What All Christians Agree On: The Core Beliefs of the Christian Faith

Quick answer: Despite their differences, the great majority of Christian churches around the world agree on a shared core of belief summed up in the ancient Apostles' Creed and Nicene Creed. These include one God who exists as Father, Son and Holy Spirit; Jesus Christ as fully God and fully human; His death for our sins and bodily resurrection; the gift of the Holy Spirit; the authority of Scripture; and the promise that Jesus will return. Christians disagree on many secondary matters, but these central convictions have united believers for more than sixteen centuries.

Scripture quotations in this guide are from the King James Version (KJV).

If you walk down a busy street in almost any city, you might pass a Catholic cathedral, an Orthodox church with golden domes, a Baptist chapel, a Pentecostal congregation meeting in a former warehouse and a small Anglican parish. From the outside, it can look as though Christians cannot agree on anything.

The differences are real, and some of them matter a great deal to the people who hold them. But what often surprises newcomers, and even long-time believers, is how much these communities actually share. Underneath the different buildings and styles of worship lies a common foundation that has held for well over a millennium.

This guide focuses on that shared foundation. Our aim is not to blur real disagreements or pretend every tradition is the same. It is to show clearly what unites Christians across the world, and why that unity matters.

Why do the creeds matter?

A creed (from the Latin credo, "I believe") is a short summary of the essential beliefs of the Christian faith. The early church developed creeds for practical reasons. New believers needed to know what they were confessing at baptism. And as different teachings spread, the church needed a clear way to say, "This is what Christians have always believed."

The Apostles' Creed developed from early baptismal statements used in Rome, likely reaching something close to its present form over several centuries. It is short and still recited in many churches every week:

I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth: And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord, Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, Born of the Virgin Mary, Suffered under Pontius Pilate, Was crucified, dead, and buried: He descended into hell; The third day he rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, And sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost; The holy Catholick Church; The Communion of Saints; The Forgiveness of sins; The Resurrection of the body, And the Life everlasting. Amen.

This is the traditional English wording from the Book of Common Prayer. Two words trip people up. "Catholick" here means "universal," the whole worldwide church, not one denomination. And "the quick and the dead" simply means the living and the dead.

The Nicene Creed was first agreed at the Council of Nicaea in AD 325 and expanded at the Council of Constantinople in AD 381. It was written to answer a serious controversy about whether Jesus was truly God. Its careful wording, describing Jesus as "Very God of very God... Being of one substance with the Father," became the benchmark of Christian belief about Christ. Today it is accepted by the churches that together account for the overwhelming majority of the world's Christians, East and West alike.

Which core beliefs do Christians share?

Drawing on these creeds and the Scriptures behind them, here are the central convictions that unite the Christian family.

One God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit

Christianity grew out of Judaism and holds firmly to its central confession: "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD" (Deuteronomy 6:4). There is only one God.

Yet the New Testament reveals that this one God exists eternally as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Jesus sent His disciples to baptise "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost" (Matthew 28:19). Notice "name," singular, not "names." This is the doctrine of the Trinity: not three gods, and not one God wearing different masks, but one God in a relationship of perfect love from all eternity. It is a mystery, but it is the shared confession of virtually all Christian churches.

Jesus is fully God and fully human

John's Gospel declares, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God... And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us" (John 1:1, 14). Christians across traditions confess that Jesus did not merely seem human or merely reflect God. He is both, completely and without confusion. We explore what this means in our guide Who is Jesus?

Jesus died for our sins and rose again

Paul summed up what he had delivered to the churches "first of all": "how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures" (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). Every major tradition proclaims the cross as the place where sin was dealt with, and the empty tomb as God's victory over death. Easter is the oldest and greatest shared Christian celebration.

The Holy Spirit lives in believers

Jesus promised, "ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you" (Acts 1:8). Christians agree that the Spirit is not an impersonal force but God Himself, who brings people to faith, lives within believers, gives gifts for serving others and makes us more like Christ. Churches emphasise the Spirit's work in different ways, but all confess, in the words of the Nicene Creed, "the Holy Ghost, the Lord and giver of life." This conviction inspired our Powered by the Holy Spirit tee.

