Is Jesus God? What 21 Religions, Denominations and Belief Systems Say About His Divinity

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily match my own. - Dr. Bart D. Ehrman

Is Jesus God? It’s one of the most profound and debated questions in religious history—one that has shaped theology, sparked controversy, and influenced billions of lives across centuries. While Christian denominations vary in their interpretations, many affirm Jesus’ divinity. But Christianity isn’t the only worldview with an opinion on Jesus.

What do Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, or Sikhs think about Jesus’ divine status? Do they revere him, ignore him, or reject him entirely? Do Mormons believe Jesus is God? This article explores what 21 different denominations, religions, and belief systems say about Jesus’ divinity. Whether you're a believer, a skeptic, or simply curious, in this article, I’ll provide a deeper understanding of how one figure can mean so many different things to so many different people.

A Snapshot of Differing Views About the Deity of Jesus

People’s belief systems often affect their perceptions of Jesus. The chart below shows some of those differences at a glance, but you’ll find deeper analyses of some of the particulars later in the article.

Is Jesus God? A Look at Jesus’ Perception of Himself

Did Jesus say he was God? Did he think he was God? To the first question, we can give a qualified no: nowhere in the Gospels did Jesus explicitly say “I am God.” In fact, Bart Ehrman points out that in the Synoptic Gospels—Matthew, Mark, and Luke—Jesus never claims to be God in any way. He does claim to be the Son of Man (referred to in the book of Daniel) and the Messiah. However, most of Jesus’ teachings in those Gospels are about the coming Kingdom of God, and not about himself.

It's only in the Gospel of John that Jesus talks about himself. In fact, that’s almost all he talks about! For example, in John 8:58, he tells a group who don’t believe in him that “Before Abraham was, I am.” In this sentence, he not only claims to have been alive long before the patriarch Abraham (1,800 years before Jesus) but also uses the name of God from Exodus 3:13-14— I AM. In John 10:30 he says “I and the Father are one,” and in 14:9 he says “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.” It seems pretty clear: Jesus—or at least John’s Jesus— claimed to be God. Or did he?

It's clear that the author of John thought Jesus was God in human form, although perhaps not God the Father. However, John was the last of our canonical Gospels written. For this reason, Ehrman asks if Jesus had indeed said these things, why would the Synoptic Gospels have left them out? In his opinion, these were later theological and Christological developments superimposed back onto Jesus, who likely never claimed to be God.

Are there other verses outside the Gospels that claim that Jesus is God? In Philippians 2:5-11, Paul quotes a hymn that he likely didn’t write himself about the status of Jesus. The first part says this:

Scholars debate the intended meaning of this section, but it is at least possible that Paul believed that Jesus originally “existed in the form of God” and then became human. In Colossians, a book that claims to be written by Paul but probably wasn’t, we see in 1:15 that Jesus is “the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.” Later on in Colossians 2:9, the author says of Jesus, “in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily.” Finally, in Hebrews 1:3, the anonymous author says that Jesus “is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being.”

While these verses all seem to be saying that Jesus is God, they are written about Jesus rather than being Jesus’ own words. Certainly some NT authors came to believe that Jesus was God in some sense, but this does not guarantee that Jesus himself claimed it.

But if Jesus was God, why would he pray to God the Father in the Gospels (Matthew 11:25-26, Luke 23:34, John 12:27-28)? Are God and Jesus the same person? Christian theologians often note that, although in the context of the Trinity Jesus and God are one, they are also distinct persons who communicate with each other. This is why Jesus communicates with the Father in the Bible.

Do Christians pray to God or Jesus? The answer is both. Although the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are considered distinct persons within the Trinity, they all make up one God (or Godhead, in theological terms). This means that prayer to one is the same as prayer to all three. Orthodox theologian Kallistos Ware writes that “even in praying to Jesus, the other two persons [of the Trinity] are also present, although they are not named.”

