Among the Jews, the profession of faith takes the form of Shema Israel (שמע ישראל in Hebrew), Shema Israel Hachem Elokenu, Hachem Ekhad; is a quote from Deuteronomy (6:4): "Hear Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One."[1]
The rite of reception of baptized Christians into the communion of the Catholic Church states that "one who was born and baptized outside the visible communion of the Catholic Church is not required to make an abjuration of heresy [publicly] but simply a profession of faith".[5] Today, normally, an abjuration of heresy is made in the privacy of the confessional, though in the past it was often a public matter. After joining with the congregation in reciting the Nicene Creed, the person being received into the Catholic Church makes the following profession of faith:
I believe and profess all that the holy Catholic Church believes, teaches, and proclaims to be revealed by God.[6]
As indicated in the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, adults joining the Catholic Church were formerly asked to abjure the previous faith to which they belonged ("Hebrew superstition", the Islamic "sect of the infidel", or "the heretical errors of the evil sect" from which they came). The profession of faith used was the Tridentine Profession of Faith.[7]
In the Anglican churches, a profession of faith is made by "those elected or nominated in the office of bishop".[9] For baptisms in the Church of England, the Apostles' Creed is the profession of faith made by the candidate (or his/her sponsors).[10]
A profession of faith is taken by confirmands, as well as new Christians joining the United Methodist Church.[12]
Baptist, Pentecostal and nondenominational Christianity[edit]
In Baptist, Pentecostal and nondenominational Christianity, which adheres to the doctrine of the believers' Church, the profession of faith consists in witnessing to one's personal conversion and to one's faith in Jesus, before the believer's baptism.[13][14] This rite is thus reserved for adolescents and adults.[15]
^Walter A. Elwell, Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, Baker Academic, USA, 2001, p. 132
^Sébastien Fath, Du ghetto au réseau: Le protestantisme évangélique en France, 1800–2005, Édition Labor et Fides, Genève, 2005, p. 366
^Edward E. Hindson, Daniel R. Mitchell, The Popular Encyclopedia of Church History: The People, Places, and Events That Shaped Christianity, Harvest House Publishers, USA, 2013, p. 33
^Roger Foehrlé, L'Islam pour les profs : recherches pédagogiques, éd. Karthala Éditions, 1992, p. 66
