the name of Christ, but at the other hand, the social and economic well-being of billions have been positively impacted by Christianity through education, healthcare, science and technology.
This religion was founded thousands of years ago by one man, Jesus, whose sole objective is to transform the way of living of people so that they could obtain eternal life without suffering.
Its theological tenets are so deep engraved into society that most people living today are being influenced in one way or another by its emergence and adoption.
Welcome to our unique collection of facts about Christianity.
The figures and facts about Christianity are endless. Therefore, our collection is not exhaustive.
What you’ll mostly find is the little-known, weird, interesting and remarkable facts about Christianity.
This collection of facts about Christianity is colossal. To make navigation easier, we’ve broken it down into several sections. You can click the links below to navigate to a particular section or if you got the time scroll down and read everything.
Chapter 1
Facts About Christianity
General Statistics
1. Christianity is at the moment the largest religion in the world
According to the Pew Research Center, in 2015, 31% of the world’s population is Christian. It means that about 2.3 billion people around the world identify themselves as Christians (G1).
2. United States of America is the country with most Christians
With nearly 225 million Christians or about 70% of the population, the United States remains the nation with the most Christians. They are followed by Brazil and Mexico in South America, Nigeria, Russia, Philippines, Congo, Ethiopia, Italy and Germany (G2, G3).
3. Most people are born into a Christian family
Researchers discovered that between 2010 and 2015, about 223 million “Christian” babies were born.
It should be noted, however, that not everyone is likely to remain faithful to their Christian faith leaving their parents’ home, which is quite common around the world (G4).
4. A Christian woman will give birth to approximately 3 children
The real fertility rate is 2.6 children per woman, the second highest. Muslim women have the highest, an average of 2.9 children per women (G5).
5. Muslims are expected to outnumber Christians in the near future
According to a Pew Research Center projection, babies born to Muslim mothers will outnumber Christian babies by 2035.
As a result, by the end of this century, Muslims will become the world’s largest religious group with the youngest population and the highest fertility (G6).
6. The average age of Christians worldwide is 30 years
This number is similar to the global average age. The Muslim population in general is much younger, with an average age of 23 (G7, G8).
7. There are more Christian deaths than Christian births
Between 2010-2015, researchers found that more Christians are dying than being born in 24 of 42 countries.
This is much more common in Europe and is expected to continue to grow until 2060. For the time being, this trend deficit is not evident in North America, but is expected to be so in 2050 (G9).
8. Jews and Christians have a higher education than any other religious group in the world
On average, the number of years of formal education for Jews and Christians is 13.4 and 9.3 years respectively.
Muslims and Hindus are the two main religious groups with the lowest formal education, with an average of 5.6 years for both religions.
The world average is 7.7 years (G10).
9. Christian men are more educated than Christian women
Based on survey data collected from 151 countries, Pew Researchers found that there is an educational gap, albeit small, of 0.4 years between Christian men and women. Men have an average of 9.5 years of formal schooling, while women have approximately 9.1 years.
Jews are the only religious group in which there is no disparity between men and women. In the Hindu population, the gender gap is greater (Men: 6.9 years – Women: 4.2 years). The global average is 8.3 years for men and 7.2 years for women (G11).
10. Most people in Western Europe identify themselves as Christians
However, most of those Christians do not go to church, do not pray regularly and are not confident in their belief in God.
According to a Pew Survey in 15 Western European countries, only 31% of Christians attend a service monthly, only 18% pray daily, and a measly 23% truly believe in God (G12). These numbers are 64%, 68% and 76% respectively compared to the US (G13).
11. There are fewer Christians and more Muslims and atheists in Western Europe than ever before
Although the Christian population is growing worldwide (G14), there is a drop in European Christians, and this decline can be explained by three factors:
- The number of Christian deaths in Europe is higher than the number of births (G15);
- An ever-increasing number of people in Europe no longer believe in God;
- The growing Muslim population living in Europe. Despite what is believed, the Muslim migration to Europe is not the main cause of this growth (G16). The Muslim population is expanding (G17) because their women are younger and more fertile than Western women (on average, one more child per woman).
