Christianity is the world's largest religion, and is based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. Its adherents, known as Christians, believe that Jesus is the Messiah, or Christ, whose coming was prophesied in the Hebrew Bible.
While Christianity has over 45,000 different denominations or branches, each with their distinct practices and beliefs, all branches share the common belief that there is one God and that Jesus of Nazareth is the Son of God and the Messiah, or Christ. As the Messiah, Christians believe that Jesus was chosen by God to be the savior of humanity. All Christians also share the belief that during his time on earth Jesus ministered, suffered, and died on a cross, but rose from the dead after his crucifixion.
Christians believe that the death of Jesus was a sacrifice that redeemed the sins of all mankind, and as such believe that his crucifixion and subsequent resurrection is the single most important event in human history. The cornerstone of Christian faith is to believe in the death and resurrection of Jesus, by which Christians believe sinful humans can be reconciled to God and thus achieve salvation and the promise of eternal life.
Christianity's foundational text is called the Bible, which consists of a collection of writings and stories about Jesus written approximately 50 to 100 years after his death, and first collected into a single canonical text approximately 350 years after his death.
