Data source: Gina A. Zurlo and Todd M. Johnson, eds., World Christian Database (Leiden/Boston: Brill, 2024).
| Glossary item | Definition |
|---|---|
| Theravadins | (Theraveda). The Teaching of the Elders or the Hinayana school of Buddhists (qv), or Southern Buddhism (in Sri Lanka, India, Burma Thailand, Cambodia, Laos). |
| thesis | Usually, a paper or essay submitted for a master’s degree at a university. |
| Third Rome | Moscow; after the sack of Rome and the end of the Roman empire in the West in AD 476, Constantinople became known as the Second Rome but after its fall in 1453 its claim to be the capital of the Christian world passed to Moscow with its claim to be the Third Rome. |
| Third World | A term, based on political non-alignment, for those developing nations which are non-aligned with either the Western (Capitalist) world or the Communist (Marxist) world, and so form a third bloc. For an economic and social analysis see The Third World: problems and perspectives, ed. A. B. Mountjoy (London: Macmillan, 1978). |
| Third World | Developing nations not politically aligned with either the Western (Capitalist) world (the First World) or the Communist/Marxist-related world (the Second World). The term is purely chronological (like ‘third child’) and has never carried connotations of inferiority (as ‘third-rate’ does). It is the standard term to use for the nonaligned world and should be used instead of popularized alternatives like ‘Two-Thirds World’, a noncomparative term based only on population size. |
| Third-Wavers | Believers who have experienced baptism in the Holy Spirit but who do not affiliate with First-Wavers or Second-Wavers but instead join Neocharismatic/Postdenominational congregations. |
| Third-World foreign missionaries | Citizens of Third-World nations who serve as foreign missionaries in other countries. |
| Third-World indigenous Christians | See Non-White indigenous Christians. |
| three (3) tier schema | A stylized schematic representation in which, to enhance the understanding of world evangelization, the globe is divided into 3 slices or tiers or worlds, and given the names World A, the Unevangelized World; World B, the Evangelized Non-Christian World; and World C, the Christian World. |
| threefold ministry | In Anglicanism, the orders of bishop, priest and deacon. |
| Tibeto-Burmese | An Asian ethnolinguistic family, with over 300 languages. |
| time lag | In church statistics, the delay incurred between the collecting of statistics at grass-roots level and their eventual publication at denominational or nationwide level; usually 2, 3, 4, 5 or even 6 years depending upon the size and complexity of the denomination concerned. |
| time level | The exact date, year or time to which particular data, especially statistical data, apply. |
| time series | The values of a variable over a period of time. |
| titular bishops | Catholic bishops each with the title of, but without jurisdiction in, a defunct see; bishops in partibus infidelium. |
| toleration, religious | See religious toleration. |
| tongues | Glossolalia (qv). |
| total | Aggregate, sum, amount, whole. |
| total Christian community | The total of a church’s or denomination’s affiliated Christians (qv) or church members, who are part of the churches’ corporate life, community and fellowship; of all ages and varieties including children, infants and persons under instruction; also called inclusive membership. |
| total church member community | Affiliated Christians (qv). |
| total church membership | Affiliated Christians (qv). |
| total community | The total of all persons affiliated to a particular denomination or religion, for the churches, affiliated Christians (qv). |
| total mobilization evangelism | See in-depth evangelism. |
| totalitarian | Authoritarian, dictatorial, despotic. |
| tourism | Travelling for recreation; touring. In this field, Christian ministries and organizations significant at the national or wider levels number over 150. |
Data on 18 categories of religion, including non-religious, by country, province, and people.
Data on all religions, Christian activities, and trends.
Membership data, year begun, and rates of change.
Population and religion data on all major cities & provinces.
Detailed information covering religion, culture, and geography.
A repository of historical data, including a chronology of Christianity from the 1st to 21st centuries.