12. The majority of Americans still believe in the God that the Bible depicts
Surveying 4700 American adults, Pew researchers found that while 56% of Americans believe, without a doubt, in the Christian God, 34% have faith in some higher power and 10% do not believe at all (G18).
13. Highly educated people in North America are less likely to believe in the Biblical God
A measly 45% of American college graduates believe in God. Most people who do believe are Americans with a high school education or less (G19).
14. Democrats in the United States are significantly less likely to embrace the God of the Bible
According to researchers, in comparison to 70% of Republicans, only 45% believe (G20).
Note: African Americans and Hispanics affiliated with the Democratic Party are more likely to believe in the Biblical God, and they resemble most Republicans with respect to church attendance, prayer and views on abortion (G21).
15. One Christian is being killed for his faith every 6 minutes
Thousands of Christians are being murdered around the world, according to a report by the Center for Studies on New Religions (G22). A development that makes Christians the most persecuted religious group in the world.
A second report from the University of Notre Dame (G23) indicates that the offenders include Muslims, communists, religious nationalists, secular regimes and violent religious extremists. Evangelical and Protestant Christians are among the most persecuted (G24).
The 5 countries with the most violent and extreme persecution of Christians are: North Korea, Afghanistan, Somalia, Sudan and Pakistan. Interestingly, in John 15:20 Jesus told His followers that they would be persecuted, just as He Himself has been persecuted for His teachings.
16. Christians are more susceptible to harassment in Christian-majority countries
The following are some examples of a Pew report in 2015 (G25, G26):
- In Nicaragua, the government monitors personal conversations and grants aid to churches based on their political affiliation.
- In Eritrea, the majority of religious prisoners are Protestants and Evangelical Christians.
- In Egypt, people who converted from Islam to Christianity have been slaughtered.
17. An estimated 2.2 billion people in the world had never heard the Gospel of Jesus before
Center for the Study of Global Christianity revealed in a report that, as of mid-2018, the un-evangelized population is roughly 28.3 percent of the total world’s population, which amounts to 2.152.804.000 people (G27 pdf).
Chapter 2
Facts About Christianity
The Founder
18. Jesus Christ of Nazareth is the founder and central figure of Christianity
Every single aspect of Christianity is influenced by the life and teachings of Jesus. Christians believe that Jesus is God incarnate and that only through Him can people be saved and have a place in Heaven. Therefore, all Christian beliefs, practices and activities encompass something concerning Jesus.
Here are some examples:
The central theme of the Bible is Jesus. Even the most favorite Bible verse among Christians speaks of Jesus (John 3:16). In certain denominations, such as evangelicals and Pentecostals, you should always finish a prayer: “In the name of Jesus, Amen. Praise and worship in the Church are usually directed to Jesus, if not to God the Father or the Holy Spirit.
19. Christ is not the last name of Jesus, but a title
Christ comes from the Greek word Χριστός, Christós, which means “the anointed one” (J1, J2). In biblical times, an anointed person was considered someone who has a special calling from God on his or her life (J3, J4, J5).
For Christians, Jesus is the expected messiah who has been called to deliver humanity from sin. Therefore, the title Christ. This title is written in the Bible – see Luke 4:16-22, Acts 10:38 – and is widely used today by Christians and unbelievers alike.
20. A virgin who gets pregnant and gives birth is no longer a myth
According to the Bible, Jesus was conceived without a man and was born of the Virgin Mary, the so-called Immaculate Conception (J6, J7). In a sense, this is still considered a miracle, as there were no sexual intercourse and no human sperm involved.
However, thanks to current medical and technological advances, a woman can be artificially inseminated, become pregnant and give birth and technically remain a virgin. So, in one way or another, science has shown that this particular Christian belief is not crazy at all.
Some would argue, yes, but human sperm is still missing from the picture. Yeah, that’s right. However, this is not a major issue either because there is a whole group of animals that do not need males to reproduce. It’s a process called parthenogenesis (J8, J9) or humorously known as fatherless pregnancy. It commonly occurs in insects, snails, lizards, sharks, whales and birds among others.
