Editing Christianity (section)

== Cultural influence ==
{{Main|Christian culture|Role of Christianity in civilization}}
{{Further|Protestant culture|Christian influences in Islam}}
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| image1            = La volta della Cappella Sistina (Michelangelo Buonarroti 1508-1512) - panoramio.jpg
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| footer            = ''Clockwise from top'': [[Sistine Chapel ceiling]], [[Notre-Dame de Paris|Notre-Dame]] cathedral in Paris, Eastern Orthodox [[wedding]], ''[[Christ the Redeemer (statue)|Christ the Redeemer]]'' statue, [[Nativity scene]]
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The history of the [[Christendom]] spans about 1,700 years and includes a variety of socio-political developments, as well as advances in the [[Christian art|arts]], [[Architecture of cathedrals and great churches|architecture]], [[Christian literature|literature]], [[Christianity and science|science]], [[Christian philosophy|philosophy]], and technology.<ref name="Crisis in Western Education">{{cite book|last1=Dawson|first1=Christopher|title=Crisis in Western Education|year=1961|isbn=978-0-8132-1683-6|edition=Reprint|first2=Glenn |last2=Olsen|publisher=CUA Press }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last= E. McGrath|first= Alister |title=Christianity: An Introduction|year=2006 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=1-4051-0899-1|page=336}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Review of ''How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization'' by Thomas Woods Jr. |url=http://www.nrbookservice.com/products/bookpage.asp?prod_cd=c6664 |work=National Review Book Service |access-date=16 September 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060822150152/http://www.nrbookservice.com/products/BookPage.asp?prod_cd=c6664 |archive-date=22 August 2006 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Since the spread of Christianity from the [[Levant]] to [[Europe]] and [[North Africa]] during the early [[Roman Empire]], Christendom has been divided in the pre-existing [[Greek East and Latin West]]. Consequently, different versions of the Christian cultures arose with their own rites and practices, centered around the cities of Rome ([[Western Christianity]]) and [[Archdiocese of Carthage|Carthage]], whose communities were called Western or Latin Christendom,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Chazan |first=Robert |year=2006 |title=The Jews of Medieval Western Christendom: 1000–1500 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JxJQ_98I3R0C |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=xi |isbn=978-0-521-61664-5 |access-date=26 January 2018}}</ref> and [[Constantinople]] ([[Eastern Christianity]]), [[Antioch]] ([[Syriac Christianity]]), [[Kerala]] ([[Saint Thomas Christians|Indian Christianity]]) and [[Alexandria]] ([[Coptic Christianity]]), whose communities were called Eastern or Oriental Christendom.<ref>Encarta-encyclopedie Winkler Prins (1993–2002) s.v. "christendom. §&nbsp;1.3 Scheidingen". Microsoft Corporation/Het Spectrum.</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Meyendorff |first=John |title=The Byzantine Legacy in the Orthodox Church |publisher=St Vladimir's Seminary Press |date=1982 |isbn=978-0-913836-90-3 |location=Yonkers |author-link=John Meyendorff|page=19}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Cameron|2006|pp=42–49}}.</ref> The [[Byzantine Empire]] was one of the peaks in [[Christian history]] and Eastern [[Christian civilization]].<ref name="Cameron 2006 42" /> From the 11th to 13th centuries, [[Latin Christendom]] rose to the central role of the [[Western world]].