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Is Jesus “a god” or “The God?” For the vast majority of Christians, the doctrine of the Trinity makes clear that Jesus is part of the Godhead: he is “The God.” The answer to this question is more complicated in some forms of Christianity, though. I’ll address that later.

Having answered some common questions about whether Jesus is God, let’s move on to look at what some of the world’s faith traditions believe about Jesus, beginning with branches of Christianity.

Do Catholics Believe Jesus Was God?

Catholics absolutely believe that Jesus was God. We can find this belief in some of the Catholic Church’s earliest quotes:

“Christ is the bond that unites us, because he is both God and man.” - St. Cyril of Alexandria (375-444 CE)

“Lord of the universe, Christ hid his infinite glory and took the nature of a servant.” St. Leo the Great, pope (400-461 CE)

Modern Catholics continue in this belief.

Do Eastern Orthodox Christians Believe That Jesus is God?

The Catholic and Orthodox churches split about 1,000 years ago, but they still share the belief that Jesus was both fully human and fully God. Like Catholics, the Orthodox recite the Nicene Creed which says that Jesus was “God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God.”

Do Mainline Protestants Believe Jesus Is God?

In general, all mainline Protestant churches maintain a belief in Jesus as God. For example, in Theology for Everyman, Presbyterian theologian John Gerstner said “We must either worship Christ as God or despise or pity Him as man.”

Do Evangelicals Believe Jesus Is God?

The statement of faith from the National Association of Evangelicals says “We believe in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ.” It could hardly be clearer than that.

Do Jehovah’s Witnesses Believe Jesus Is God?

This answer is more complicated. In Jehovah's Witnesses: Portrait of a Contemporary Religious Movement, Andrew Holden writes that Jehovah’s Witnesses reject the doctrine of the Trinity as unscriptural. Jesus is seen as a divine mediator between God and humans but is subordinate to God and not strictly God himself. They believe the same of the Holy Spirit. These three live as separate divine beings rather than parts of the same God.

Do Mormons (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) Believe That Jesus Is God?

Like Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons reject the doctrine of the Trinity. Instead, they believe that Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are three separate divine beings who are united in their intent. They still believe Jesus is their Savior, but not that he is, strictly speaking, God.

Having answered questions about some branches of Christian thought, let’s look at what other long-established world religions believe about Jesus.

Other Religious Traditions on Jesus’ Divinity

What does Judaism say about the belief that Jesus is God? As strict monotheists, Jews do not accept the divinity of Jesus (or anyone besides God himself). They also reject the idea of Jesus as the Messiah. The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism states that a Jew who believes in the divinity of Jesus and that Jesus was the Messiah has "crossed the line out of the Jewish community."

Do Muslims believe Jesus is God? Muslims have a great reverence for Jesus as a prophet. They believe that like Moses, Isaiah, and many others, Jesus was a great messenger of God but fully human. A kind of creedal statement from the Quran (2:136) says “We believe in Allah, and the revelation given to us, and to Abraham, Isma’il, Isaac, Jacob, and the Tribes, and that given to Moses and Jesus, and that given to (all) prophets from their Lord.”

Do adherents of the Baha’i faith believe that Jesus was God? Those following the Baha’i faith believe that Jesus was one of many prophets who were manifestations of God, according to Juan Cole, “equally lauding Jesus and Zoroaster, Buddha and Muhammad.” Jesus reflected divine attributes but was not God as such.

What do Hindus believe about the divinity of Jesus? Hinduism is a vast collection of diverse beliefs and practices. However, their idea of the avatar, a human manifestation of a god, seems similar to the Christian notion that Jesus was God incarnate. Even so, this leads any Hindus to see Jesus as one of many divine avatars, like Krishna. As a polytheistic religion in general, Hinduism tends to believe that Jesus is not particularly unique among these avatars.

Do Buddhists believe Jesus is God? First of all, Buddhists don’t believe in a creator god. Second, Buddhism had its origins around 500 years before Jesus was born. For this reason, Buddhist scriptures say nothing about Jesus and certainly don’t consider him divine. However, some modern Buddhists note that Buddha and Jesus would have agreed on some things, such as the importance of non-violence.