21. There are several extra-biblical proofs of Jesus’ existence
For a long time, most theological scholars, drawing their conclusions from the Bible, agreed that a certain man named Jesus Christ of Nazareth existed in biblical times. In recent years, there have been several physical evidences beyond the Bible that may indicate that Jesus walked this earth.
Well-known evidences are: the discovery of the nails of the cross of Jesus (J10), the Shroud of Turin (J11), the Dead Sea Scrolls (J12) and the Tomb of Jesus (J13).
Some other non-Biblical evidences come from prominent figures in those days who wrote directly about Jesus as a real person: The Roman historian Tacitus and the Jewish priest Josephus (J14).
22. Jesus was not born on December 25 AD 1
Despite what is popular belief, no one knows exactly the day, month or year of Jesus’ birth. Even the Bible is peculiarly silent on this subject. Obviously, it’s almost impossible to know the exact day and time. But theologians and historians have made an effort to estimate both the month and the year of Jesus’ birth.
The main consensus among theologians is that Jesus was probably born in the spring, perhaps in April. This is based on the biblical evidence in Luke 2:7-8 which says that there were shepherds living in the field tending their flocks when Jesus was born. Therefore, there is little chance that the shepherds would be outside in the cold of winter guarding their sheep.
As for the year, we can make an estimate by counting backwards from the year he began his ministry, which was A.D. 27-29. Jesus was about 30 years old when he began his ministry, so the year of his birth would have been between 6 and 4 B.C. So, there you have it. A more exact date of Jesus’ birth would be April 4 B.C. (J15, J16).
So why is Christmas December 25th? Most historians postulate that this particular date was chosen by the Church to weaken the effect of the pagan winter celebrations and to give pagan converts an alternative holiday (J17, J18).
23. Jesus wasn’t a handsome white male with long hair and blue eyes as portrayed in Western movies, art and literature
No one knows exactly what he looked like. Its appearance was never described in detail, but the Bible gives us some clues.
Was Jesus handsome? Nope. According to the Bible in Isaiah 53:2-5, there was nothing special or impressive about the way Jesus looked or anything that people might have seen in Him that caused them to like Him. Some Bible translations even state that people would turn their heads away with disgust when they saw him. So, to use the superficial terms of this world, Jesus was an ugly guy.
Was Jesus white? Nope. Jesus was Jewish and obviously inherited the Jewish appearance from His mother Mary. If you take a look at today’s Jewish population, you will see that most of them are white. That’s because today’s Jewish people are mixed up and have many European racial traits. However, many biblical scholars agree that the original ancient Jew had olive brown skin and deep brown eyes because of where they came from, the ancient Levant.
What about the long hair? Jesus could never have had long hair, because according to the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 11:14, it is shameful for a man to wear long hair. If Jesus had long hair, it is very unlikely that Paul would have written such a thing.
So, despite what many people assume, Jesus was apparently an unattractive brown skin guy with short hair and brown eyes (J19, J20, J21, J22-pdf).
24. The apostles of Jesus have been assassinated in a vicious manner
According to the reports, they really suffered and had to endure a horrible death, from stabbing to boiling in oil to crucifixion (J23-pdf).
For example: they beheaded Paul in Rome, Apostle John was boiled in oil in Turkey, Simon Peter, Andrew, Bartholomew and Simon Zealot were crucified, the doctor Luke and Philip were hanged, while Matthew was stabbed to death in Ethiopia.
25. Most Jews do not believe in Jesus
Israel-born Jesus, is the central figure of Christianity. Christians see Jesus as the promised Messiah who came to save mankind from destruction.
Jews, like Muslims, believe that Jesus Christ was real, but unlike Christians and to the surprise of many, they do not believe that He is the promised Messiah and the savior of the world.
The Jews do not read the New Testament and do not believe it. Their Bible is the Hebrew Bible (J24), aka The Old Testament, aka Tanakh. The Jewish people reject Jesus (J25) as the Messiah because for them:
- Jesus did not unite the Jews and bring peace to the world
- Jesus was not a prophet and was not a descendant of King David
- Bible verses that refer to Jesus are mistranslated
26. Jesus was repeatedly the most influential and significant person in human history
Apart from the debate over whether or not there was a biblical Jesus – although most historians believe that He is real – there is no doubt that the life and teachings of Jesus shaped the world as we know it and will continue to influence the lives of Christians and non-Christians (J26).
