Your year, week by week

Christians believe in one God in three Persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Each is fully God, yet God is not three gods. The Nicene Creed sets this out. It matters because it shapes worship, baptism and prayer, and explains how God can be both beyond the world and present within it.

Christians believe God made the universe from nothing, freely and out of love. Genesis 1 shows God creating by his word, with the Spirit present, and calling it good. It matters because the world belongs to God, humans are made in his image, and life has purpose rather than being an accident.

Christians remember Jesus' final week: the Last Supper, betrayal by Judas, arrest, trials before the Sanhedrin and Pilate, crucifixion, resurrection on the third day and ascension. These events matter because they show Jesus' death was a willing sacrifice for sin, and the resurrection proves death is not the end.

Salvation means being saved from sin and its consequences, and restored to a right relationship with God. Christians believe this comes through God's grace, shown in Jesus' death and resurrection, and is received by faith. Some also stress the law and the Holy Spirit. It matters because it offers forgiveness and eternal life.

If God is all-loving, all-powerful and all-knowing, why does evil exist? Christians distinguish moral evil, caused by human choices, from natural evil like earthquakes and disease. The problem matters because suffering can shake faith and is used by atheists as evidence that such a God does not exist.

Sunni Muslims share six key beliefs: Tawhid, angels, holy books, prophets, the Day of Judgement and Al-Qadr. Together they set out what a Muslim must accept to be a believer. They matter because they shape daily choices: if Allah is one, watching and judging, then worship and moral behaviour follow.

Shi'a Muslims organise their faith into five roots (Usul ad-Din): Tawhid, Adalat (divine justice), Nubuwwah (prophethood), Imamah (leadership by twelve appointed Imams) and Mi'ad (resurrection and judgement). These matter because they explain why Shi'a Muslims follow the Imams as infallible guides and insist Allah is always perfectly just.

Muslims believe Allah is one (Tawhid), with no partners or images. He is transcendent, beyond the universe, yet immanent, closer than a person's jugular vein. He is omnipotent, beneficent, merciful and just. This matters because it makes shirk the worst sin and shapes how Muslims pray and behave.

Risalah means messengership: Allah communicates with humans through prophets, angels and holy books. Prophets like Adam, Ibrahim, Musa, Dawud and Isa brought God's guidance; Muhammad is the final prophet, the Seal of the Prophets. This matters because Muslims believe they cannot know how to live without revealed guidance.

Muslims believe Allah revealed several books: the Sahifah (scrolls) to Ibrahim, Tawrat to Musa, Zabur to Dawud, Injil to Isa and the Qur'an to Muhammad. Only the Qur'an is believed to be perfectly preserved in Arabic, so it is the final authority for belief and daily life.

Al-Qadr means Allah's decree: nothing happens outside His will, and everything is already recorded on the Preserved Tablet. Most Muslims still believe humans have free will and will be judged for their choices. This matters because it brings comfort in suffering while keeping people responsible for their actions.

Akhirah is life after death. Muslims believe the soul waits in barzakh until the Day of Judgement, when everyone is resurrected and their deeds weighed, leading to Jannah (paradise) or Jahannam (hell). This matters because belief in judgement gives Muslims a strong reason to live morally now.

Worship is showing God love and respect. Christians worship in church and at home: liturgical worship follows a set order from a service book, non-liturgical worship is less formal, and private worship happens alone. It matters because it builds a relationship with God, obeys the command to honour him, and unites the community.

A sacrament is an outward sign of an inward blessing from God. Catholics keep seven, including baptism, Eucharist and marriage; most Protestants keep two. Christians believe sacraments pass on God's grace, mark key life stages and follow Jesus' own commands, so they strengthen faith and belonging to the Church.

Prayer is communication with God. Christians use set prayers such as the Lord's Prayer, and informal prayers in their own words. Types include adoration, confession, thanksgiving and petition. Prayer matters because it builds a personal relationship with God, brings comfort in suffering and asks help for others.

Christmas celebrates the incarnation, God becoming human in Jesus, with carols, nativity plays and Midnight Mass. Easter celebrates the resurrection, the heart of Christian belief, after Holy Week and Good Friday. These festivals matter because they retell the story of salvation, teach children the faith, and bring the community together.

