Guide
How do the Westminster Shorter, Heidelberg and Baptist Catechisms compare?
The Westminster Shorter Catechism (1647), the Heidelberg Catechism (1563) and the Baptist Catechism (1693) teach the same Reformed faith in different shapes. Westminster is concise and definitional, Heidelberg is personal and arranged in 52 Lord's Days, and the Baptist Catechism follows Westminster closely while teaching believer's baptism.
What are these three catechisms?
They are three of the best-known Reformed catechisms in English use. The Westminster Shorter Catechism came from the Westminster Assembly in London, the Heidelberg Catechism from the Palatinate in Germany, and the Baptist Catechism from the Particular Baptists of England. All three teach salvation by grace through Christ.
Each also belongs to a family of documents. The Shorter Catechism stands with the Westminster Confession of Faith and the Larger Catechism as the doctrinal standards of churches such as the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. The Heidelberg was approved by the Synod of Dort in 1619, according to the CRC’s introduction. The Baptist Catechism was commissioned by the Particular Baptists’ general assembly as a catechism, Schaff writes, “based on” their confession of faith.
How do they compare side by side?
The table below sets out the facts, each taken from the source linked in the row. In short: Heidelberg is the oldest and the most personal in voice, Westminster is the most compact, and the Baptist Catechism is closely modeled on Westminster with different teaching on baptism.
| Westminster Shorter Catechism | Heidelberg Catechism | Baptist Catechism | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | 1647 (Schaff) | 1563 (CRC) | 1693 (Schaff) |
| Where and by whom | The Westminster Assembly, an assembly of divines convened at Westminster in London (Schaff) | Heidelberg, in the Palatinate, at the request of Elector Frederick III; traditionally credited to Zacharias Ursinus and Caspar Olevianus, though the CRC describes a team of ministers and theologians (CRC) | Drawn up by William Collins at the request of the Baptist general assembly in London; also called Keach’s Catechism after Benjamin Keach (Schaff, Ligonier) |
| Questions | 107 (this site’s text) | 129 (URCNA) | 114 in the text Founders Ministries prints, the number Ligonier gives; some editions number 118 (Reformed Reader) |
| Structure | After three opening questions, what to believe about God, then the duty God requires (question 3, question 39) | Three parts: misery, deliverance, gratitude; divided into 52 Lord’s Days so one could be explained each Sunday (URCNA, CRC) | “Taken chiefly from the Westminster Shorter Catechism,” following “its order and method” (Schaff) |
| Voice | Definitions in the third person | Personal; question 1 is answered in the first person (“I . . . am not my own”) | Definitions in the third person, like Westminster |
| Baptism | For those who profess faith, and for the infants of members of the visible church (question 95) | Infants are also to be baptized (Schaff, question 74) | Only for those who profess repentance and faith; by immersion (Founders) |
| Used by today, for example | Orthodox Presbyterian Church, Presbyterian Church in America (OPC, PCA) | Christian Reformed Church, Reformed Church in America, United Reformed Churches (CRC, URCNA) | Published today by Founders Ministries (Founders); adopted by the Philadelphia Baptist Association in 1742 (Schaff) |
The “used by” row gives examples only. It is not a complete list.
How does each one begin?
The first question shows each catechism’s character. Westminster begins with the purpose of human life. Heidelberg begins with personal comfort in Christ. The Baptist Catechism begins with God as the first being. Each quotation below is from a public-domain text, named with its edition.
Westminster Shorter Catechism, question 1, from the Orthodox Presbyterian Church’s text used on this site:
Q. What is the chief end of man?
A. Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.
Heidelberg Catechism, question 1, opening of the answer, from the English translation in Philip Schaff’s Creeds of Christendom, volume 3 (1877):
Q. What is thy only comfort in life and in death?
A. That I, with body and soul, both in life and in death, am not my own, but belong to my faithful Saviour Jesus Christ . . .
The full Heidelberg answer goes on at some length about Christ’s work and the Spirit’s assurance. Modern English translations of the Heidelberg are under copyright, so read them at the churches’ own sites.
Baptist Catechism, question 1, from the sixteenth edition as reprinted in Edward Bean Underhill’s 1854 collection:
Q. Who is the first and chiefest being?
A. God is the first and chiefest being.
Where do they differ on baptism?