In our modern times, many significant things that shaped and are transforming the world involved Jesus, the Jewish people and Christianity in one way or another.
Sir Tim Berners-Lee, who invented the World Wide Web, had a Christian background (J27). The man who gave the world Windows computers, Bill Gates, is a Christian. Martin Cooper, the father of cell phones, was Jewish. The Holocaust triggered the creation and adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (J28).
The founders of the 4 most influential technology companies, Larry Page and Sergey Brin of Google, Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook, Jeff Bezos of Amazon, the late Steve Jobs of Apple have/had their roots in Christianity and Judaism.
The creation of the Nation of Israel that led to many conflicts in the Middle East (J29). The establishment of the Roman Catholic Church which, under the auspices of the Pope, impacted billions of lives through wars, education, health and religious doctrines. Most of the founding fathers of the United States of America, now the most powerful country in the world, believed and practiced Christianity (J30). And the list goes on and on (J31, J32, J33, J34).
Chapter 3
Facts about Christianity
The Sacred Book
27. Most people call it a book, but the Christian Bible is in essence a collection of dozens of books – a library as a matter of fact
The Bible is made up of two sections, the Old and New Testaments. The Old Testament, also known as the Hebrew Bible, comprises 39 books that talk primarily about the birth and history of the nation of Israel. The Creation of the Universe and the Origin of Humanity, as believed by Christians and Jews as well.
The New Testament, which contains 27 books, focuses on the life of Jesus, the teachings of the Apostles and the prophecies that predict the damnation/salvation of humanity and the end of it all (B1, B2).
Note: Old Testament books differ among Christian denominations. The total widely accepted by Protestants is 39 books, but the Catholic Church recognizes 7 more Deuterocanonical books, bringing the total to 46 books.
28. The Bible is an extremely ancient book that has been around for about 1923 years now
The scriptures were written over a period of approximately 1500 years, beginning with the first 5 books by Moses around 1400 B.C. and ending around A.D. 95. with the Book of Revelation by John the Apostle. Thus, since its completion around the year 95 A.D. until 2018 would be 1923 years.
However, since the Bible is a collection of books and as such each book was written and completed during different time frames, one could also argue that the Bible is even older. Thus, from the first writing around 1400 B.C. to this day, that’s 3418 years (B3, B4).
29. The Books of the Bible were written by approximately 40 men of diverse backgrounds – most of which were uneducated
Among them were: Kings (David and Solomon), doctors (Apostle Luke), prophets (Samuel, Nathan), politicians (Daniel), priests (Ezra), military leaders (Apostle Paul), tax collectors (Matthew), fishermen (Apostle John), poets, shepherds (Moses) and prisoners. Moses and the Apostle Paul wrote most of the Bible, 5 and 14 books respectively. Followed by the prophet Samuel and the priest Ezra who both authored 4 books (B5).
30. In the Guinness World Records, the Bible is the oldest machine-printed book
Around 1455 a German fellow named Johann Gutenberg started with the first mass production. One of these contains 1286 pages, with 42 lines each, and weighs about 14 pounds. The approximate selling price of one piece was at that time 30 guilders, which was the equivalent of three years of a clerk’s wage. For perspective, the today’s average wage for a clerk is about $26,000 in the United States, according to Glassdoor. Therefore, a printed Gutenberg Bible would have cost you today around 78 thousand US dollars. However, the last remaining copies – some 49 – are being auctioned at much higher prices (B6, B7, B8).
31. The price of a complete copy of the Gutenberg Bible is valued at $25 to $35 million
A complete copy was sold for $2.2 million in 1978 – equivalent to $8.8 million today. In 1987, a Japanese man bought the Gutenberg Old Testament Bible for $5.4 million, which today is the equivalent of $12.2 million. The individual pages of the Bible sell between $50,000 and $150,000, of course depending on condition and desirability (B9, B10, B11).
