Christianity on Health and Illness

Christianity is a religious tradition based on the spiritual and ethical teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, whom Christians believe to be the Messiah, the Son of God, and God incarnate. As an Abrahamic faith, it shares the Old Testament with Judaism, from which it split in the first century CE, while the New Testament is distinctly Christian, recounting the life of Jesus and the ministries of his apostles. Interpretations of these scriptures differ between the tradition's three main branches: Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, and Protestantism. Christianity is the world's largest religion, with about 2.3 billion adherents. In Europe, church attendance is down and secularism is on the rise. Overall Christian adherence is relatively stable in the Americas and is increasing in Sub-Saharan Africa. Christianity has played a major role in shaping Western civilization and continues to influence politics in diverse ways across the globe.