Christian traditions, in their own words
What 14 Christian traditions teach on Scripture, salvation, baptism, the Lord’s Supper and more, each cited to its own confession, catechism or statement of faith.
It compares 14 families of churches. Their official texts confess the Trinity and Jesus as fully God and fully human, with one exception: some unprogrammed Friends’ meetings, which keep no creed, don’t use that language. Churches of Christ also confess the Trinity. They keep no binding written creed, so their positions come from published descriptions of their teaching. Latter-day Saints, Jehovah’s Witnesses and Oneness Pentecostals aren’t included. Seventh-day Adventists will be added once we’ve read their own statement of beliefs.
Roman CatholicThe Catholic Church believes it is the one Church Christ founded on the apostles, with the Pope, the successor of Peter, as the visible source of its unity. It receives God's revelation in Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition, authentically interpreted by the Magisterium, and lives by seven sacraments, above all the Eucharist, 'the source and summit of the Christian life'.
Eastern OrthodoxThe Orthodox Church holds that it has kept the faith of the apostles and the seven Ecumenical Councils unchanged, as one communion of self-governing churches united in faith and sacraments. Salvation is healing and union with God, theosis, by grace through life in the Church. Scripture, read within Holy Tradition, is received as the Spirit's living voice in the Church.
AnglicanAnglicans hold the faith of the Scriptures, the historic creeds and the undivided early Church, ordered by bishops in historic succession and shaped by the Book of Common Prayer. They teach salvation by grace through faith in Christ, though provinces describe justification in somewhat different words, and they keep the two sacraments of the Gospel, Baptism and the Lord's Supper.
LutheranLutherans confess that we are justified freely for Christ's sake through faith, and that God creates and strengthens that faith through His Word and the sacraments. The Book of Concord, especially the Augsburg Confession and Luther's Small Catechism, sets out this faith as a faithful exposition of Scripture, the only rule and norm.
Reformed / PresbyterianReformed and Presbyterian churches confess the sovereign grace of God, who in Christ chose, redeems and keeps His people, and who is known through Scripture alone as the supreme rule. They are governed by elders in councils, keep two sacraments as signs and seals of the covenant of grace, and order worship by the Word.
MethodistMethodists teach that God's grace goes before everyone, that we are "justified by faith only", and that the Spirit leads believers on to perfect love of God and neighbor. They hold the historic creeds, two sacraments, and the Articles of Religion handed down from John Wesley, and they put faith to work in love and service.
Church of the NazareneThe Church of the Nazarene is a Wesleyan-Holiness church that exists to preserve "the doctrine and experience of entire sanctification as a second work of grace." It teaches that God's grace is freely given to all, that believers can be "sanctified wholly" and filled with perfect love, and that holiness is Christlikeness lived out in love, compassion and justice.
BaptistBaptists confess that Scripture is "the supreme standard" for faith and life, that salvation comes through personal faith in Jesus Christ, and that the church is a local congregation of baptized believers under Christ's lordship. Believers are baptized by immersion as a public act of obedience, and churches govern themselves while cooperating freely with others.
PentecostalPentecostals believe the promise of Pentecost is for today: every believer should seek the baptism in the Holy Spirit, witnessed by speaking in tongues, for power to live and witness. They preach salvation through repentance and faith in Jesus, divine healing, and the soon return of Christ.
Charismatic / Third WaveCharismatic churches such as the Vineyard center on the kingdom of God, "already and not yet", and on partnering with the Holy Spirit, who gives all the biblical gifts today. They hold Scripture as their final authority and practice prayer for healing, worship that seeks God's presence, and compassion for the poor.
Non-denominational evangelicalNon-denominational evangelical churches gather around the Bible as "the only infallible, authoritative Word of God", the deity and saving death and resurrection of Jesus, and the need for new birth by the Holy Spirit. Each congregation is usually independent and keeps a short statement of faith. Because there's no single body, this comparison draws on the published beliefs of six large independent churches and on Calvary Chapel's statement of faith.
Mennonite (Anabaptist)Mennonites follow Jesus as Lord in daily discipleship, within a believers' church joined by baptism on confession of faith. They read Scripture "in harmony with Jesus Christ" in community, and they practice peace, "doing justice, bringing reconciliation, and practicing nonresistance even in the face of violence and warfare."
Churches of ChristChurches of Christ seek to restore the church of the New Testament, taking "the Bible as the only guide and creed for believers." They teach that people come to Christ by hearing the gospel, believing, repenting, confessing Him and being baptized, and each congregation is self-governing under its elders.
Quaker (Friends)Friends believe that Christ has come to teach his people himself, by his Light within, that every person can know that Light, and that the whole of life can be sacramental. They wait on God together, decide by seeking unity in the Spirit, and live out testimonies of peace, simplicity, integrity and equality. Friends range widely, from silent unprogrammed meetings to pastoral evangelical churches.