What do Sikhs believe about Jesus’ divinity? Having emerged partially from Islam in the late Middle Ages, Sikhism agrees with Islam that Jesus was an important messenger of God but not in any way divine.

What do Jains believe about whether Jesus is God? Jainism places great emphasis on the concept of ahimsa or “non-harm.” As such, modern Jains, while they believe that Jesus was merely a great human teacher, find common ground with Jesus’ teachings on the notion of non-violence. They also agree with his teachings on universal love, compassion, and forgiveness. However, Jains, like Buddhists, do not believe in a creator god, and, therefore, do not believe Jesus or anyone else is divine.

Do Zoroastrians believe that Jesus is God? Zoroastrianism was once a popular religious tradition, principally in Persia (modern-day Iran), although there are still a small number of adherents practicing today. However, modern Zoroastrians don’t consider Jesus to be a prophet or a divine figure, saying instead that their founder, Zoroaster, was the true prophet.

Do Taoists believe that Jesus is God? Like Buddhism, Taoism began long before Jesus was born. However, modern Taoists are certainly aware of Jesus today and say that he was a human sage who lived in accordance with the Tao, the underlying principle of the universe.

What do Confucianists believe about Jesus’ divinity? Confucius lived long before Jesus and did not believe in a creator god. However, he did believe in the necessity of ritual and a universal order which was something like a god, though far less personal. While there are still practicing Confucianists today, they don’t seem to take any position at all on Jesus.

What do Shintoists believe about Jesus? Unlike Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, adherents of Shintoism, Japan’s indigenous religion, believe in many gods, all of whom are found in nature. As such, Shinto practitioners don’t really have a belief about Jesus at all.

Do Rastafarians believe Jesus was God? Rastafarians believe in the Judeo-Christian God, whom they call Jah. In Black Paradise: The Rastafarian Movement, Peter Clarke writes that Rastafarians do believe that Jesus was God incarnate, but they reject the depiction of him as a white European, believing instead that he was a black African.

Do Scientologists believe Jesus was God? Scientology is a very recent religious movement, first established in 1954. Scientologists believe that all spiritual teachers, including Buddha, Moses, Jesus, Zoroaster, and Confucius, were important communicators of wisdom but were all thoroughly human.

Finally, what do non-religious movements or modes of thought say about the divinity of Jesus? For atheists, Jesus was either a historical figure or, for some, a myth. Either way, atheists don’t believe in the concept of divinity at all, so Jesus could only have been human.

Agnostics take their name from the Greek word for “not-knowing.” As such, they do not claim to know or even to speculate on God, waiting instead for evidence on which to base any claim of knowledge. Because of this, agnostics mostly agree with atheists about Jesus. They acknowledge that the historical evidence we have of Jesus points to a mere human being, although even his existence cannot be entirely verified with total certainty.

Finally, humanists believe in the primacy of human reason and ethics to the exclusion of any supernatural beliefs. As such, they do not believe in the divinity of anyone. As humanist author Emma C. Williams puts it, “we do not believe that Christ was the son of God, nor do we believe that he died for our sins and was resurrected.”

Conclusion

Christianity remains the largest religion in the world, boasting 2.4 billion adherents. However, there are many forms of Christianity and not all of them agree on every topic. Nevertheless, the significance of Jesus is paramount for all of them, although with some subtle differences.

As for the other world religions, there are far too many for me to cover all of their views about Jesus here. Some, like Islam and Sikhism, believe that Jesus was an important prophet of God but was not divine. Others, like Judaism and Zoroastrianism, reject even Jesus’ status as a prophet. Still others, having been established long before the life of Jesus and in an entirely separate area of the world, seem to barely regard him at all.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this brief look into Jesus’ significance in world religious traditions and that it inspires you to become religiously literate beyond your own tradition.