The Bible has had a profound influence on Western civilization and on cultures around the globe; it has contributed to the formation of [[Western law]], [[Western art|art]], [[Western literature|texts]], and education.<ref>{{cite book |title=Religion and Spirituality in Psychiatry |first=Harold |last=G. Koenig |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-521-88952-0 |page=31 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |quote=The Bible is the most globally influential and widely read book ever written. ... it has been a major influence on the behavior, laws, customs, education, art, literature, and morality of Western civilization.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=God, Justice, and Society: Aspects of Law and Legality in the Bible |first=Jonathan |last=Burnside |year=2011| isbn=978-0-19-975921-7 |page=XXVI |publisher=Oxford University Press}}</ref>{{sfn|Riches|2000|loc=ch. 1}} With a literary tradition spanning two millennia, the Bible is one of the most influential works ever written. From practices of [[Hygiene in Christianity|personal hygiene]] to philosophy and ethics, the Bible has directly and indirectly influenced politics and law, war and peace, sexual morals, marriage and family life, toilet etiquette, letters and learning, the arts, economics, social justice, medical care and more.{{sfn|Riches|2000|loc=ch. 1}}

[[Lists of Christians|Christians]] have made a myriad of contributions to [[Progress (history)|human progress]] in a broad and diverse range of fields, including philosophy,<ref>{{cite book |last= A. Spinello|first= Richard |title=The Encyclicals of John Paul II: An Introduction and Commentary |year=2012 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |quote= ... The insights of Christian philosophy "would not have happened without the direct or indirect contribution of Christian faith" (FR 76). Typical Christian philosophers include St. Augustine, St. Bonaventure, and St. Thomas Aquinas. The benefits derived from Christian philosophy are twofold....|isbn=978-1-4422-1942-7|page=147}}</ref> [[List of Christians in science and technology|science and technology]],<ref>{{cite book |last1= Gilley |first1= Sheridan |last2=Stanley |first2=Brian |title=World Christianities c. 1815–c.1914 |series=The Cambridge History of Christianity |volume=8 |year=2006 |publisher=Cambridge University Press|quote= ... Many of the scientists who contributed to these developments were Christians...|isbn=0-521-81456-1|page=164}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Steane |first=Andrew |title=Faithful to Science: The Role of Science in Religion|year=2014 |publisher=Oxford University Press |quote= ... the Christian contribution to science has been uniformly at the top level, but it has reached that level and it has been sufficiently strong overall ...|isbn=978-0-19-102513-6|page=179}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Graves|first=Daniel|url=https://www.rae.org/influsci.html|title=Christian Influences in the Sciences|website=rae.org|date=7 July 1998|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924084347/https://www.rae.org/influsci.html|archive-date=24 September 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.adherents.com/people/100_Nobel.html|title=50 Nobel Laureates and Other Great Scientists Who Believe in God|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190617072212/https://www.adherents.com/people/100_Nobel.html|archive-date=17 June 2019}} Many well-known historical figures who influenced Western science considered themselves Christian such as [[Nicolaus Copernicus]], [[Galileo Galilei]], [[Johannes Kepler]], [[Isaac Newton]], [[Robert Boyle]], [[Alessandro Volta]], [[Michael Faraday]], [[William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin]] and [[James Clerk Maxwell]].</ref> [[Catholic Church and health care|medicine]],<ref>{{cite book |last=S. Kroger|first= William |title=Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis in Medicine, Dentistry and Psychology |year=2016 |publisher=Pickle Partners Publishing |quote=Many prominent Catholic physicians and psychologists have made significant contributions to hypnosis in medicine, dentistry, and psychology.