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

There are few written sources for events in Britain between the breakdown of Roman power there in the early fifth century and the conversion of the Anglo-Saxons to Christianity that began around the year 600.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 7, 2026

But anxieties about growing diversity and rising indifference had convinced many Americans of the need to enshrine Christianity in the Constitution.

From Salon • Jun. 29, 2026

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

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

When we came back—long before my father came back from work—she and I began discussing Christianity while she cooked.

From "Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography" by Mark Mathabane