Christianity Worldwide: Unity in Belief, Diversity in Practice

The reach of Christianity is undeniable, with 2.1 billion followers worldwide. According to History, Christians are monotheistic, or in other words, they believe that there is only one God, and their beliefs revolve around the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus (1).

There are other subgroups among Christians. In a 2024 feature for How Stuff Works, Mitch Ryan writes that Christians are generally aligned in the belief that Christ died to forgive sins, believe in external salvation, and are universally awaiting Christ’s second coming (2). According to Ryan, Catholics have the most significant number of followers among Christians, with 1.3 billion.

The biggest differences among the Christian groups and sub-religions typically revolve around the practice of the sacred tradition of mass, the holy orders, the structural hierarchy of the Catholic Church, and the way the Virgin Mary and the saints are respected in Roman Catholic doctrine.

Many of these different subgroups among Christians feel that they have a unique set of beliefs. In reality, though, they draw more strength in their similarities.

The Bible: The First Book Ever Printed

Christianity plays a more important part in history than we think. According to Will Lubaroff (Walworth, 2024), the Catholic Bible was the first book printed on a modern printing press (3).

Johannes Gutenberg introduced printing technology to 15th-century Europe. He invented a movable system that used individual, reusable letters that could be rearranged to create different words and pages.

The invention of Gutenberg’s press led to the printing of the Gutenberg Bible, which significantly contributed to the spread of Christianity during the 15th Century and played a key role in evangelizing the majority of the Western world.

Only a few copies of the Gutenberg Bible remain today, some six centuries since they were initially printed. Most of the remaining copies are preserved in museums and are highly sought out by historians and religious scholars.

How Comedy Engages Serious Topics Like Religion

Lauren Feldman, an associate professor at Rutgers’ School of Communication and Information, thinks that people often incorrectly assume that comedy — because it is funny and entertaining — is inappropriate for communicating about serious issues like politics or religion (Rutgers Today, 2020)(4).

Many people believe that humor distracts from important topics and deters the proper spread of a belief system. However, according to Feldman, it is because comedy is funny and entertaining that it can engage and motivate people around challenging issues.

Feldman adds that because comedy pulls people in and creates a positive emotional connection, it inspires engagement and action. When it comes to religion, if the comedy is conceived and executed in literally “good faith,” then it may be more beneficial than originally perceived.

So, as serious as the doctrines may seem, religion finds a place in the comical world of memes by sharing ideas that would otherwise be too complicated to discuss.

References

1. History Editors. “Christianity.” History.com, last updated March 18, 2024. | https://www.history.com/topics/religion/history-of-christianity
2. Mitch Ryan. “Catholic vs. Christian: Overlap and Differences in the Religions.” How Stuff Works, April 4, 2024. | https://people.howstuffworks.com/catholic-vs-christian.htm
3. Will Lubaroff. “The History of Book Printing: What Were the First Books Printed On?” Walsworth, May 10, 2024. | https://www.walsworth.com/blog/history-of-book-printing#:~:text=The+Printing+Press%3A+Gutenberg’s+Revolution&text=The+first+book+printed+on,intact+are+highly+sought+after.
4. Rutgers’ School of Communication and Information. “Comedy Can Help Change the World, Rutgers Researcher Says.” Rutgers Today, June 22, 2020. | https://www.rutgers.edu/news/comedy-can-help-change-world-rutgers-researcher-says