|isbn=978-1-78720-304-4}}</ref> [[List of Catholic Church artists|fine arts and architecture]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.adherents.com/people/adh_art.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051211024930/https://www.adherents.com/people/adh_art.html|url-status=usurped|archive-date=11 December 2005|title=Religious Affiliation of the World's Greatest Artists}}</ref> [[Christianity and politics|politics]], [[List of Catholic authors|literatures]], [[Christian music|music]],<ref>Suzel Ana Reily, Jonathan M. Dueck, ''The Oxford Handbook of Music and World Christianities'', Oxford University Press, USA, 2016, p. 443</ref> and business.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.adherents.com/people/100_business.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051119112115/https://www.adherents.com/people/100_business.html|url-status=usurped|archive-date=19 November 2005|title=Wealthy 100 and the 100 Most Influential in Business}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Religion, Art, and Money: Episcopalians and American Culture from the Civil War to the Great Depression |first=Peter |last=W. Williams |year=2016 |isbn=978-1-4696-2698-7 |page=176 |publisher=University of North Carolina Press}}</ref> According to ''100 Years of Nobel Prizes'' a review of the Nobel Prizes award between 1901 and 2000 reveals that (65.4%) of [[Nobel Prizes]] Laureates, [[List of Christian Nobel laureates|have identified Christianity]] in its various forms as their religious preference.<ref>Baruch A. Shalev, ''100 Years of Nobel Prizes'' (2003), Atlantic Publishers & Distributors, p. 57: between 1901 and 2000 reveals that 654 Laureates belong to 28 different religions. Most (65.4%) have identified Christianity in its various forms as their religious preference. {{ISBN|978-0935047370}}</ref>

Outside the Western world, Christianity has had an influence on various cultures, such as in Africa, the Near East, Middle East, East Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Indian subcontinent.<ref name="Curtis 2017 173">{{cite book |title=Jews, Antisemitism, and the Middle East|first=Michael |last=Curtis |year=2017 |isbn=978-1-351-51072-1 |page=173 |publisher=Routledge}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Cultural Politics and Asian Values |first=Michael |last=D. Barr |year=2012 |isbn=978-1-136-00166-6 |page=81 |publisher=Routledge}}</ref> [[List of Christian scientists and scholars of the medieval Islamic world|Eastern Christian scientists and scholars of the medieval Islamic world]] (particularly [[Syriac Orthodox Church|Jacobite]] and [[Nestorianism|Nestorian]] Christians) contributed to the Arab [[Islamic Golden Age|Islamic civilization]] during the reign of the [[Ummayyad]]s and the [[Abbasid]]s, by translating works of [[Greek philosophers]] to [[Syriac language|Syriac]] and afterwards, to [[Arabic language|Arabic]].<ref>Hill, Donald. ''Islamic Science and Engineering''. 1993. Edinburgh Univ. Press. {{ISBN|0748604553}}, p. 4</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=The Legend of the Middle Ages |last=Brague |first=Rémi|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c8YjEkLPXNYC |isbn=978-0-226-07080-3 |page=164 |year=2009 |publisher=University of Chicago Press}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Kitty |last=Ferguson |title=Pythagoras: His Lives and the Legacy of a Rational Universe |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=trM7NJz011oC&pg=PT100 |year=2011 |publisher=Icon |isbn=978-1-84831-250-0 |page=100 |quote=It was in the Near and Middle East and North Africa that the old traditions of teaching and learning continued, and where Christian scholars were carefully preserving ancient texts and knowledge of the ancient Greek language}}</ref> They also excelled in philosophy, science, theology, and medicine.