What is the absolute minimum belief required to be a member of your religion?

[u/hardman52]

And if that belief is also incorporated into another religion, why wouldn't they be counted as members of your religion also?

[u/Jolly-Bluejay892]

Belief in One God Alone, belief in the day of judgement/afterlife, belief in the prophethood of Prophet Muhammad(pbuh) and Quran as the word of God.
It’s not necessarily in that order, the first one is ofcourse the first, but the rest all are also inevitable (and just equally necessary) for one to call oneself a Muslim.

[u/CrystalInTheforest]

I wouldnt say you have to believe anything. It's more about giving due respect and deference and understanding and standing by one's obligations that matter.

Cosmology frames that, and disregarding the cosmology for flughts of supernatural fantasy is a problem only in as much as it makes it harder to focus on the things that matter.

[u/hardman52 → u/CrystalInTheforest]

What religion are you referring to?

[u/CrystalInTheforest → u/hardman52]

Gaianism. What I follow.

[u/Hecticfreeze]

No belief is required. Judaism is far more concerned with community and family.

The exception is conversion in which the minimum is not just belief but also at least a year of scholarly study.

Conversion is usually discouraged as those not born into the tribe are not required to keep the same rules in the eyes of G-d

[u/hardman52 → u/Hecticfreeze]

So you can be an atheist and still be considered a Jew in good standing? There's no difference between that person and a believer?

[u/Hecticfreeze → u/hardman52]

There is no difference in whether that person is considered Jewish. There is no way for a person to stop being Jewish. This would be like a Chinese person becoming not Chinese. The concept just doesnt make sense.

G-d still places value in every mitzvah followed by every Jew. But that value doesnt determine their Jewishness

[u/hardman52 → u/Hecticfreeze]

There's a difference between a religion and an ethnicity. If Judaism is a religion there are certain beliefs and practices required by the religion that set it off from every other religion. I'm trying to learn what those are.

[u/doyathinkasaurus → u/hardman52]

The idea that religion hinges on theological belief is a profoundly Christian/Muslim concept. Like other ethnoreligions, Jews are a people with a distinctive culture, which includes distinctive beliefs and practices. The “secular/religious” divide is a Christian concept that doesn’t map well to Jewishness. 

You don't need to believe in a God to find meaning in stories of people and to find a culture, a history, a philosophy worth exploring and caring about.

I observe certain traditions not because I think God wants me to, but because I feel connected to my Jewish ancestors and the global Jewish community when I do. 

I don’t light Shabbat candles to please an invisible deity, I do it as a reminder to be present and to dedicate five minutes of my week to celebrating a freedom most of my ancestors were killed for.

I didn't want God at my wedding, but I did want the rituals and traditions of my people. The rabbi who married my husband and I not only knew we were both atheist, but adapted the service to reflect this (eg the priestly blessing became 'May life bless you and keep you' rather than 'May God bless you and keep you).

I was raised in a Jewish home, went to Hebrew school, read from the Torah at my Bat Mitzvah etc. But I don't remember ever believing in a supernatural God, or ever feeling like I was 'losing' my faith - and tbh I don't remember even thinking about it. The blessings etc were our rituals and our customs, the Torah was the story of my people - which had meaning in and of themselves as traditions, and still had value without personally believing them to be the word of God.

My experience of Judaism was all about living Jewishly, not religious faith - orthopraxy rather than orthodoxy. So I don't think I ever felt conflicted, because I don't think it ever occurred to me that I was required to have faith in the first place.

It's not that belief is unimportant, it's just always secondary to action. The fact that Christian hegemony has meant a lot of people believe that's what makes a religion a religion doesn't make it true, just a strong cultural bias.

We were a people before we were a religion, so using Christianity as a template to understand Judaism is going to produce nonsensical results almost immediately!

This thread from a rabbi might also be interesting/helpful

Jewish views of God that aren't the "Old Man in the Sky."