Church attendance is falling in Britain but growing in Africa and Asia. Christians respond with evangelism, church planting, online services, youth work and ecumenism, churches working together. This matters because Christians believe Jesus commanded them to spread the gospel, so the Church must stay relevant without losing its core message.

The local church is the building and the people. It provides worship, sacraments, teaching, baptisms, weddings and funerals, plus food banks, street pastors, youth clubs and support for the lonely. It matters because it gives Christians fellowship and puts Jesus' teaching to love your neighbour into practice.

Christian Aid is the official relief and development agency of British and Irish churches. It works in about 30 countries, tackling the causes of poverty as well as its effects: emergency relief after disasters, clean water and farming projects, and campaigning on debt and climate justice. It helps people of any faith or none.

Shi'a Muslims follow ten duties: salah, sawm, zakah, khums, hajj, jihad, amr-bil-maruf (encouraging good), nahi anil munkar (forbidding evil), tawalla (loving Allah's friends) and tabarra (rejecting his enemies). They matter because they turn belief into daily action, shaping how a Muslim worships, spends money and treats others.

The Shahadah is the declaration of faith: there is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is his messenger. Muslims say it in prayer, whisper it to newborns and hope to die with it on their lips. It matters because accepting it makes someone a Muslim and shapes everything else they believe.

Zakah is the yearly payment of 2.5% of surplus wealth to the poor and other needy groups. Shi'a Muslims also pay khums, one fifth of yearly savings, split between religious leadership and the Prophet's descendants. Both matter because wealth belongs to Allah and giving purifies it while reducing inequality.

Hajj is the pilgrimage to Makkah every able Muslim must make once if they can afford it. Pilgrims wear ihram, perform tawaf around the Ka'bah, stand at Arafat, and stone pillars at Mina. It matters because it wipes away past sins, shows equality and unites the worldwide ummah.

Jihad means 'to struggle' in Allah's cause. Greater jihad is the daily inner struggle to resist temptation and live faithfully. Lesser jihad is armed struggle, allowed only in self-defence under strict rules: declared by proper authority, never harming civilians, and stopped once the enemy seeks peace. Muslims see it as defending faith and justice, not terrorism.

Id-ul-Fitr ends Ramadan with prayer, charity (zakat-ul-fitr) and family meals. Id-ul-Adha, during Hajj, remembers Ibrahim's willingness to sacrifice his son; meat is shared with the poor. Shi'a Muslims mark Ashura, mourning Husayn's death at Karbala. These matter because they build community and retell key events of faith.

Christians see marriage as a lifelong covenant made before God, for love, faithfulness, support and the raising of children. Wedding vows are made 'till death us do part'. Churches differ on remarriage and on same-sex marriage.

Traditional Christian teaching is that sex belongs inside marriage, because it unites a couple and is open to new life. Many Christians today accept sex in a committed relationship. Non-religious views usually focus on consent and commitment rather than marriage.

Christians teach that the family is where children are protected, taught the faith and shown love. Family types include nuclear, extended, single-parent, blended and same-sex parent families. Churches differ in how far they accept each type.

Parishes run baptism and marriage preparation, Sunday schools, parent-and-toddler groups, youth clubs, counselling and food banks. This puts the teaching to love your neighbour into practice and keeps families connected to the church.

Catholic teaching permits only natural family planning, because sex should stay open to life. Most Protestant churches accept artificial contraception as responsible parenthood. Non-religious views generally see it as a matter of personal choice and health.

Catholic teaching is that a valid marriage cannot be dissolved, though an annulment may declare it was never valid. Anglicans and most Protestants permit divorce and sometimes remarriage in church. Jesus permitted divorce in the case of unfaithfulness.

Some Christians read Ephesians as giving men headship and women a supportive role. Most now teach equality, pointing to Galatians 3:28, and share parenting and work. Non-religious views generally start from legal equality.

Prejudice is the attitude; discrimination is acting on it. Examples include the pay gap and barriers to leadership. Christians point to all people being made in the image of God, though churches differ on women's ordination.