<ref>{{cite book |last=Kaser |first=Karl |title=The Balkans and the Near East: Introduction to a Shared History |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j3i8muwLf8AC&pg=PA137 |year=2011 |publisher=LIT Verlag Münster |isbn=978-3-643-50190-5 |page=135}}</ref><ref>Rémi Brague, [https://www.christiansofiraq.com/assyriancontributionstotheislamiccivilization.htm Assyrians contributions to the Islamic civilization] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927015958/https://www.christiansofiraq.com/assyriancontributionstotheislamiccivilization.htm |date=27 September 2013 }}</ref><ref>Britannica, [https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/409819/Nestorian Nestorian]</ref> Scholars and intellectuals agree [[Christians in the Middle East]] have made significant contributions to Arab and Islamic civilization since the introduction of [[Islam]], and they have had a significant impact contributing the culture of the [[Mashriq]], [[Turkey]], and [[Iran]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Pacini |first=Andrea |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KMfYAAAAMAAJ |title=Christian Communities in the Arab Middle East: The Challenge of the Future |publisher=Clarendon |year=1998 |isbn=978-0-19-829388-0 |pages=38, 55}}</ref><ref name="Curtis 2017 173" />

=== Influence on Western culture ===
[[File:St-thomas-aquinasFXD.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Thomas Aquinas]], an Italian [[Dominican Order|Dominican]] [[friar]] and [[Catholic priest|priest]], the foremost [[Scholasticism|Scholastic]] thinker,<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Thomas Aquinas |encyclopedia= Encyclopedia Britannica|date= |year= |last= |first= |publisher= |location= |id= |url= https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Thomas-Aquinas|access-date=October 9, 2024 |quote= Thomas Aquinas... was an Italian Dominican theologian, the foremost medieval Scholastic.}}</ref> as well as one of the most influential philosophers and theologians in the Western tradition.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |year= |title=Thomas Aquinas (1224/6–1274) |encyclopedia=Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy |publisher= |location= |id= |url=https://iep.utm.edu/thomas-aquinas/ |access-date=October 10, 2024 |last= |first= |date= |quote=However, it also seems right to say—if only from the sheer influence of his work on countless philosophers and intellectuals in every century since the 13th, as well as on persons in countries as culturally diverse as Argentina, Canada, England, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Poland, Spain, and the United States—that, globally, Thomas is one of the 10 most influential philosophers in the Western philosophical tradition.}}</ref>]]

[[Western culture]], throughout most of its history, has been nearly equivalent to [[Christian culture]], and a large portion of the population of the Western Hemisphere can be described as practicing or nominal Christians. The notion of "Europe" and the "Western World" has been intimately connected with the concept of "Christianity and Christendom". Many historians even attribute Christianity for being the link that created a unified [[European identity]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Dawson|first1=Christopher|title=Crisis in Western Education|year=1961|isbn=978-0-8132-1683-6|edition=Reprint|first2=Glenn|last2=Olsen|page=108|publisher=CUA Press }}</ref>

Though Western culture contained several polytheistic religions during its early years under the [[Ancient Greece|Greek]] and [[Roman Empire]]s, as the centralized Roman power waned, the dominance of the Catholic Church was the only consistent force in Western Europe.<ref name="Koch-1994">{{cite book|last=Koch|first=Carl|title=The Catholic Church: Journey, Wisdom, and Mission|year=1994|publisher=St. Mary's Press|location=Early Middle Ages|isbn=978-0-88489-298-4|url=https://archive.org/details/catholicchurchjo00koch}}</ref> Until the [[Age of Enlightenment]],<ref name="Koch-1994" /> Christian culture guided the course of philosophy, literature, art, music and science.<ref name="Koch-1994" /><ref name="Crisis in Western Education" /> Christian disciplines of the respective arts have subsequently developed into [[Christian philosophy]], [[Christian art]], [[Christian music]], [[Christian literature]], and so on.

