How to say "creed" in Japanese

• 信仰しんこうJLPT N3approx.Common
  noun, suru verb, transitive verbCovers 'creed' as personal religious faith — belief in and devotion to a religion. It fits when 'creed' means what an individual believes, not a formal statement of doctrine.
  キリスト教きりすときょうを信仰しんこうしていますか。↗

  Do you believe in Christianity?
• 信条しんじょうCommon
  nounCreed as a set of convictions or guiding principles a person lives by, religious or not. This is the closest match for 'creed' in the sense of a personal credo or article of faith.
  １銭せんたりともむだにしないのが彼かれの信条しんじょうだ。↗

  He makes a religion of never wasting a penny.
• 教義きょうぎCommon
  nounCreed as the official doctrine or dogma taught by a religion: the body of teachings a faith professes. Choose it for the doctrines of a church or sect, not for an individual's personal beliefs.
  あの宗教しゅうきょう団体だんたいはかなりいかがわしい教義きょうぎにとりつかれている。↗

  That religious cult has got some pretty off the wall ideas.
• 宗教しゅうきょうJLPT N3approx.Common
  nounReally means 'religion': a faith as an institution or a person's religious affiliation. It matches 'creed' only in that loose sense, and is seldom the word for a creed as a statement of belief.
  手始てはじめは、三さん大だい宗教しゅうきょうの聖地せいち、エルサレムを訪おとずれることだった。↗

  For a start, I visited Jerusalem - a sacred place for three major religions.

Use 信仰 for personal religious faith, 信条 for the convictions or principles a person lives by, 教義 for a religion's official doctrine, and 宗教 only when 'creed' really means religion or religious affiliation.

Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only

• 信仰しんこう(religious) faith
• 信条しんじょうcreed
• 教義きょうぎcreed
• 宗教しゅうきょうreligion
• 信経しんきょうcreed