32. The Bible is the only book that has been translated into more than 3,300 languages, covering nearly 95 percent of the world’s population
As of 2017, the entire Bible is translated into 670 languages, giving nearly 5.4 billion people access to the entire Bible in their native language. The New Testament and some important parts and stories of the Bible are translated into 2642 languages for approximately one billion people. It is estimated that there are some 3,700 languages – spoken by a population of some 220 million people – for which no translation is available. Most of these people reside in Africa and Asia (B12).
33. Guinness World Records points out that the Bible is the world’ all-time best-selling book
They estimate that since the dawn of its completion, around 5 billion have been sold and distributed worldwide (B13). You won’t easily find the Bible as the best-seller in bookstore lists, because it would always be at the top.
Other all-time bestsellers are Quotations from the Works of Mao Zedong on the second place, Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling in third place, and The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien ranking fourth (B14).
34. The Bible is always the best selling book of the year
Approximately 100 million Bibles are sold or given away each year. That would be 8 million a month, 270,000 daily, 11,000 per hour, 190 per minute and 3 Bibles per second. The largest market takes place in the U.S., with an estimated annual revenue of $425 million (B15, B16).
35. The best-selling version of the English Bible is the New International Version (NIV) by Biblica
It is estimated that there are almost 500 million printed copies. The NIV is one of the many English versions available worldwide.
Other best-sellers in English are King James Version (KJV), English Standard Version (ESV) and New Living Translation (NLT), among others. Despite the selling popularity of NIV, a 2017 poll reveals that most people in the United States read the King James version (B17, B18, B19).
36. More than 900 complete and partial translations of the English Bible are available
As reported by the American Bible Society, the top three are the New International Version (NIV), the King James Version (KJV) and the Standard English Version (ESV) (B20, B21).
37. Several unique and unusual versions of the Bible are available around the world
As you might expect, the Christian Bible is quite popular and devotees are doing their utmost to keep making the Bible more enjoyable to read and use (B22).
Two examples of rare editions are the Emoji Bible (B23) and the Klingon Bible (B24). The Emoji Bible is a rendering of the Scripture in emoticons and Internet Slangs. It is available as an iTunes App and online. The Klingon Bible is the translation of the English Bible into the Klingon language, which is a fictitious constructed language spoken in Star Trek. This is obviously a fun project conducted by and for Star Trek fans.
38. Biblegateway.com is the most popular online version of the Bible
It is a free online searchable Bible with over 200 versions in over 70 different languages. It began in 1993 by a college student named Nick Hengeveld and was later acquired by Christian publisher Zondervan in 2008 (B25). Our statistics show that the website receives around 5 million page views daily from approximately 500,000 unique visitors who browse the site on average for 4 minutes (B26).
39. As for the app version of the Bible, YouVersion is the most popular
YouVersion is a free application with over 1700 Bible versions in almost 1200 different languages. It has been downloaded and installed about 325 million times. Some amazing features are: the interface is available in over 50 languages, has audio and devotional versions, you can compare versions, mark and highlight verses, create shareable verse images, add friends and so on.
40. John 3:16 remains the most favorite Bible verse in the world year after year
It reads: For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.
An interesting fact is that this verse covers the central theme of the Bible, which is The Salvation of Humanity through Jesus Christ (B27). Other top Bible verses are:
- Jeremiah 29:11 – For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
- Philippians 4:13 – I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
- Psalms 23:4 – Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
Chapter 4
Facts about Christianity
Positive Aspects
41. There are millions of Christians missionaries and workers
More than 13 million Christians from various denominations around the world were working full-time in Christian missions and evangelism by mid-2018.
These people spend their time volunteering, building schools and houses, working in hospitals and nourishing hungry children, among other things. An increasing number of people are expected to begin volunteering full-time in Christian missions and related works by 2050, approximately 18 million (P1-pdf, (P2-pdf).
42. Most Christian missions and related activities take place in countries that are predominantly Christian
By mid-2018, 53% of workers are reported to be established in predominantly Christian countries and 47% in non-Christian countries (P3-pdf).
43. A Giving USA report found that Americans gave about $123 billion to religious groups in 2017
These religious groups received one-third of all donations from Americans, the largest share of any sector. Seventy-two percent of total donations came from individuals. Given that about 71 percent of Americans identify themselves as Christians, one can confidently conclude that American Christians are quite generous and making a positive impact by donating their money to good works (P4).