Christianity has had a significant impact on education, as the church created the bases of the Western system of education,<ref name="Britannica2022" /> and was the sponsor of [[Medieval university|founding universities]] in the Western world, as the university is generally regarded as an institution that has its origin in the [[History of Christianity|Medieval Christian]] setting.<ref name=verger1999 /> Historically, Christianity has often been a patron of science and medicine; many [[List of Catholic cleric-scientists|Catholic clergy]],<ref>{{citation|title=Richter's Scale: Measure of an Earthquake, Measure of a Man|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rvmDeAxEiO8C&pg=PA68 |first=Susan Elizabeth |last=Hough|author-link=Susan Hough |year=2007 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-0-691-12807-8|page=68}}</ref> [[List of Jesuit scientists|Jesuits]] in particular,{{Sfn|Woods|2005|p=109}}<ref>{{cite book |last=Wright |first=Jonathan |year=2004 |title=God's Soldiers: Adventure, Politics, intrigue and Power: A History of the Jesuits |publisher=HarperCollins|page=200}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/302999/Jesuit |entry=Jesuit |date=16 May 2023 |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |title=Jesuit &#124; History, Definition, Order, Catholic, Slavery, & Facts &#124; Britannica }}</ref> have been active in the sciences throughout history and have made significant contributions to the [[Christianity and science|development of science]].<ref>[[Rodney Stark]], ''For the Glory of God: How Monotheism Led to Reformations, Science, Witch-Hunts and the End of Slavery'', 2003, [[Princeton University Press]], {{ISBN|0691114366}}, p. 123</ref><ref>Wallace, William A. (1984). ''Prelude, Galileo and his Sources. The Heritage of the Collegio Romano in Galileo's Science''. NJ: Princeton University Press.</ref> Some scholars state that Christianity contributed to the rise of the [[Scientific Revolution]].<ref>{{Citation | last1 = Lindberg | first1 = David C. | author-link = David C. Lindberg | last2 = Numbers | first2 = Ronald L. | author2-link = Ronald L. Numbers | title = God & Nature: Historical Essays on the Encounter Between Christianity and Science | place = Berkeley and Los Angeles | publisher = University of California Press | year = 1986 | chapter = Introduction | pages = 5, 12 | isbn = 978-0-520-05538-4 }}</ref> Protestantism also has had an important influence on science. According to the [[Merton Thesis]], there was a positive correlation between the rise of English [[Puritanism]] and German [[Pietism]] on the one hand, and early experimental science on the other.<ref>{{cite book | last = Cohen | first =I. Bernard |title = Puritanism and the rise of modern science: the Merton thesis | publisher = Rutgers University Press | location = New Brunswick, NJ | year = 1990 | isbn = 978-0-8135-1530-4 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last = Cohen | first = H. | author-link = H. Floris Cohen | title = The scientific revolution: a historiographical inquiry | publisher = University of Chicago Press | pages = [https://archive.org/details/scientificrevolu00cohe/page/320 320–321] | year = 1994 | isbn = 978-0-226-11280-0 | url = https://archive.org/details/scientificrevolu00cohe/page/320 }} [https://books.google.com/books?id=2iieLX7nrEAC&dq=Merton+thesis&pg=PA320 Google Print, pp.&nbsp;320–321]</ref><ref>{{cite book | last = Ferngren | first = Gary B. | author-link = Gary B. Ferngren | title = Science and religion: a historical introduction | publisher = Johns Hopkins University Press | page = 125 | location = Baltimore, MD | year = 2002 | isbn = 978-0-8018-7038-5 }} [https://books.google.com/books?id=weOOCfiDhDcC&dq=Merton+thesis&pg=PA125 Google Print, p.125]</ref>