They differ on who should be baptized. The Westminster Shorter Catechism and the Heidelberg Catechism teach that the infants of believers are to be baptized. The Baptist Catechism teaches that baptism is only for those who personally profess repentance and faith, and that it is rightly given by immersion. Each gives its reasons.
Here is each position in its own terms, without taking a side:
- Westminster Shorter Catechism. Question 95 says baptism is not given to those outside the visible church until they profess faith in Christ, “but the infants of such as are members of the visible church are to be baptized.”
- Heidelberg Catechism. Question 74, in Schaff’s translation, teaches that infants “as well as their parents, belong to the covenant and people of God,” and compares baptism to circumcision in the Old Testament.
- Baptist Catechism. The Founders Ministries text teaches that baptism is for those who actually profess repentance toward God and faith in Christ, that the infants of believers are not to be baptized because Scripture gives no command or example for it, and that baptism is by immersion.
On almost everything else the three agree closely. The Baptist Catechism’s own preface, in the Underhill reprint, says its writers had “commonly made use of” the Shorter Catechism in their families, and their new catechism was “in most things agreeing with” it.
If your family is working through this question, read what your own church teaches and talk with your pastor or elders. This site serves Presbyterian, Continental Reformed and Reformed Baptist families, and it does not settle the matter for you.
Which catechism should your family use?
Use the catechism your church uses, if it has one. Your children will hear the same words at home and in church, and your elders can help you teach it. If your church has none, any of the three will give your children a sound summary of the faith.
This site’s catechism reader includes two catechisms only: the Westminster Shorter Catechism and the Catechism for Young Children, a first catechism written as an introduction to the Shorter Catechism. It does not include the Heidelberg Catechism or the Baptist Catechism. Free sources for those are listed on the resources page.
Some practical notes for each:
- Westminster Shorter Catechism. Short answers suit memory work. Younger children can start with the Catechism for Young Children and move up later.
- Heidelberg Catechism. Its 52 Lord’s Days make a ready-made one-year plan, one Lord’s Day each week.
- Baptist Catechism. Because it follows Westminster so closely, the memory methods and the weekly schedule on this site work for it as well.
Where to go next
- Read What is a catechism? for the history behind all three.
- Start the Westminster Shorter Catechism at question 1.
- Find the Heidelberg and Baptist catechisms on the resources page.
Sources
- Confessions and Catechisms, Orthodox Presbyterian Church
- Heidelberg Catechism, introduction, Christian Reformed Church in North America
- How Did We Get the Baptist Catechism?, Ligonier Ministries
- The Baptist Confessions, in Philip Schaff, The Creeds of Christendom, vol. 1 (1877), Christian Classics Ethereal Library
- The Westminster Shorter Catechism, A.D. 1647, in Philip Schaff, The Creeds of Christendom, vol. 3 (1877), Christian Classics Ethereal Library
- The Westminster Assembly, in Philip Schaff, The Creeds of Christendom, vol. 1 (1877), Christian Classics Ethereal Library
- Heidelberg Catechism: Introduction, United Reformed Churches in North America (threeforms.org)
- The Baptist Catechism, Founders Ministries
- Benjamin Keach's Catechism, The Reformed Reader
- The Heidelberg Catechism, A.D. 1563, in Philip Schaff, The Creeds of Christendom, vol. 3 (1877), Christian Classics Ethereal Library
- Westminster Confession of Faith, Presbyterian Church in America Administrative Committee
- Confessions of Faith and Other Public Documents Illustrative of the History of the Baptist Churches of England in the 17th Century, ed. Edward Bean Underhill (1854), Internet Archive
Related guides
What is a catechism?
What a catechism is, where the word comes from, why Reformed families use one, a short history, and how a first catechism leads into the Shorter Catechism.
How do you help children memorize the catechism?
Practical ways to help children memorize the catechism: call and response, short phrases, review loops, memory cards, copywork, singing and patience.
What does a weekly catechism schedule look like?
A weekly catechism schedule: one question a week, ten minutes a day, with a script for each day, help for several ages and what to do after a missed week.