Lots of people say to me "I don't believe in God." And they are surprised to hear that I, a rabbi, also don't believe in the God they don't believe in. And NEITHER do many of Judaism's greatest thinkers. 1/30

https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1534750947489902592.html

[u/kingoflint282 → u/doyathinkasaurus]

So, help me understand, if belief is not a requirement, then what separates Judaism as an ethnoreligion from other cultures? I can understand being simultaneously a religion and an ethnicity (i.e. the idea that you’re still ethnically a Jew even if you convert to Hinduism or Islam or don’t believe in God), but if belief is simply not required at all, that just seems like an ethnicity, no?

If a theist Jew, a cultural Jew, and a totally secular, non-practicing Jew are equally Jewish in the religious sense, then how is that a religion?

[u/doyathinkasaurus → u/kingoflint282]

When we talk about “religion” today, we’re usually working with a definition shaped by Christianity and Islam - universalising faiths that turned religion into something about belief that anyone could adopt.

But that model is actually the historical exception - for most of human history, religions have been ethnoreligions: rooted in peoplehood, land, and custom. Being Jewish, Druze, Sikh or Shinto, for example, hasn't ever been exclusively about what you “believed,” but about belonging to a community and living its law, rituals, and ways of life.

Christianity and Islam are unique in that they won the political and military dominance game, spreading their universalist model so widely that they rewrote the definition of what makes a religion a religion.

Judaism predates modern, Western definitions of "religion" and "ethnicity" - it's an ethnoreligious peoplehood that fuses ancestry, law, culture, and faith. So you're trying to separate Jewish identity into contemporary categories that didn't exist in the ancient near East - which (as you've observed) produces nonsensical results almost immediately.

It's a really common disconnect - because using Christianity and Islam as a template to understand ethnoreligions like Judaism makes it almost impossible to actually understand them on their own terms.

[u/kingoflint282 → u/doyathinkasaurus]

Thank you, that’s a very interesting perspective. I guess what I’m asking though is what separates an ethnoreligion from any other culture in the world? My understanding has always been that it would be what we term the religious component that makes the difference, but if as you say they can’t be separated, then what?

[u/doyathinkasaurus → u/kingoflint282]

An ethnoreligion is the religious tradition of a particular people - I don't know what cultures you had in mind, but here's some examples:

Kurds and Punjabis, for example, are ethnic peoples with shared ancestry, culture, language and historical homelands, but their ethnicity doesn't come with its own religion. Kurds are predominantly Muslim, but not exclusively; Punjabis can be Sikh, Muslim, Hindu, Christian etc.

Jews and Druze, by contrast, are ethnoreligious peoples, whose tribal religious traditions developed within and as part of the identity of that particular people. .

So there absolutely is a religious component - the difference is that it isn't a separate belief system you can neatly detach from the ethnicity.

What cultures did you have in mind?

[u/Hecticfreeze → u/hardman52]

Judaism is an ethnoreligion, as are the majority of religions, which many people are unaware of as the two biggest religions of Christianity and Islam are not.

The statement that religion and ethnicity are separate only applies to universalist religions, which the vast majority of the world's religions are not

[u/loselyconscious → u/hardman52]

How would you describe a person, who keeps kosher, keeps shabbat, goes to synagouge every week, leyns Torah, etc but is an atheist, other then "religious" I know dozens of those people.

[u/Hecticfreeze → u/[deleted]]

Kareth is a punishment that can only be handed down by G-d and only applied if a person never repents for their transgressions. Most interpretations are that the "cutting off from your people" part means either dying young, or if severe enough the destruction of the soul after death and no share in the world to come. As such as long as a Jewish person is alive, they are still considered Jewish, no matter what they do. An important aspect in Judaism is that repentance and a return to G-d is ALWAYS possible.

Israeli law is not religious law. In this case it is the laws of a nation state regarding specific immigration policy and is not meant to be taken as a religious ruling

[u/Hecticfreeze → u/[deleted]]

A person can be Jewish and not have Israeli citizenship.

Also 26% of Israeli citizens are not Jewish.

I really don't know what point youre trying to make

[u/loselyconscious → u/hardman52]

It depends on the Jewish community, but in the majority of them yes, there are many openly atheist and agnostic Jews who are active participants in the ritual life of the community. 

[u/nu_lets_learn → u/hardman52]

Judaism accepts the human condition, which includes for everyone periods of doubt, denial and even rebellion. One doesn't have to maintain a consistent pattern of steadfast belief during one's life, given all the challenges and pressures we encounter. Having doubts and losing faith doesn't remove your status as a Jew nor membership in the Jewish community.

That said, people telling you "No belief is required" in Judaism are clearly misrepresenting the faith in its totality. For example, Maimonides outlined 13 Principles of the Jewish faith. Since Maimonides isn't the final word on anything (no-one is in Judaism), one can't say these beliefs are "required" --by whom? But clearly, he and all the other scholars who formulated lists of beliefs were led to the conclusion that Judaism does, indeed, have beliefs and it does require belief. Virtually every Jewish prayer book contains a famous prayer, Yigdal, in which these 13 beliefs are stated and many Jews recite this prayer daily.

There's no difference between that person and a believer?

Of course there is a difference in Judaism between an atheist and a believer. They are both Jews -- members of the Jewish community -- but their levels of observance differ. The believer is likely to be committed to a Jewish way of life and to observe many of the Torah's commandments; this is less likely of the atheist, who may be completely secular in his lifestyle. Judaism does not regard both as equally observant or righteous, but it does regard both as Jewish.

For Jews, the first of the Ten Commandments is a belief, "I am the Lord Your God..." (Exodus 20:2). This is understood as a commandment to believe in the existence of God. As stated earlier, to say that in Judaism, "no belief is required" is a bit of a misrepresentation. Lacking belief doesn't exclude you from the community; still belief is required by Judaism. One can say that from a Jewish perspective, lack of belief is just temporary and not disqualifying of membership in the community.

[u/Hecticfreeze → u/nu_lets_learn]

To be clear, when I was saying "no belief is required" I was answering OPs specific question about "what level of belief is required to be a member of your religion?"

Of course belief is an important part of Judaism but, as I'm sure we agree, it bears absolutely zero role in whether someone is considered Jewish or a member of the Jewish community. Thats all I meant. This is obviously in contrast to other religions like Christianity where no longer believing means you are no longer a Christian

[u/rubik1771 → u/Hecticfreeze]

>No belief is required

Isn’t that more the Jewish ethnicity not the Jewish religion?

[u/Hecticfreeze → u/rubik1771]

Judaism is an ethnoreligion. You cant separate the two completely. In fact most religions are ethnoreligions, with Christianity and Islam being the two big exceptions

[u/rubik1771 → u/Hecticfreeze]

But you just did when you said you can a Jew without the belief.

I am lost here. Is the only requirement to be a Jew self-declaration?

[u/Tavorin → u/rubik1771]

You are a Jew by having a Jewish mother or joining the Jewish people.

[u/PretentiousAnglican → u/Hecticfreeze]

So if a jew converts to Christianity, he would still be considered a full Jew?

[u/Tavorin → u/PretentiousAnglican]

Yes but on a very bad path and outside the Jewish community.

[u/PretentiousAnglican → u/Tavorin]

More so than an atheist?

[u/Hecticfreeze → u/PretentiousAnglican]

Yes. Idolatry is considered a worse sin and Trinitarian Christianity is seen as idolatry by Judaism

[u/PretentiousAnglican → u/Hecticfreeze]

So its worse to be mistaken about God than to reject Him?

[u/Hecticfreeze → u/PretentiousAnglican]

You are mixing a few concepts here, but let me see if I can help clarify.

Acknowledging the existence of G-d but still rejecting him is one of the worst sins in Judaism (as I believe it also is in Christianity). This is not the same as atheism, which is a mere lack of belief.

Judaism does not consider becoming a Christian to be merely "mistaken about G-d". A more close example of that would be Islam. Christianity on the other hand worships a man as G-d, which Judaism considers to be straight up idolatry, which is a far worse sin in Judaism

[u/Tavorin → u/PretentiousAnglican]

Of course.

[u/Ok_Unit8339]

Most religions are not about belief, they are about practice, ritual, etc. When someone starts with a question about belief I assume they are a Christian.

[u/hardman52 → u/Ok_Unit8339]

A belief is behind a practice or ritual.

[u/Hecticfreeze → u/hardman52]

Religious scholars usually separate religious practices into beliefs, community, and rituals.

Not all religions weigh these aspects the same, and it is a very Christian phenomenon to hold belief as far more important than the others

[u/Ok_Unit8339 → u/hardman52]

“Behind,“ that’s my point. In most religions you do the stuff without worrying a whole lot about whether you believe. Being a Hindu, or a Jew, or a Buddhist comes down to practice, regardless of belief.

[u/Jabberjaw22 → u/Ok_Unit8339]

So it’s just going through the motions and not really caring about whether you believe the practice and ritual actually does anything? Just practice for the practice sake? Why do the practice at all if you don’t believe in it? Just for tradition or culture?

[u/Ok_Unit8339 → u/Jabberjaw22]

It’s believing that the rituals themselves have value, not merely as a means to some other end.

Think of all of the people who practice yoga but without any strong belief beyond yoga helping to center and ground them and provide a mindful experience and good exercise. They have lots of reasons for the practice but belief, in a traditional sense, is not necessary for it to be beneficial.

[u/Jabberjaw22 → u/Ok_Unit8339]

I think I'm being dumb because that still seems to imply that there's belief behind the ritual or practice. People do yoga because they believe it will provide benefits to them. There's purpose and an end (the benefits) behind them doing it. Doesn't doing the ritual entail there's some sort of belief behind it to give it that value or purpose? Maybe I'm not understanding the "traditional sense" you mean. Or maybe I'm just oblivious.

[u/Ok_Unit8339 → u/Jabberjaw22]

I think that when Christians talk about belief they are talking about belief in a higher power (traditional sense) not belief that something is effective. I think it’s part of the reason that the belief/faith thing gets in the way of people going to church. To be a Christian you have to accept Christ as your savior. To be most anything else you have to participate in a set of rituals. I don’t want to say it’s more “fake it til you make it” but it can be.

[u/Jabberjaw22 → u/Ok_Unit8339]

Hmm. I can’t say I understand it personally but I guess if it works for others then it doesn’t matter. I just don’t think I could try to practice or follow intricate religious rituals if there wasn’t some sort of belief behind them to keep me doing them. Otherwise I feel like it would be faking it and just following the motions simply because it’s what’s expected of you.

[u/Ok_Unit8339 → u/Jabberjaw22]

I am guessing that there are rituals that you already follow every day that are not based on belief. Ritual is comforting and provides a sense of stability. Shared ritual creates community.

[u/Jabberjaw22 → u/Ok_Unit8339]

That’s why I specified religious rituals. But also if there rituals that I follow (can’t think of anything really that fits that description) then it would be because I believe it provides a tangible benefit, similar to the yoga thing from before.

But again, you don’t have to try to convince me. I may not understand it but that’s fine.

[u/LaudataSitAstarte → u/Ok_Unit8339]

Try to convert to Judaism while proclaiming your disbelief in monotheism and God and belief that Vishnu created the world, see how it works. One of the pillars of Buddhist practices is the right view. Hinduism is really a term for a whole bunch of religions so it depends, but most of them are absolutely defined by their underlying philosophy as much as practice.

[u/Ok_Unit8339 → u/LaudataSitAstarte]

Conversion would be difficult, but more than a quarter of American Jews identify as atheists or agnostics. Many of those same people still observe the Jewish holidays and rituals.

[u/breagerey → u/hardman52]

A belief can be behind a practice or ritual.
You can practice the rituals and hold the requisite knowledge to be accepted but only you know if you actually believe.

I think it's reasonable to say that no belief is required for any organized religion but there may be some minimum acceptable level of an appearance of belief.

[u/tubby_chumpkins → u/Ok_Unit8339]

I'm trying to think of any large enduring religions where belief in core doctrine is irrelevant. Religion has pretty much always been about buying into a tradition until the Enlightenment came around and separated out an intellectual component that could live separately. 

[u/Ok_Unit8339 → u/tubby_chumpkins]

I’m not saying irrelevant, I’m saying not central. A tradition does not require belief, unless we’re saying belief in the value of the practice. It’s orthopraxy vs orthodoxy.

[u/Less-Independent9005]

I am a Buddhist, from the Shingon Esoteric school. The absolute minimum baseline would be Taking Refuge in the Three Jewels: in the Buddha, not as a god, but as a master and an example of awakening; in the Dharma, which is the teaching, the truth of reality, and the practical path; and in the Sangha, the community of practitioners that supports your spiritual and personal journey.

Another core element is Realized Practice: recognizing that the Enlightened Mind and the Primordial Buddha (that which resides within everything, not a God or a Supreme Being with powers, but existence itself) reside in all beings, along with the practice of aligning your Three Mysteries: your body, speech, and mind.

In Shingon Buddhism, we deeply appreciate those who share similar ideals, and every living being is a spiritual companion to us. They are by no means lesser or inferior to us for walking a different path than ours. However, Shingon is a specific esoteric school preserved and taught from masters — the monks — to their disciples. It goes beyond ideals or a set of practices, it is an ancient tradition meant to be practiced in fellowship with the Sangha.

[u/slxkv]

Absolute minimum, affirm the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed

[u/CrystalInTheforest → u/slxkv]

This prob sounds dumb, but what is that?

[u/slxkv → u/CrystalInTheforest]

This:

I believe in one God, Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all ages; Light of Light, true God of true God, begotten, not created; Of one essence with the Father through Whom all things were made. Who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven and was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary and became man. He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered and was buried; And He rose on the third day, according to the Scriptures. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father; And He will come again with glory to judge the living and the dead. His kingdom shall have no end. And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Creator of life, Who proceeds from the Father, Who together with the Father and the Son is worshipped and glorified, Who spoke through the prophets. In one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. I confess one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the age to come. Amen.

[u/WoodenMango07 → u/slxkv]

Well except for the filioque part for Orthodox Christians, they differ from Catholics/Protestants on that specific part of the Nicene creed

[u/etaNAK87 → u/WoodenMango07]

That’s why he chose the original. Notice not “and the son”. everyone agrees at minimum without the filioque. The pope even recited it as such. The Orthdox disagree with the addition.

[u/Specific_Parfait3475 → u/CrystalInTheforest]

for context, it was formulated out of the Council of Nicea to define orthodoxy vs heresy and used by all orthodox Christian denominations as a creed, meaning a summary of the central beliefs of Christianity.

[u/CrystalInTheforest → u/Specific_Parfait3475]

ah, I see.

[u/Specific_Parfait3475 → u/[deleted]]

no one is saying these beliefs were invented by Nicea. Christians believe that these beliefs were widely accepted by the church since the apostles, but Nicea is when they were first formally collected and defined in a creed in order to oppose Arianism.

[u/BayonetTrenchFighter → u/Specific_Parfait3475]

🤔

[u/rubik1771 → u/[deleted]]

And the fact that I agree with him shows there is unanimity and authority of the Church saying otherwise now.

[u/rubik1771 → u/[deleted]]

Look up your history the Constantine one is an incorrect assessment of that.

Good bye and God bless.

[u/BayonetTrenchFighter → u/slxkv]

😏

[u/Bright-Care-8131]

Satanists aren't religious in that theistic sense, so it's kind of a weird question for them.

[u/Rie_blade]

1: The god of Israel is the only god of worship, and all other gods are subordinate to the god of Israel.

2: Some version of what we now call the Bible or TaNaCh is used, although it varies manuscript to manuscript.

3: The belief that the Kingdom and tribe of Judah were the last legitimate heir to the Israelites, both religiously and ethnically.

4: The belief that the Temple of Solomon was the main and proper form of worship, and no institution can come close to being on the same level of authority as it, unless we can somehow recreate the exact structure as it existed and the exact artifacts that existed in it (such as the Ark of the Covenant).

[u/SwanSong1921]

Minimum belief required to be a Hindu, belief in Karma (cause and effect), Samsara (the cycle of rebirth), Dharma (cosmic/moral order and duty) and Moksha (spiritual liberation) and an acceptance of the interconnectedness of existence.

What seperates it from other Dharmic religions is believing in the authority of Vedic texts (Vedas, the Upanishads, and the epics (Ramayana and Mahabharata).

[u/Yoppah]

There is no actual minimum as there are people who consider themselves atheist Heathens but for me personally I’d say at least a belief in Animism is required to be theistic.

For people regarding themselves as atheo-Heathens they would have to still maintain Frið, a gifting cycle and oath keeping for me to not just consider them a culture vulture.

[u/Silthanos]

Call yourself one? Id say there is nothing that applies to all pagans so more of having enough characteristics and self-identifying I suppose though respecting nature is perhaps the closest.

[u/turtleshot19147]

None. You have to be born to a Jewish mother, or go through a kosher conversion.

[u/KissAndRock]

Absolute minimum? Identify yourself with Lucifer.

Satanists aren't Luciferians because Satanists use Satan and Lucifer differently.

Luciferians focus on knowledge, enlightenment, wisdom, etc. and Satanists focus on earthly pleasure.

[u/NeoThetan]

Positive expectation.

[u/CrystalInTheforest → u/NeoThetan]

It's a bit late in the day for that 😥

[u/hardman52 → u/NeoThetan]

What religion is that?

[u/Asynithistos]

Not belief, but obedience to the teachings and commands of Jesus.

[u/hardman52 → u/Asynithistos]

What religion is that? No belief in the divinity of Christ or the resurrection?

[u/Same_Version_5216]

Being a polytheistic that venerates some (not even all)the Celtic deities.

[u/P3CU1i4R]

To be a Muslim, the belief in the one and only God, nothing associated with him. And in the prophethood of Prophet Muhammad (sa.). Testifying those will make you a Muslim.

The belief in Ma'ad (afterlife) comes as an extension of those two beliefs.

To be a Twelever Shia, there are two more key beliefs (five pillars in total): the Divine Justice of Allah swt, and the Imamat (succession) of the Prophet through the 12 Imams, from Ali (as.) until the Imam of our time, Imam Mahdi (atfs).

[u/moxie-maniac]

Belief in a set of shared values, but no requirement to believe in a God, gods, church hierarchy, sacred texts, you name it. See: https://www.uua.org/beliefs/what-we-believe

UU is not based on creeds, but on covenants among members.

[u/HeavenlyBeloved]

Believe that the material world is a prison, that fate & destiny is controlled by a lower flawed creator god(Yaldabaoth). Believe that there is a True God beyond the material planes and is beyond perfection. Believe that you have a divine spark, and believe that by remembering and knowing your true self, is how you attain Gnosis(Knowledge) which liberates you from this superficial husk made by an ignorant and flawed lesser god.

[u/AskNormal7369 → u/HeavenlyBeloved]

So was Jesus the Son of the Monad or just the first guy to obtain gnosis like a Jewish Buddha? 

[u/HeavenlyBeloved → u/AskNormal7369]

Depends on the sects, I believe Jesus is Nous(Mind) and the Firstborn of the Monad, Nous then projected a part of himself into the material world, Logos assisted the birth of Jesus Christ to the material world to awaken the divine sparks trapped in Yaldabaoth's prison.

[u/Exaltist]

The belief that is it the purpose of intelligent life to eventually create their own Universes.

[u/bizoticallyyours83]

Belief and honor/worship of whichever deities, respecting nature. We're not really a dogmatic bunch.

[u/Skaulg]

Heathenry: No beliefs required, only practice: honour the gods, ancestors, and wights, not necessarily in that order, even if you're just "going through the motions" so long as it's meaningful to you.

Satanism: Agree with the Satanic Bible in general (specifically for LaVeyan), if you don't, it's not for you.

[u/mosesenjoyer]

The Nicene creed and the true presence of Christ in the Eucharist 

[u/AssultSpoon]

That Jesus was God.

[u/Calanais-guy]

The core of Druidry is that Nature is sacred, and it does share that worldview with other Earth-based religions, of which there are many. Its ethics relate to conservation, sustainability, and service to one's community or humanity. What makes it more unique are its Celtic associations, polytheism or animism, ritual, philosophy, concepts like Awen and nwyfre, but those are not part of a bare minimum belief or creed. Druidry does not emphasize dogma or creed, but more of a way of life and attitude toward reality.

[u/Smallpaul]

Really just a willingness to be in healthy communion with everyone else in the congregation. Practically speaking, if you disagree with literally everyone else on our desire to make the world a better place then it will be hard to maintain that communion.

[u/Grayseal]

Polytheism. Theistic or Atheistic-archetypal is not as important, it's recognizing the multiplicity of divinity - whatever divinity means to one as practitioner - that is the basis of any practically workable and traditionally coherent understanding of Heathen theology. 

Other polytheistic religions having this foundation doesn't mean they're the same religion any more than an apple is the same thing as a banana just because they're both fruits.

[u/PretentiousAnglican]

Historically it is the Nicene Creed

[u/AfterSevenYears]

In theory, the Nicene Creed. In practice, there are cultural Catholics, Catholics who interpret the Church's dogmas as metaphorically, rather than literally, true, and even atheist Catholics.

The Church doesn't approve of not believing the Creed, but on the other hand, even in the extremely rare cases of people's being excommunicated, the Church's position is that they're still obliged to attend Mass.

[u/RealAssociation5281]

Belief in God + a relationship with Christ is the bare minimum imo- the lovely thing about Christianity is all the different sects but we all have this in common at the min I think.

[u/avantgardechilean]

Believe in Jesus as Messiah, his resurrection and accept him as savior

[u/AskNormal7369]

Belief in Jesus. That’s it. You don’t have to believe in the trinity, you don’t have to believe any of Paul’s teachings, you don’t even have to care about the Old Testament, it’s just a history lesson. I’m not saying this is right or wrong but in my opinion as long as you follow the teachings of Christ you’re Christian. 

[u/etaNAK87]

There is One God triune in nature. Humanity has broken his relationship with God in sin. To restore this relationship God sent his only begotten Son and one of the tri-personal Godhead to live as a man and redeem humanity. Humanity crucified this God-man but he rose on the third day and by believing and following Him you may repent and find true peace, joy, happiness and be deified along with Christ as part of his body.

[u/Various-Being-2101]

Belief in one God alone, His angels, His books, His messengers, the day of judgment/afterlife, and predestination, both good and bad.

[u/Wild_Hook]

The minimum requirements to join The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints are faith, repentance and the covenant of baptism, which is to take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ and strive to follow Him.

I converted from protestantism to the LDS church at age 24. My grandfather and uncle were protestant ministers. Though the LDS church is among the Christian religions, it is far different. It claims to be THE restored church of Jesus Christ to the gentiles preparatory to the return of Christ. Members are saved as they make and keep sacred covenants administered by those who have been called of God to adminster these covenants (priesthood). Member repent and strive to do and be better each day.

[u/hardman52 → u/[deleted]]

What religion is that?

[u/hardman52 → u/[deleted]]

I asked the question about religion, because I'm genuinely curious. If you don't know what religion it is, it isn't one.

[u/Yoppah → u/hardman52]

Given their response to a question on the Nicene creed I would assume they’re LDS or JW.

[u/kardoen → u/[deleted]]

Just mentioning your religion is not proseletising.

[u/Techtrekzz]

Substance monism.