The civilizing influence of Christianity includes social welfare,<ref name="Britannica2022" /> contribution to the medical and health care,<ref>{{cite book |last=Crislip |year=2005 |first=Andrew T. |title=From Monastery to Hospital: Christian Monasticism & the Transformation of Health Care in Late Antiquity |publisher=University of Michigan Press |place=Ann Arbor |isbn=978-0-472-11474-0 |page=3 |url={{googlebooks|r90OUzO9AP8C|plainurl=y}} }}</ref> founding hospitals,<ref name="Britannica2022">{{cite encyclopedia|first = Jaroslav |last = Jan Pelikan| title=Christianity - Church, State, History &#124; Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Christianity/The-history-of-church-and-state|entry=The Christian community and the world|date =13 August 2022 |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica}}</ref> economics (as the [[Protestant work ethic]]),<ref name="Britannica2022" /><ref>{{cite book|last=Weber|first=Max|title=The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism|year=1905}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last= Hillerbrand|first=Hans J. |title=Encyclopedia of Protestantism: 4-volume Set |year=2016 |publisher=Pickle Partners Publishing|quote= ... In the centuries succeeding the holy ''Reformation'' the teaching of Protestantism was consistent on the nature of work. Some Protestant theologians also contributed to the study of economics, especially the nineteenth-century Scottish minister Thomas Chalmers ....|isbn=978-1-78720-304-4|page=174}}</ref> architecture,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hopkins|first1=Owen|title=Architectural Styles: A Visual Guide|year=2014|publisher=Laurence King|isbn=978-1-78067-163-5 |pages=23, 25}}</ref> literature,<ref>Buringh, Eltjo; van Zanden, Jan Luiten: "Charting the 'Rise of the West': Manuscripts and Printed Books in Europe, A Long-Term Perspective from the Sixth through Eighteenth Centuries", ''The Journal of Economic History'', Vol. 69, No. 2 (2009), pp.&nbsp;409–445 (416, table 1)</ref> [[Hygiene in Christianity|personal hygiene]] ([[Ablution in Christianity|ablution]]),<ref>Christianity has always placed a strong emphasis on hygiene:
* {{cite book |last1= Warsh |first1= Cheryl Krasnick |last2=Strong-Boag |first2=Veronica |title=Children's Health Issues in Historical Perspective |year=2006 |publisher=Wilfrid Laurier University Press |quote= ... From Fleming's perspective, the transition to Christianity required a good dose of personal and public hygiene ... |isbn=978-0-88920-912-1|page=315}}
* {{cite book |last= Warsh |first=Cheryl Krasnick |others=Veronica Strong-Boag |title=Children's Health Issues in Historical Perspective |year=2006 |publisher=Wilfrid Laurier University Press| quote= ... Thus bathing also was considered a part of good health practice. For example, Tertullian attended the baths and believed them hygienic. Clement of Alexandria, while condemning excesses, had given guidelines for Christians who wished to attend the baths ... |isbn=978-0-88920-912-1 |page=315}}
* {{cite book |last=Squatriti |first=Paolo |title=Water and Society in Early Medieval Italy, AD 400–1000, Parti 400–1000 |year=2002 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |quote= ... but baths were normally considered therapeutic until the days of Gregory the Great, who understood virtuous bathing to be bathing "on account of the needs of body" ... |isbn=978-0-521-52206-9 |page=54}}
* {{cite book|last=Eveleigh |first=Bogs |title=Baths and Basins: The Story of Domestic Sanitation |publisher=Stroud, England: Sutton|year=2002}}
Christianity's role in the development and promotion of spas:
* {{cite book |title=Water: A Spiritual History |first=Ian |last=Bradley |year=2012 |isbn=978-1-4411-6767-5 |publisher=Bloomsbury}}
Contribution of the Christian missionaries of better health care of the people through hygiene and introducing and distributing the soaps:
* {{cite book |last=Channa |first=Subhadra|title=The Forger's Tale: The Search for Odeziaku |year=2009 |publisher=Indiana University Press|quote=A major contribution of the Christian missionaries was better health care of the people through hygiene. Soap, tooth–powder and brushes came to be used increasingly in urban areas. |isbn=978-8177550504 |page=284}}
