Our beliefs

The Salvation Army has 11 faith-based statements called doctrines that summarise our religious beliefs. These statements place The Salvation Army in harmony with other mainstream denominations of Protestant Christianity. 

1. We believe that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments were given by inspiration of God, and that they only constitute the Divine rule of Christian faith and practice.
2. We believe that there is only one God, who is infinitely perfect, the Creator, Preserver, and Governor of all things, and who is the only proper object of religious worship.
3. We believe that there are three persons in the Godhead - the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, undivided in essence and co-equal in power and glory.
4. We believe that in the person of Jesus Christ the Divine and human natures are united so that He is truly and properly God and truly and properly man.
5. We believe that our first parents were created in a state of innocence, but by their disobedience, they lost their purity and happiness and that in consequence of their fall, all men have become sinners, totally depraved, and as such are justly exposed to the wrath of God.
6. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ has by His suffering and death made an atonement for the whole world so that whosoever will be saved.
7. We believe that repentance toward God, faith in our Lord Jesus Christ and regeneration by the Holy Spirit are necessary for salvation.
8. We believe that we are justified by grace through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ and that he that believeth hath the witness in himself.
9. We believe that continuance in a state of salvation depends upon continued obedient faith in Christ.
10. We believe that it is the privilege of all believers to be wholly sanctified and that their whole spirit and soul and body may be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
11. We believe in the immortality of the soul, the resurrection of the body, in the general judgment at the end of the world, in the eternal happiness of the righteous, and in the endless punishment of the wicked.

Is The Salvation Army a religion or a mix of denominations?

The Salvation Army is not a religion nor is it a mix of denominations. The Salvation Army stands independently as a denomination of the Christian church alongside other churches, for example, the Anglican, Baptist and Uniting Church.

It started in the 1860's when Methodist minister, William Booth, began reaching out to the masses living in poverty in London.

He preached that there was a God who could transform their lives and show them a new way. He fed them, prayed with them and thousands of people's lives were changed.

Booth tried to introduce his converts to local Methodist churches, but the wider church at the time had lost much of its vision for what was then considered the "underclasses", and would not accept them.

In less than 20 years, while it had not been his initial goal, William Booth established a new denomination of the Christian church—The Salvation Army. Today, the Army upholds the cross of Christ and serve communities worldwide.

A good word to describe a denomination of the church is 'community'. The Salvos, like other churches, is a community of people that meet together in local neighbourhoods, regions or centres.

They are dedicated to sharing the love of God by caring for people, creating faith pathways, building healthy communities and working for justice.