The New Church teaches that there is one God who we know as the Lord God Jesus Christ. We look to Him as a being of unconditional love who neither judges nor condemns. We believe that God created the universe and everything in it with an ultimately loving purpose. Each thing that happens, even if it appears to be bad, is in service of the greater good of humanity — that is, drawing us closer to the Divine and evolving in spiritual consciousness.

Doctrine is immediately practical and deeply spiritual: it is a religion to be lived, not just believed. The New Church helps you to explore the Bible in ways that can have immediate application to your life.

New Christianity possesses an unprecedented depth of understanding about God, the inner meaning of the Bible and life after death. The New Church is a spiritual framework to live by, containing truths applicable to everyday life. Here is a summary of key beliefs:

• God is Love and nothing but what is good can come from Him. He was born on earth in the form of Jesus Christ. Father, Son and Holy Spirit are three aspects of the One God.
• The Old and New Testaments have a deeper meaning revealed by the Lord through the ‘Writings’ of Emanuel Swedenborg. These teachings can help people to live useful lives loving their neighbour and so find happiness both now and to eternity.
• Heaven is for everyone who wants to live there. While people have the freedom to choose a life in hell, God’s greatest wish is that we choose a heavenly life and grow into angels.
• All religions have goodness in them. There are many paths to heaven.
• God does not judge us. We judge ourselves by what we love and how we live. Salvation is given to all people who love God and try to live a good life according to what they believe to be right.
• God’s Providence is all powerful and unending. He guides each person’s spiritual path, allowing the potential for good to come from even the worst calamities. He is with us in every moment of every moment.
• After death we are conscious almost immediately in the next life and continue to live as complete human beings. If we love God and our neighbour we will become angels and our home will be in heaven.
• Marriage can last forever. Those who share married love which is rooted in deep friendship and mutually looking towards God, continue being partners after death, growing ever closer in their union.

The New Church bases its doctrine on the Bible, with insights from the writings of Emanuel Swedenborg, an eighteenth century theologian and scientist. This theology is founded on the belief that God used Swedenborg as a vessel through which to spread His teachings to people on earth. During a process of divinely inspired revelations, Swedenborg wrote thirty-five volumes of theological books, referred to as the Writings or Heavenly Doctrines, addressing the mysteries of human life which had previously gone unexplained or been misunderstood.

One of the prime purposes for his work was to reveal an inner meaning in the Bible, thus uncovering new relevance and hope for mankind. Within the Writings, Swedenborg describes the nature of the Divine, the function of creation, and the life which awaits us after death. He also provides practical guidelines for having a relationship with God and bringing religion into everyday life.

Above all, Swedenborgian theology seeks to make God accessible to humankind:

The mission of the New Church is to carry out this purpose in the modern-day world.

The ‘General Church of the New Jerusalem’ is the legal name for our church organization.

It exists to provide for the worship of the Lord Jesus Christ, the sharing of New Church teachings throughout the world and the promotion of a useful life of service to others. The church is governed by an executive bishop and it’s headquarters are located in Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania, USA, which has a Cathedral and Theological College.