44. Religious people, in general, are more likely to donate to charities
Giving U.S. revealed in a 2018 report (P5) that 62 percent of religious people in America give money to charities, compared to 46 percent of those who are not religious. The same report also states that regular church attendees donate more, with older people giving an average of $2,500 a year compared to $1,900 by the younger generation.
45. The Catholic Church is the leading health care provider in the world
According to a press release from the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Health Care Workers (P6), the Church manages 26 percent of the world’s health facilities. Since 2010, the Catholic Church has been operating more than 120,000 facilities, including hospitals, orphanages and pharmacies.
46. Sir Isaac Newton was a devoted Christian
To the amazement of many, mathematician, astronomer, craftsman, theologian and physicist Sir Isaac Newton, best known for his work on gravity, was a Christian since his youth and wrote passionately in defense of the Christian faith.
Newton made a huge contribution to science. He laid the foundations of modern calculus and his discoveries led to several breakthroughs in recent centuries (P7, P8, P9).
47. Over the course of history, Christians have contributed enormously to science
Despite widespread misconceptions, Christians are more in favor of science than against it, according to official reports (P10, P11, P12). Some famous scientists who were Christians are:
- Johannes Kepler (P13), a German mathematician, astronomer and astrologer, who for many is the founder of physical astronomy and whose work is one of the foundations of the theory of universal gravitation;
- Samuel Morse (P14), who was instrumental in the invention of the single-wire telegraph;
- Louis Pasteur (P15), a biologist renowned for his extraordinary vaccine discoveries being used today in order to prevent disease and save lives.
48. A Christian man named Henry Dunant founded the Red Cross
He developed the idea that an organization should exist to take care of and protect all war victims. After a lot of effort and lobbying with political leaders, 12 states decided to sign the First Geneva Convention that led to the establishment of the Red Cross.
Dunant, who grew up in a wealthy family and was once a successful businessman, died poor and alone in a hospice after being exiled from Geneva society for his views on his religion. And yet his legacy lives on in the Red Cross, a $1.2 billion foundation that helps millions of people around the world (P16, P17, P18, P19).
49. Being a Christian and involved in church-related activities improves your health
A number of studies support the fact that Christianity has a positive effect on the mental health of its practitioners. To name some of them:
- Researchers from the Erasmus Medical Centre and the London School of Economics and Political Science (P20) found that older Europeans are mentally better off attending church than participating in sports, charity work and political and community activities.
- In an effort to investigate how the practicing of Christianity contributes to poor self-image, negative feelings, guilt, and therefore mental illness, a nursing instructor at Kishwaukee College and staff nurse at Rochelle Community Hospital (P21) found that the opposite is true, namely, that Christian belief and practice actually lead to better mental health.
- The author of the book “The Bible of the Dead”, Tom Knox (P22), cites several studies that indicate the many benefits of being a Christian or at least believing in God. Among other benefits are: believers recover from breast cancer faster than non-believers, attending church or praying boost the immune system, believers are less stressed, less likely to commit suicide, report higher levels of self-esteem, and report being happier in general.
Chapter 5
Facts about Christianity
The Bad & Ugly
50. In 2017, Christians stole an estimated 60 billion US dollars from their religious institutions
A study in the International Bulletin of Missionary Research discloses that in 2017 a total of $60 billion has been misappropriated by top custodians of Christian funds. They also estimated that this figure is likely to rise to US$ 250 billion worldwide by 2050 (U1-pdf).
51. Over the past 20 centuries, a staggering 70 million people have been killed for their Christian faith
A 2001 report shows that since A.D. 33, there have been an astonishing 70 million Christian martyrs, representing approximately 1% of the entire Christian population at the time. Over the course of 20 centuries, more than 600 great martyrdoms have occurred across 220 different countries. Of these martyrdoms, 15 had more than 1 million martyrs each, 27 had over 500,000 each and 76 over 100,000 each. Most of the murders were orchestrated by branches of governments and atheists. Among the many methods used in these killings were: stoning to death, beheading, boiling in oil, burning to death, burying alive, crucifying, feeding to wild animals and starvation (U2-pdf).
