Almost all Christian denominations (particularly Catholic and Protestant) (Note that there are also “nontrinitarian” within Christianity that do not strictly follow the Nicene Creed, include Mormons (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) and Jehovah’s Witnesses) agree on the basic beliefs described in the Nicene Creed established in 325 AD at the First Council of Nicaea in present day Iznik, Turkey, and amended in 381 AD at the First Council of Constantinople in present day Istanbul (Table 1). The Nicene Creed affirms the divinity of Jesus, i.e., the “co-essential divinity of the Son” and his pre-existence as the Word of God.
Catholics, then, believe in the Divinity of Jesus Christ and in the Trinity, i.e., one and the same God in three persons – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (81% of all U.S. Catholics and 97% of weekly Mass attendees say they have no doubt about this) (CARA, 2008). Catholicism is considered a monotheistic faith tradition, a tradition whose members believe in one (and only one) God. The beliefs of Catholics are described by the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which was approved by Pope John Paul II in 1992. The core beliefs of Catholics are indeed those contained in the Nicene Creed (what we believe. United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved from http://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/what-we-believe/ (accessed on 1/6/17)).
Table 1. The Nicene Creed
(Nicene Creed. Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/topic/Nicene-Creed (accessed on 1/18/17))
We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, one in Being with the Father.
Through him all things were made. For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit he was born of the Virgin Mary, and became man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate, he suffered, died, and was buried.
On the third day he rose again in fulfillment of the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated on the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the Father and the Son he is worshipped and glorified. He has spoken through the Prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.
God
The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) (1993) says: “Our profession of faith begins with God, for God is the First and the Last, the beginning and the end of everything. The Credo begins with God the Father, for the Father is the first divine person of the Most Holy Trinity; our Creed begins with the creation of heaven and earth, for creation is the beginning and the foundation of all God’s works” (CCC Part 1, Section 2, Chapter 1:198). Catholics believe that humans are made in God’s image and likeness. Catholics also believe in the 10 Commandments, including the 1st Commandment: “I am Yahweh your God who brought you out of Egypt, where you lived as slaves. You shall have no other gods to rival me” (Exodus 20:2-3). Catholics believe in the two Great Commandments given by Jesus Christ in Matthew 22:37, the first one being: “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.”
Jesus
Catholics believe that Jesus Christ is the “Son of God,” the second person of the Trinity, fully God and fully human (CCC Part 1, Section 2, Chapter 2:430-455). He is the only mediator between God and man (however, as members of the Body of Christ, Christians are allowed to share in that mediation). Jesus is the fullness of God’s revelation, the Messiah, and the saviour of the world. As both human and God, he has saved humans from their sin and separation from God through his suffering, death and resurrection (as the Creed indicates).
Salvation (justification)
Catholics believe that humans must know, love, and serve God through Jesus Christ in this world in order to obtain the happiness of heaven in the next. The Catholic Catechism says: “The grace of the Holy Spirit has the power to justify us, that is, to cleanse us from our sins and to communicate to us “the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ’ and through Baptism” (CCC Part 3, Section 1, Chapter 3:1987). Salvation is by grace only, a free gift from God. However, one receives God’s grace gradually through participation in the Catholic Church. Catholics believe that people are “saved” by faith and by works, not by one or the other alone. Catholics believe that salvation is a process that occurs over time as one is involved in the life of the Catholic Church (the “repository of saving grace”). In Catholicism, “salvation” and “sanctification” are merged into one and the same process. Protestants in contrast, separate the terms: salvation is conferred immediately by what Jesus Christ has done when a person confesses Jesus as saviour and enters into the Christian life, whereas sanctification is the slow process whereby a person conforms her or his life to the teachings of the Christian faith.
Purgatory
Because salvation and sanctification (the process of being purified of one’s sins) are necessary in order to enter heaven, Catholics believe that there is an intermediate place (a state of suffering between heaven and hell) called Purgatory, where people ultimately destined for heaven must pass through after they die. The Catholic Catechism says: “All who die in God’s grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven” (CCC Part 1, Section 2, Chapter 3:1030). Purgatory is where humans can work through any remaining sins, become purified and be made ready for heaven. Protestants, in contrast to Catholics, believe that Jesus Christ died for all people’s sins, making them holy and faultless before God, therefore not requiring Purgatory. In his writings, Pope John Paul II approaches the Protestant view by emphasising the role that Jesus Christ plays in that purification. He said “the term purgatory doe not indicate a place, but a condition of existence,” where Christ “removes … the remnants of imperfection” (John Paul II, 1999).
Heaven and Hell
The Catholic Catechism says: “Those who die in God’s grace and friendship and are perfectly purified live forever with Christ. They are like God for ever, for they “see him as he is,” face to face. This perfect life with the Most Holy Trinity – this communion of life and love with the Trinity, with the Virgin Mary, the angels and all the blessed – is called “heaven.” Heaven is the ultimate end and fulfillment of the deepest human longings, the state of supreme, definitive happiness. To live in heaven is “to be with Christ”” (CCC Part 1, Section 2, Chapter 3:1023-1025). Among US Catholics, three-quarters (76%) say they have no doubt that “There is a Heaven” (CARA, 2008).
