confession, in law, the formal admission of criminal guilt, usually obtained in the course of examination by the police or prosecutor or at trial. For a confession to be admissible as evidence against an accused individual, it generally must have been procured voluntarily after the person was informed of his or her right to remain silent and right to consult an attorney (see Miranda v. Arizona). If a confession is obtained through torture, threats, prolonged interrogation, or false promises of immunity from prosecution, it is inadmissible, but law enforcement officials may and do use psychological pressure, which can lead to false confessions. A signed confession is presumed to be voluntary, and the accused must introduce proof that it was extorted in order to prevent its introduction at the trial. In 1981 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that murder defendants should be informed of their right to remain silent during interviews with psychologists, who might later testify for the prosecution that the client was "dangerous" and thus deserving of a stiff penalty. A 1986 ruling stated that a criminal defendant entering a plea of "not guilty" had the right to describe to the court how his confession was obtained by police. The ideal of a voluntary confession was upset recently, however, in the case of Arizona v. Fulminante (1991). There, the Supreme Court ruled that coerced confessions do not invariably nullify a conviction, but can be regarded merely as "harmless errors"—at least where additional incriminating evidence is available. Usually, a person who does not plead guilty cannot be convicted solely on the basis of his confession.

Westminster Confession: see creed 6.

Confession of Augsburg: see creed 4.

Augsburg Confession: see creed 4.

In the Judeo-Christian tradition, acknowledgment of sinfulness, in public or private, regarded as necessary for divine forgiveness. In the Temple period, Yom Kippur included a collective expression of sinfulness, and the day continues in Judaism as one of prayer, fasting, and confession. The early Christian Church followed John the Baptist's practice of confession before baptism, but soon instituted confession and penance for the forgiveness of sins committed after baptism. The fourth Lateran Council (1215) required annual confession. The Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches consider penance a sacrament, but most Protestant churches do not.

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Confession of faith of English-speaking Presbyterians, representing a theological consensus of international Calvinism. Produced by the Westminster Assembly, it was completed in 1646 and approved by Parliament in 1648. When the monarchy was restored in 1660, the episcopal form of church government was reinstated and the Confession lost official status in England, but it had already been adopted by the Church of Scotland (1647) and various other churches. Consisting of 33 chapters, it states that the sole doctrinal authority is scripture, restates the doctrines of the Holy Trinity and Jesus, and gives reformed views of the sacraments, the ministry, and grace. Seealso Presbyterianism.

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Basic doctrinal statement of Lutheranism. Its principal author was Philipp Melanchthon, and it was presented to Emperor Charles V at the Diet of Augsburg on June 25, 1530. Its purpose was to defend the Lutherans against misrepresentations of their teachings and to provide a statement of theology that Roman Catholics might accept. It consisted of 28 articles that outlined Lutheran doctrine and listed abuses that had crept into Western Christendom over the centuries. The unaltered document has remained authoritative for Lutherans, and a heavily revised version by Melanchthon is accepted by some Reformed churches. Translated into English in 1536, it had a major influence on the Anglican Church's Thirty-nine Articles and the Methodists' Twenty-five Articles of Religion.

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