Answer to Question 1
Answer: There are three main branches in Christianity. These are Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy and Protestantism.
The Roman Catholic Church is headed by the Pope, who is also the Bishop of Rome. Bishops are considered the successors to Jesus Christ's twelve original Apostles. Roman Catholics believe that the Pope possesses a universal primacy or authority. Currently, Roman Catholics are predominant in Southern Europe, Southern North America and the whole of South America.
Eastern Orthodoxy is found mainly in Eastern Europe. These are a collection of 14 self-governing churches who derive from the faith and practices in the Eastern part of the erstwhile Roman Empire. The split between the Roman and Eastern churches dates to the fifth century and became final in 1054. Of the Eastern Orthodox churches, the Russian Orthodox Church is the largest, with more than 40 percent of all Eastern Orthodox Christians. The Romanian Church has 20 percent, the Bulgarian, Greek, and Serbian Orthodox churches approximately 10 percent each, and nine others the remaining 10 percent.
Protestants account for the largest religious populations in northwest Europe, in North America and in pockets around the world. In the United States, roughly one-third each of the population are Roman Catholics and Protestants. The other one-third comprise other Christians, other religions, and nonreligious.
The Protestant Reformation movement began when Martin Luther posted his 95 theses on the door of the church at Wittenberg on October 31, 1517. According to Luther, individuals had primary responsibility for achieving personal salvation through direct communication with God. He believed that Grace is achieved through faith rather than through sacraments performed by the Church.
Answer to Question 2
Answer: The word Islam in Arabic means submission to the will of God. It also has a similar root to the Arabic word for peace (salaam). An adherent of the religion of Islam is known as a Muslim, which in Arabic means one who submits to the will of God or Allah. Globally, the religion has over 1.3 billion people. It is the predominant religion from North Africa to Central Asia. Half of the world's Muslims live outside the Middle East, mainly in Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and India.
There are two main branches in Islam: sunni and shi'ite. Differences between the two main branches go back to the earliest days of Islam and reflect disagreement over the line of succession in Islamic leadership after the Prophet Muhammad, who had no surviving son, nor a follower of comparable leadership ability.
The Sunni branch comprises 83 percent of Muslims and is the largest branch in most Muslim countries. The word sunni is from the Arabic word for orthodox.
The Shi'ite branch is clustered in Iran, Pakistan, and Iraq. The word shi'ite is from the Arabic word for sectarian, Shi'ites (sometimes written Shia), comprise nearly 90 percent of the population in Iran and a substantial share in neighboring countries.
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