Data source: Gina A. Zurlo and Todd M. Johnson, eds., World Christian Database (Leiden/Boston: Brill, 2024).
| Glossary item | Definition |
|---|---|
| maphrian | (Syriac). The primate or catholicos of the Syrian Orthodox, or his vicar general. |
| marabout | In West Africa, a charismatic Muslim practitioner. |
| marginal Catholics | Followers of recent schisms or movements ex Church of Rome which have embraced marginal, non-christocentric or non-Christian dogmas. |
| marginal Christians | Followers of para-Christian or quasi- Christian Western movements or deviations out of mainline Christianity (including pseudo-Christian ‘New Age’ cults), not professing mainstream Christian christocentric doctrine but claiming a second or supplementary or ongoing source of divine revelation in addition to the Bible (a new Book, angels, visions), but nevertheless centered on Jesus, Christ, the Cross, and other Christian features. |
| marginal Christians | Members affiliated to bodies holding most mainstream Christian doctrines except on the nature of Christ, and existence of the Trinity; also professing a second source of revelation in addition to the Bible. |
| marginal churches | Churches with doctrines deviant from mainline Christian orthodoxy, usually claiming an additional source of ongoing divine revelation and offering or experiencing altered states of consciousness (qv), including trance, dissociation, ecstasy, spirit-possession, mysticism, glossolalia, visionary experiences, faith-healing, etc.; and usually drawn from the margins of society in age-distribution and in economic and social status. |
| market research | The gathering of factual information as to consumer preferences for goods and services. |
| marks of the church | The 4 characteristic marks or ‘notes of the church’: One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic; first enumerated in the Nicene Creed. |
| Maronites | Catholics of Antiochian rite, mainly in Lebanon. |
| Maroon | A Mulatto (qv). |
| Marranos | Christianized Jews or Moors (Muslims) of medieval and contemporary Spain and Portugal who accepted forced conversion in the 15th century to escape persecution or death, but who still to this day secretly practice the Passover and other Jewish rites; also called Anusim, New Christians, Secret Jews, Crypto-Jews, Conversos. Total: 300000 |
| marriage rate | The rate at which marriages or other types of liaison take place within a population, measured as marriages per year for every 1,000 population (on average, 8 per 1,000 per year). |
| marriages, Catholic | World totals (1996): 3,583,212 between Catholics, 302,630 (8.4%) mixed (between a Catholic and a non-Catholic). |
| marriages, church | The actual number of marriages or liaisons per year formally blessed in church or under Christian auspices, which can be expressed as a percentage of the local population’s marriage rate (qv). |
| martyr | A believer in Christ who has lost his or her life prematurely, in a situation of witness, as a result of human hostility. |
| martyr | A Christian martyr is a believer in Christ who loses his or her life, prematurely, in a situation of witness, as a result of human hostility. |
| martyrdom situation | Any description of mass or multiple martyrdoms at one point in Christian history. |
| martyrdom, intensity of | Christian martyrdom measured by the ratio of martyrs to local Christians in a given martyrdom situation. |
| martyrdom, magnitude of | Christian martyrdom measured by the sheer number of martyrs in a given martyrdom situation. |
| martyrology | The study of the phenomenon of martyrdom with particular reference to its demography. |
| martyrs, church of the | A popular term for a church undergoing heavy state persecution. |
| Marxist | An adherent of Marxism, the political, economic, and social principles and policies advocated by Marx, Engels and their followers. |
| Marxist-Leninist | Related to Communism as developed by Lenin from the doctrines of Marx. |
| Marxist-Leninist states | By 1980, some 30 countries of the world were ruled by regimes espousing Marxist-Leninist principles. |
| masjid | (Arabic). A mosque (qv). |
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.