* {{cite book |last=Thomas |first=John |title=Evangelising the Nation: Religion and the Formation of Naga Political Identity|year=2015|publisher=Routledge |quote=cleanliness and hygiene became an important marker of being identified as a Christian |isbn=978-1-317-41398-1|page=284}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Henry |last=Gariepy |title=Christianity in Action: The History of the International Salvation Army|url=https://archive.org/details/christianityinac0000gari|url-access=registration |year=2009 |publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans |isbn=978-0-8028-4841-3 |page=[https://archive.org/details/christianityinac0000gari/page/16 16]}}</ref> and family life.<ref name="Britannica2022" /><ref>{{cite book|title=A Companion to Families in the Greek and Roman Worlds |first=Beryl |last=Rawson |year=2010| isbn=978-1-4443-9075-9 |page=111 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |quote= ...Christianity placed great emphasis on the family and on all members from children to the aged...}}</ref> Historically, ''[[Extended family|extended families]]'' were the basic family unit in the [[Christian culture]] and [[Christian countries|countries]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Mental Health Social Work: Evidence-Based Practice| first=Colin |last=Pritchard |year=2006 |isbn=978-1-134-36544-9 |page=111 |publisher=Routledge}}</ref>

[[Cultural Christian]]s are secular people with a Christian heritage who may not believe in the religious claims of Christianity, but who retain an affinity for the popular culture, art, [[Christian music|music]], and so on related to the religion.<ref>James D. Mallory, Stanley C. Baldwin, ''The kink and I: a psychiatrist's guide to untwisted living'', 1973, [https://books.google.com/books?id=ahEG4X5pSXIC&q=%22cultural+Christian%22+-%22multi-cultural+Christian%22+-%22cross-cultural+Christian%22 p. 64]</ref>

''[[Postchristianity]]'' is a term for the [[decline of Christianity]], particularly in [[Christianity in Europe|Europe]], [[Religion in Canada|Canada]], [[Christianity in Australia|Australia]], and to a minor degree the [[Southern Cone]], in the 20th and 21st centuries, considered in terms of [[postmodernism]]. It refers to the loss of Christianity's monopoly on [[values]] and [[world view]] in historically Christian societies.<ref>G.C. Oosthuizen. ''Postchristianity in Africa''. C Hurst & Co Publishers Ltd (1968). {{ISBN|0903983052}}</ref>

Christian leaders and congregations have had an influence on the broader [[environmental movement]]. Christian teachings relate to ecology, and draw on teachings of the [[Bible]] to promote the moral responsibility of humans to care for God's creation. Christianity acknowledges the tension between humanity's duty to care for God's creation and the natural human inclination to resist God's will.<ref>Gottlieb, R.S., & Gottlieb, R.S. (2003). This Sacred Earth: Religion, Nature, Environment (2nd ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203426982</ref> In recent decades, major Christian denominations have revisited their teachings and practices in response to the environmental crisis. There has been a rise in activity in Christian congregations to curb [[climate change]],<ref>{{cite journal | url=https://doi.org/10.1080/13549839.2018.1449822 | doi=10.1080/13549839.2018.1449822 | title=Faith-based climate action in Christian congregations: Mobilisation and spiritual resources | date=2018 | last1=Bomberg | first1=Elizabeth | last2=Hague | first2=Alice | journal=Local Environment | volume=23 | issue=5 | pages=582–596 | bibcode=2018LoEnv..23..582B }}</ref> partly inspired by the advocacy of [[Pope Francis]] following his publication of the encyclical letter [[Laudato Si']]—On Care for Our Common Home. Organizations such as Green Christian,<ref>“[http://greenchristian.org.uk/ Promoting Prayer, Hope and Action].” Green Christian. Accessed 27 Jan. 2025.</ref> [[Laudato Si' Movement]],<ref>[http://laudatosimovement.org/ “Laudato Si’ Movement, Catholics for Our Common Home].” Laudato Si’ Movement, Accessed 6 Jan. 2025.</ref> and the [[Interfaith Center for Sustainable Development]]<ref>“[http://interfaithsustain.com/christian-ecology/ Christian Ecology].” The Interfaith Center for Sustainable Development, 24 May 2024.</ref> are a few examples of groups working in the Christian and ecology movement. These initiatives reflect how Christians, alongside other people of faith, are increasingly embracing ecological concerns, recognizing that the protection of the [[Earth]] is a spiritual imperative tied to faith and justice.<ref>{{cite journal | url=https://doi.org/10.1111/jore.12376 | doi=10.1111/jore.12376 | title=Toward an Ecocentric Christian Ecology | date=2021 | last1=Waters | first1=James W. | journal=Journal of Religious Ethics | volume=49 | issue=4 | pages=768–792 }}</ref>