For other uses of the term Christian, see Christian (disambiguation).

A Christian is a follower of Jesus, whom they regard as the Christ. Christians believe Jesus to be the Son of God, who lived a life befitting that of the creator of the universe, free of sin, and at the end of his earthly life was crucified, and then on the third day after death rose from the dead, to give the message to his followers. This belief is true of all Christian groups. However sects known by mainstream christians to be nonchristian cults, such as Unitarians, do not regard Jesus as a son of God, Christian Non Realists do not believe that Jesus was in any way miraculous and some don't believe he was real (e.g. Don Cupitt), docetists believe that Jesus was a human possessed by a divine being and that the human part never rose from the dead, the various forms of gnostics believe that most of his life is allegory rather than historic fact, and Arians do not regard Jesus as having existed since the creation of the Universe, or as having the same nature as God.

Christians believe that Jesus offers salvation; there are somewhat different interpretations of the exact meaning of the salvation offered, although virtually all Christians agree that it is the perfect form of reconciliation to God, and that this is only possible because of Christ. Christians, by definition, are a part of Christianity. Most Christians identify themselves as monotheistic, believing that there is one God, although a small number are henotheist, believing in the existence of other deities but not worshipping them, and Mormons are sometimes considered semi-tritheistic, believing that there are three distinct and separate entities that make up the Godhead, being the God the Father, His Son Jesus, and the Holy Ghost. Today, it is estimated that there are around 2.1 billion Christians in the world making up 33% of the world population, with the largest Christian sect being Roman Catholicism.Religions by Adherents Adherents.com.

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