The American Heritage Dictionary defines a Christian as "one who professes belief in Jesus as Christ or follows the religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus; one who lives according to the teachings of Jesus."^[6]

A wide range of beliefs and practices among those in the US who call themselves "Christian" was identified by a 2007 survey commissioned by Christianity Today. The study found that self-described Christians clustered into five distinctive and nearly equal-sized groups that were named and described by the researchers:

1. Active Christians: Believe salvation comes through Jesus Christ, are committed churchgoers and Bible readers, accept church leadership positions and invest in personal faith development through the church. They also feel obligated to share faith, and about four out of five do so.
2. Professing Christians: Also are committed to "accepting Christ as Savior and Lord" as the key to being a Christian (almost 9 in 10), but focus on one's personal relationships with God and Jesus more than on church and Bible reading and sharing faith.
3. Liturgical Christians: Predominantly Catholics and Lutherans who regularly attend church, recognize the authority of the church, and maintain a high level of spiritual activity, mostly expressed by serving in church and/or community.
4. Private Christians: The largest and youngest segment. They believe in God and in doing good things but not within church context. Only about 1 in 3 attend church at all.
5. Cultural Christians: Do not view Jesus as essential to salvation. They are the least likely to align their beliefs or practices with biblical teachings, or attend church. They favor a universality theology that sees many ways to God.^[7]

Etymology

The word comes from Greek Χριστιανός (khristianos), from Χριστός (khristos) meaning "the anointed."^[3] In the (Greek) Septuagint version of the Hebrew Bible, khristos was used to translate the Hebrew מָשִׁיחַ (Mašíaḥ,) (messiah), meaning "[one who is] anointed."^[4]

The first known usage of the term Χριστιανός (khristianos) can be found in the New Testament, in Acts 11:26: "the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch." The name Christian was thus first used to denote those known to be teachers or leaders of the church (saints). They were disciples and followers of Jesus Christ. The other two New Testament uses of the word also refer to the public identity of those who follow Jesus. The Jewish king said the Apostle Paul had almost persuaded the king "to become a Christian" (Acts 26:28). Writing in 1 Peter 4:16, The Message translation, the Apostle Peter encouraged believers who are abused "because you're a Christian, don't give it a second thought. Be proud of the distinguished status reflected in that name!"

The earliest recorded use of the term outside the Bible was when Tacitus recorded that Nero blamed the "Christians" for the Great Fire of Rome in AD 64.^[5]

"Christian" also means a member or adherent of a church or other organized group within Christianity. As an adjective, the term may also describe anything associated with Christianity, or even remotely thought to be consistent with Christianity, as in "the Christian thing to do."

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