'Creed' from the Latin credo (I believe) is a summary or brief formulary of the basic teachings of the Christian faith. It is essentially for the confession of faith that creeds are drawn up. The recitation of a creed privately or publicly, individually or with others, implies acceptance of the articles of faith in the creed and commitment to them.

The creeds with which Catholics are familiar and which they often recite are the Apostles' Creed is commonly recited at the commencement of the Rosary, and the Nicene Creed at Mass on Sundays and feast days that are Solemnities.

Although the story goes that the Apostles' Creed was formulated by the apostles themselves and that each of the twelve apostles contributed one of its twelve articles, there is no historical evidence that it has any direct link with the apostles. It has probably originated from a creed used for the profession of faith at baptism in the early Church. In that way it is an ancient creed. It appears in its present form only from about the middle of the 7th century. It replaced the earlier baptismal creeds and became the best known and most widely used creed in the Church. From the early 9th century it has been the common creed of the Western Church. It was recited not only for the confession of faith at baptism but also daily in the divine office.

The creed that is called the Nicene Creed, after the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea (325), is actually the creed of the First Ecumenical Council of Constantinople (381). However, it has links with the creed adopted at Nicaea. This so-called Nicene Creed, which is also called 'Ecumenical Creed', has as its purpose, not only the profession of faith but also the proclamation of Christian orthodoxy against heretical beliefs, and thus illustrates another function of creeds which is that they serve as a norm for orthodox belief and teaching. Unlike the Apostles' Creed which came to be widely used mainly in the Western Church, that of Constantinople (Nicene Creed) became particularly the creed of the Eastern Churches.

Another well-known Creed, though now not commonly used, is the Athanasian Creed, long attributed to St Athanasius of the 4th century (c.296-373), a great champion of orthodoxy, though it was actually composed around the end of the 5th century, probably by St Caesarius of Arles (470-543). It is certainly Athanasian in its defense of the Nicene faith. This creed is only a partial statement of doctrine, dealing especially with the Trinity and the Incarnation. It used to be recited in the divine office but was dropped after Vatican II.

A creed of modern times is the 'Credo of the People of God' promulgated by Pope Paul VI in 1967 on the occasion of the 19th centenary of the martyrdom of saints Peter and Paul. It was intended, not to be a dogmatic definition but as the Pope said, a fresh formulation that "repeats in substance, with some developments called for by the spiritual condition of our time, the Creed of Nicaea, the creed of the immortal tradition of the holy Church of God." It is a sort of paraphrase tradition of the Nicene Creed with special reference to current issues that come into conflict with the Catholic faith.

A creed therefore is a brief statement of fundamental and orthodox Christian teachings, by the recitation of which we renew each time our acceptance of them and profess our commitment and fidelity to them.