Baptist beliefs are not completely consistent from one church to another, as Baptists do not have a central governing authority. However, Baptists do hold some common beliefs among almost all Baptist churches.

Since the early days of the Baptist movement, various denominations have adopted common confessions of faith as the basis for cooperative work among churches. These would include beliefs about one God, the virgin birth, the impeccability, miracles, vicarious atoning death, burial and bodily resurrection of Christ, the need for salvation (although the understanding of means for achieving it may differ at times), divine grace, the Church, the Kingdom of God, last things (Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly in glory to the earth; the dead will be raised; and Christ will judge everyone in righteousness), evangelism and missions.

In addition to the distinctive doctrines of Protestantism, Baptist theology in general is committed to a Zwinglian interpretation of the Eucharist or Lord's Supper and to the rejection of the theological validity and covenantal value of paedobaptism. Baptist beliefs are seen as belonging to three parties: General Baptists who uphold Arminian soteriology, Particular Baptists who uphold Calvinist soteriology, and Independent Baptists, who might embrace a strict version of either Arminianism or Calvinism, but are most notable for their fundamentalist positions on Biblical hermeneutics, family and the social order, and advocacy of "King James Onlyism."