The four institutions in colonial South America that were important to their way of life were "<span>the church, slavery, farming, and government" since this was the combination most conducive to extracting raw materials and riches. </span>
"O Little Town of Bethehem" is a familiar Christmas hymn about the birth of Jesus Christ. But the number of Christians in Bethlehem itself has been getting littler and littler as the Christian community there and elsewhere in the Middle East and North Africa has faced pressures from Islamist movements.
In 1950, about 85% of Bethlehem's residents were Christian. By 2016, the Christian presence in Bethlehem had dropped to 12% -- or only about 11,000 persons.