Salvation is God's gracious gift

All Christian traditions agree that we cannot save ourselves. Salvation is made possible only by God's grace through Jesus Christ. "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God" (Ephesians 2:8). Traditions explain how faith and good works relate to that grace in different ways, and those differences were at the heart of the Reformation. Yet the starting point, that salvation is God's gift and not our achievement, is shared.

Scripture is God's Word

"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness" (2 Timothy 3:16). Christians agree that the Bible is inspired by God and carries His authority. They differ on how Scripture relates to church tradition, and on a small number of Old Testament books that Catholic and Orthodox Bibles include and most Protestant Bibles do not. But the four Gospels, the letters of Paul, the Psalms and the books that tell the story of Israel are treasured by all.

Jesus will return

The angels told the disciples, "this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven" (Acts 1:11). The creeds confess that He "shall come to judge the quick and the dead" and look forward to "the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting." Christians hold different views on the details of the end times, but they share the same hope: Jesus is coming back, and death will not have the last word.

Where do Christians differ, and why is that okay?

It would be dishonest to pretend there are no important differences. Here are some of the main areas where traditions disagree:

• Baptism: whether infants should be baptised or only those old enough to profess faith, and whether by sprinkling or immersion.
• Communion: what happens when believers share the bread and wine, and who may receive it.
• Church authority: the role of bishops, the pope, councils and congregations in leading the church.
• Mary and the saints: how believers should honour Mary and other faithful Christians who have died.
• Worship style: from ancient liturgy and incense to contemporary bands and spontaneous prayer.

Some of these differences touch deeply held convictions, and believers should not pretend they do not matter. Yet a wise principle, often attributed to the seventeenth-century writer Rupertus Meldenius, has helped many Christians hold them in perspective: "In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity."

Paul himself dealt with disagreements in the early church about food and holy days. His advice was striking: "Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not" (Romans 14:3). Believers can hold firm convictions and still treat one another as family.

Why does Christian unity matter?

On the night before His death, Jesus prayed not only for His disciples but for every believer who would come after them. His prayer was for unity: "That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me" (John 17:21).

Notice the purpose Jesus gives. Unity is not just about getting along. It is a witness. When Christians who differ in culture and tradition love one another, it shows the world something of who Jesus is. When they tear each other apart, it does the opposite.

Paul describes the foundation of that unity: "There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all" (Ephesians 4:4-6). That unity already exists in Christ. Our task is to "keep" it (Ephesians 4:3), not to manufacture it.

In practice, unity can look like churches from different traditions praying together, serving the poor side by side, responding together to disasters or simply speaking well of one another. It begins with individual believers choosing to see other Christians as brothers and sisters rather than rivals.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Apostles' Creed?

It is one of the oldest summaries of Christian belief, developed from early baptismal statements in Rome. Despite its name, it was not written by the apostles directly, but it faithfully summarises their teaching. Many churches recite it in worship today.

Do Catholics and Protestants believe in the same God?

Yes. Both worship the one God revealed as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and both confess Jesus as Lord and Saviour, as expressed in the Nicene Creed. They differ on important questions about salvation and church authority, but they share the same core faith in the triune God.

What are the essentials of the Christian faith?

The essentials are the beliefs summarised in the historic creeds: the Trinity, the full divinity and humanity of Jesus, His death and bodily resurrection, salvation by God's grace, the authority of Scripture and the return of Christ. These form the shared foundation of Christian belief worldwide.

Is it wrong to belong to a particular denomination?

No. Belonging to a specific church family can be a great blessing, giving you a community and a place to grow. The key is to hold your convictions with humility and to treat believers from other traditions with love and respect.

Keep going deeper

• Who is Jesus?
• Hard questions about Christianity
• What is discipleship?
• What we believe at Embrace Your Faith

Looking for a reminder of the Spirit who unites all believers? Explore our Powered by the Holy Spirit collection.