The Catholic Catechism also says: “We cannot be united with God unless we freely choose to love him. But we cannot love God if we sin gravely against him, against our neighbour or against ourselves: “He who does not love remains in death. Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in Him” [citing 1 John 3:14]. Our Lord warns us that we shall be separated from him if we fail to meet the serious needs of the poor and the little ones who are his brethren. To die in mortal sin without repenting and accepting God’s merciful love means remaining separated from him forever by our own free choice. This state of definitive self-exclusion from communion with God and the blessed is called “hell”” (CCC Part 1, Section 2, Chapter 3:1033). Two-thirds of US Catholics (67%) indicate that they have no doubt that “There is a Hell” (78% of weekly Mass attendees) (CARA, 2008).
The Bible
Catholics believe that God revealed himself in the Bible, all 46 books of the Hebrew Bible and all 27 books of the New Testament. This was the original Bible (canon agreed on in 367 AD) and remained so until the 16th century. After the Protestant Reformation, Protestants dropped 7 books from the original Bible to form the Protestant Bible. The “rule of faith” among Catholics is based on both what is contained in the Bible and in “sacred tradition” (not the Bible alone, i.e., Sola Scriptura, as Protestants believe). For Catholics, sacred tradition is valued equally in reverence and devotion as the Bible. From 40 to 65 years after Jesus’ death, the New Testament was transmitted orally by word of mouth (Robinson, 2000; Geisler, 1998; Mounce, 1998). This is similar to what Catholics mean by the term “sacred tradition.” Catholics interpret the Bible in a “literal” sense: “the meaning conveyed by the words of Scripture and discovered by exegesis, following the rules of sound interpretation” (CCC Part 1, Section 1, Chapter 2:116). This is different than the “literalist” interpretation, which maintains that whatever a passage of Scripture says is what it means (in other words, if the Bible said the world was created in six days then it was created in 144 hours).
Mary and the Saints
The Catholic Catechism says: “The Virgin Mary … is acknowledged and honoured as being truly the Mother of God and of the redeemer. … She is “clearly the mother of the members of Christ” … (963) since she has by her charity joined in bringing about the birth of believers in the Church, who are members of its head. “Mary, Mother of Christ, Mother of the Church” … By her complete adherence to the Father’s will, to his Son’s redemptive work, and to every prompting of the Holy Spirit, the Virgin Mary is the Church’s model of faith and charity. Thus she is a “preeminent and … wholly unique member of the Church”; indeed, she is the “exemplary realisation” of the church” (967) (CCC Part 1, Section 2, Chapter 3).
Thus, Mary, as the mother of God, has a special place in Catholic belief. Catholics believe it is appropriate to pray through (not to) Mary or through the Saints who are viewed as holy people who intercede between humans and God. Mary and the Saints are not worshiped themselves, but are honoured and venerated, viewed as role models, and considered intercessors. This is similar to a person asking friends and family to pray (or intercede) for him or her. Among US Catholics, 73% have no double that “Mary, the Mother of God, was immaculately conceived without original sin” (90% of weekly Mass attendees) (CARA, 2008).
The Church
Catholics believe that the Catholic Church is the only church today that can make the claim that it was founded 2000 years ago by Jesus Christ himself; all other churches have been founded by other individuals at later dates. The Catholic Catechism says: “”This is the sole Church of Christ, which in the Creed we profess to be one, holy, catholic and apostolic.” These four characteristics, inseparably linked with each other, indicate essential features of the Church and her mission. The Church doe not possess them of herself; it is Christ who, through the Holy Spirit, makes his Church one, holy, catholic, and apostolic, and it is he who calls her to realise each of these qualities” (CCC Part 1, Section 2, Chapter 3:811). Catholics believe that Jesus teaches people how to know, love and serve the God through the Catholic Church.
The Pope
The authority structure of the Catholic Church is vertical, in contract to the horizontal structure of most Protestant churches, which profess the “priesthood of all believers.” Catholics believe in the sovereign authority of the Pope (the Bishop of Rome) over all members of the church. The Pope acts through bishops, archbishops, and cardinals. Cardinals are bishops selected by the Pope who form the College of Cardinals. They also elect the next Pope and make other important church decisions. Bishops are in charge of local dioceses, and archbishops are in charge of really large local dioceses. A diocese is made up of local parishes (a parish is usually covered by a specific Catholic church), which are led by parish priests. Other Catholic clergy include monks, deacons, and nuns/sisters (the only female Catholic clergy).
Summary
These are the primary tenets of the Catholic faith. Of course, not all Catholics believe in everything above and there is a range of belief even among Catholic clergy in this regard. Nevertheless, these beliefs are generally considered core Catholic beliefs that the majority of Catholics ascribe to.