Christianity is a monotheistic "Monotheism", The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume X Copyright © 1911 by Robert Appleton Company Online Edition Copyright © 2003 by K. Knight; "From the Stone Age to Christianity: Monotheism and the Historical Process" 2nd edition, Albright, William F., 1957; "Radical Monotheism and Western Culture", Niebuhr, H. Richard, (1960); Monotheistic Religion resources, ©2006 About, Inc., A part of The New York Times Company. All rights reserved; "God Against the Gods: The History of the War Between Monotheism and Polytheism", Jonathan Kirsch, 2004; , Linda Woodhead, 2004; Monotheism, The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2006, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.; "monotheism", The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy Third Edition, Hirsch, Jr., Joseph F. Kett, James Trefil, Houghton Mifflin Company, 2002 ; "New Dictionary of Theology", "Paul", David F. Wright, Sinclair B. Ferguson, J.I. Packer, pg. 496-499 ; Meconi, David Vincent "Pagan Monotheism in Late Antiquity (review)" Journal of Early Christian Studies - Volume 8, Number 1, Spring 2000, pp. 111-112 religion centered on Jesus of Nazareth, and on his life and teachings as presented in the New Testament."Princeton University. "Christianity" at Dictionary.com, Christianity, WordNet ® 2.0, Princeton University, retrieved May 18, 2006. Christians believe Jesus to be the Messiah, and thus refer to him as Jesus Christ. With an estimated 2.1 billion adherents in 2001, Christianity is the world's largest religion.Religions by Adherents Adherents.com. It is the predominant religion in the Americas, Europe, Oceania, and large parts of Africa.

Christianity began in the 1st century as a Jewish sectActs: ; ; ; ; ; ; Romans: ; Tacitus Annales xv 44; Flavius Josephus Antiquities xviii 3;
The Oxford Dictionary of the Jewish Religion, editors in chief R. J. Zwi Werblowsky and G. Wigoder (published OUP New York, 1997; ISBN 0-19-508605-8), page 158. , and therefore shares many religious texts and early history with Judaism — specifically, the Hebrew Bible, which Christians call the Old Testament (see Judeo-Christian). Like Judaism, Christianity is considered an Abrahamic religion.

According to the New Testament (), "the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch." (Greek accusative ; Christianous).