Christianity

American  

[kris-chee-an-i-tee] / ˌkrɪs tʃiˈæn ɪ ti /

noun

Christianities plural

1. the Christian religion, including the Catholic, Protestant, and Eastern Orthodox churches.

2. Christian beliefs or practices; Christian quality or character.

   Christianity mixed with pagan elements; the Christianity of Augustine's thought.

3. a particular Christian religious system.

   She followed fundamentalist Christianity.

4. the state of being a Christian.

5. Christendom.

6. conformity to the Christian religion or to its beliefs or practices.

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Christianity British  

/ ˌkrɪstɪˈænɪtɪ /

noun

1. the Christian religion

2. Christian beliefs, practices or attitudes

3. a less common word for Christendom

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Christianity Cultural  

1. The religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians (see also Christian) believe that Jesus Christ is the Messiah, sent by God. They believe that Jesus, by dying and rising from the dead, made up for the sin of Adam and thus redeemed the world, allowing all who believe in him to enter heaven. Christians rely on the Bible (see also Bible) as the inspired word of God. (See also gospel, Nativity, Resurrection, salvation (see also salvation), and Sermon on the Mount.)

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• Christianities
  plural

Etymology

Origin of Christianity

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English cristianite, from Latin chrīstiānitāt-, stem of chrīstiānitās; equivalent to Christian + -ity; replacing Middle English cristiente, from Middle French, from Latin, as above

Example Sentences

The concept of a Christian “holy war”—a war conferring spiritual benefits—originates in medieval Latin Christianity, with its crusader theology of bellum sacrum.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 19, 2026

For the academic and general audience, Mr. Ryrie’s conclusion about a successful missionary strategy will not answer objections to Christianity itself or the desire to preserve indigenous ways of life.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 19, 2026

The first half of Communion, on Vance’s journey from evangelical Christianity to atheism to Catholicism, takes the reader through his disillusionment with the conservative evangelical churches of his youth.

From Slate • Jun. 18, 2026

The book recounts Vance's conversion to Catholicism, a long road from the vaguely defined Christianity of his beloved, gunpacking grandmother who cared for him for most of his childhood.

From Barron's • Jun. 18, 2026

The detonating device was publication of a letter Jefferson had written in 1801 to Joseph Priestley, the English scientist and renowned critic of Christianity.

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis