What Christians Believe
What Christians Believe
Understanding the Nicene Creed
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Winner of the ACP 2026 Excellence in Publishing Award for General Interest
Winner of the CMA 2026 Book Award for History of Theology: Church Fathers and Mothers
Today, more than a quarter of Americans claim no religious affiliation at all. Religious belief in general, and Christianity in particular, is increasingly regarded as mythical and unreasonable—the superstitious product of prescientific minds.
But what do thoughtful Christians actually believe?
In this short book, renowned preacher, teacher, and theologian Bishop Robert Barron invites skeptics, seekers, and lifelong Christians alike to consider this question through one of Christianity’s most pivotal texts: the Nicene Creed, an ancient statement of faith that has guided Christian thought for 1700 years and is still accepted by Christians around the world today. With philosophical and theological acumen, Bishop Barron walks through the Creed line by line, explaining its teachings on the mystery of the Trinity, the saving mission of Jesus Christ, and both the life of the Church below and the life of the world to come.
Drawing on Sacred Scripture, Church teaching, and the richness of the Catholic intellectual tradition, What Christians Believe unfolds the essentials of the Christian faith with conviction and clarity.
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Table of Contents
A Message from Bishop Barron
Fulton Sheen once said, “There are not over a hundred people in the United States who hate the Catholic Church. There are millions, however, who hate what they wrongly believe to be the Catholic Church—which is, of course, quite a different thing.”
This statement is, if anything, even truer today. For the past twenty-five years, I have been involved in the work of evangelizing the culture and have seen this reality firsthand. I have encountered many people who harbor an enormous antipathy toward religious belief in general, and Christianity in particular. And what has become crystal clear to me in that time is that the overwhelming majority of these critics do not have a firm grasp of what the Church actually teaches.
What Christians Believe: Understanding the Nicene Creed, an abridged version of my book Light from Light, is intended to address precisely this problem. The Nicene Creed is an ancient statement of faith that has guided Christian thought, both East and West, down the centuries, uniting believers across traditions and generations. As such, it serves as a fitting overview of the Christian faith, especially in 2025, which marks its 1700th anniversary. In What Christians Believe, which features a foreword by theologian Matthew Levering, I walk readers through the Nicene Creed line by line, explaining its teachings on the mystery of the Trinity, the saving mission of Jesus Christ, the life of the Church below and the life of the world to come, and more.
Today, more than a quarter of Americans claim no religious affiliation at all. In a number of studies undertaken within the past decade, people who have left the practice of religion were asked why they disaffiliated. They gave various reasons, but one of the most prominent was simply that they no longer believed in the teachings of Christianity. This book, which tries to explicate those teachings in a compelling way, is written especially for those who have wandered away from the faith.
I would humbly ask that you read and share this little book and consider ordering a copy for your parishioners, your family, or your friends. May we, as a Church, work to clarify what Christians believe to nonbelievers, and fortify what we believe in our own hearts.
Thank you, and may God bless you,
Bishop Robert Barron
Diocese of Winona-Rochester (Minnesota)
Founder of Word on Fire Catholic Ministries
What People are Saying
“Robert Barron is a great teacher of the Church and a gifted biblical commentator who breaks open the Word of God for our day as Ambrose and Augustine did for theirs.”
—George Weigel, Ethics and Public Policy Center
“One element of Bishop Barron’s appeal is that he’s so reasonable. He probably incarnates the classic Catholic synthesis between faith and reason more thoroughly and overtly than virtually any other living figure.”
—John Allen Jr., bestselling author and Vatican journalist
“In the Nicene Creed, we discover the intense excitement of God-wonder. Here is the deeper “theory of everything.” ... Barron communicates this breathtaking story with sure-footed intellectual seriousness, breadth, and range.”
—Matthew Levering, James N. Jr. and Mary D. Perry Chair of Theology, Mundelein Seminary
“Bishop Robert Barron is arguably the greatest Catholic communicator of our times.”
—Arthur Brooks, Professor of the Practice of Public Leadership, Harvard University