Paul the Apostle

About Paul the Apostle

Paul the Apostle, ranking #72 in historical importance according to MIT’s Pantheon project, was a pivotal figure in the spread of early Christianity. Originally known as Saul of Tarsus, his conversion experience on the road to Damascus transformed him into one of the most significant theologians and missionaries of the faith. His extensive travels throughout the Roman Empire and his numerous epistles, which constitute a substantial portion of the New Testament, fundamentally shaped Christian doctrine and established the structure of early church communities across the Mediterranean world.

Despite this profound historical weight, Paul receives 2.0 million annualized Wikipedia views in 2025. This level of attention places him in a state of "overattention" relative to his historical standing, evidenced by an Attention Gap factor of +3x. While this suggests strong continued interest, it is worth noting that several considerably less historically important figures, like Pope Leo XIV (#127 importance), draw significantly more modern traffic at 18.7M views. The attention paid to Paul is robust, yet still lags behind some contemporaries in the religious sphere.

Encouragingly for the longevity of his influence, Paul’s interest metrics show positive momentum. The Year-over-Year change stands at an increase of +11.2%, and his recent Q1 versus Q3 momentum for 2025 is positive at +4%, indicating growing engagement with his history online.