Confessions (denominations) are public, communal statements by a religious group about their central beliefs. They serve to form denominational identities and have a normative claim. Based on the Dordrecht Synod (1618/1619), the volume asks about the many debates surrounding the confession in Europe since the 16th century. Along with the debates about the content and validity claims of Reformed denominations, questions about liturgy and ordination went hand in hand, as examples from Reformed Switzerland show, where freedom of religion was implemented in the 19th century. The question of the validity and relevance of creeds remains of central theological importance in the 20th and 21st centuries in view of the growing sacularity.