52. Church shootings are rampant in North America, a predominantly Christian country
Christian churches in present-day America are not immune to both terrorist attacks and domestic violence. Two of the most recent occurrences are:
- The 2015 massacre at Charleston Church (U3) in which a white supremacist murdered 9 African Americans, including the pastor, during a prayer meeting;
- The shooting at Sutherland Springs Church (U4) in 2017 in which 26 people lost their lives at the hands of a U.S. Air Force veteran and Bible study instructor who turns out to be a Christian.
53. Many Christians supported American slavery and Jim Crow’s laws and misused Bible passages as justification
Typical biblical arguments were: Abraham – a key figure in Judaism, Christianity and Islam – was a slave owner, the 10 Commandments mention slavery, Jesus never spoke out against slavery during his time, the apostle Paul ordered slaves to obey their masters, and so forth. Other evangelistic reason was to liberate Africans from their extreme beliefs and save them from their sin (U5, U6, U7). Note: There was also organized Christian opposition against slavery and Jim Crow at that time.
54. Christians perpetrated mind-boggling atrocities by waging war and slaughtering thousands in the name of Christ for nearly 200 years, from 1095 to 1291
During the period of the infamous so-called Crusades, Western European Christians waged great war against Muslims to prevent further spread of Islam and retake the Holy Land. They also persecuted and killed many to recover former Christian territories from the “pagans”. These crusades were sanctioned and funded by the Catholic Church – the initial trigger originated with Pope Urban II – and Royal Families of Europe (U8, U9). An estimated 1 to 3 million people lost their lives during these Crusades (U10).
55. The Roman Catholic Church used to torture and murder godless people or anyone who questioned the laws and authority of the Church
This is better known as the Holy Inquisition, which refers to a set of institutions within the Church charged with the persecution, torture and execution of alleged witches, Jews and non-believers. It is estimated that around 200,000 people were tried and/or executed. An interesting note is that one of the ancient institutions of the Inquisition – the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith – was once led by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger or better known as former Pope Benedict XVI (U11, U12).
56. Some evangelical church leaders in America are notorious for their luxurious lifestyle
Infamous cases are: pastor who already owns 3 private jets is on TV asking for money for a much more expensive brand-new jet (U13), news revealing pastors who own Roils Royce cars and live in multi-million dollar mansions (U14), former employees of the Christian TBN Network accusing the founders of spending millions on extravagant personal expenses including private jets, mansions, expensive dog mobile homes, and thousands of dollars on fancy meals (U15).
Editorial Note: A pastor who lives large is not necessarily evil or something bad. We are presenting this fact under this section because of the public’s perception of preachers living a lavish lifestyle as something bad (U16, U17).
57. They discovered that Irish Catholic nuns used to dispose of young children in a septic tank
In 2017, excavators uncovered a mass grave containing the remains of nearly 800 babies and young children at the former Bon Secours Maternity and Child Care Home in Tuam, Ireland. They ranged in age from 35 weeks to 3 years.
The Catholic Church used to run several homes for unwed pregnant girls. Getting pregnant out of wedlock was and still is a capital sin for the Church. In those days, the punishment for these girls was the segregation of their families and confinement in these institutions in which cruel treatment and hard labour were common. Even if it was rape or incest, the consequences were reported to be the same.
Because of the atrocious and evil deeds of these nuns, it is not yet clear how these children died. It is worth noting that this case is just one of 140 mother and child care facilities in Ireland. There could be more mass graves of unidentified infants to unearth (U18, U19, U20, U21).
58. The Catholic Church has a history of selling babies for profit
In the past, in countries like Ireland, it was a blatant shame for your family if you became pregnant before marriage. Your family would force you into a church-run institution for unmarried pregnant girls. You’ll stay there until you give birth. After birth, the Church would take the baby and sell it to families in the United States or to medical institutions for vaccine trials. Yes, those “illegitimate” babies became human laboratory rats. A rough estimate indicates that the Church of Ireland made between $30 and $50 million in today’s money for this child trafficking (U22, U23).
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