What are the origins and historical develpoment of Christianity?

Answer 1

Too big for a short reply. The origins were with Jesus, his apostles, and his disciples. Aggressive proselytizing spread Christianity from ancient Palestine through Asia Minor, Greece, and Rome. The Roman Emperor Constantine made Christianity the state religion of the Roman Empire.

The Church was the center of culture and politics throughout the Middle Ages. As a state power, wars were fought in the name of Christianity. The Church split into the Orthodox (Eastern) Church and the Roman Catholic (Western) church.

During the Renaissance, secular culture emerged and people began to question the Church in every way possible. This eventually led to the Reformation which split the Western church into two main branches, Catholic and Protestant.

As Western powers started to expand geographically, Christianity was brought to the Americas. Attempts were made to bring Christianity to Asia, with limited success.

Christianity has split into many denominations, each with a slightly different practice.

There has been talk of a "modern" reformation of Christianity as people are questioning how Christianity often favors the privileged, males, heterosexuals, and ethnic Europeans.