The different denominations of Christianity have variations in their teachings regarding the Holy Spirit.

A well-known example is the Filioque controversy, the debates centering on whether the Nicene Creed should state that the Spirit "proceeds from the Father" and then have a stop, as the creed was initially adopted in Greek (and followed thereafter by the Eastern Church), or should say "from the Father and the Son" as was later adopted in Latin and followed by the Western Church, "filioque" being "and the Son" in Latin.The Holy Spirit: Classic and Contemporary Readings by Eugene F. Rogers Jr. (May 19, 2009) Wiley page 81

The majority of mainstream Protestantism hold similar views on the theology of the Holy Spirit as the Roman Catholic Church, but there are significant differences in belief between Pentecostalism and the rest of Protestantism.Encyclopedia of Protestantism by J. Gordon Melton 2008 page 69 The Charismatic Movement within mainstream Christian Churches has a focus on the "gifts of the Spirit", but differ from Pentecostal movements.Encyclopedia of Protestantism by J. Gordon Melton 2008 page 134

Non-trinitarian Christian views about the Holy Spirit differ significantly from mainstream Christian doctrine.

Eastern Orthodoxy

Eastern Orthodoxy proclaims that the Father is the eternal source of the Godhead, from whom the Son is begotten eternally, and also from whom the Holy Spirit proceeds eternally. Unlike the Roman Catholic Church and Western Christianity in general, the Orthodox Church does not espouse the use of the Filioque ("and the Son") in describing the procession of the Holy Spirit. Filioque was mentioned for the first time at the Third Council of Toledo in 589 and it was added by the Roman Catholic Church to the Credo in the 11th century. The Holy Spirit is believed to eternally proceed from the Father, as Christ says in , and not from the Father and the Son, as the Roman Catholic and Protestant churches claim. The Greek Orthodox Church teaches that the Holy Spirit proceeds through the Son, but only from the Father. The Eastern Orthodox position is that the Son sent the Holy Spirit at Pentecost only "in time, in human history, as part of the economy of our salvation" but not from eternity.The Filioque: the Vital Orthodox Understanding of the Procession of the Holy Spirit - orthodoxyinfo.org/filioque. Retrieved 16 July 2019. Eastern Orthodox doctrine regarding the Holy Trinity is summarized in the Symbol of Faith (Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed). Oriental Orthodox usage coincides with Eastern Orthodox usage and teachings on the matter. The Assyrian Church of the East also retains the original formula of the Creed without the Filioque.

Roman Catholicism

"The Holy Spirit is the Third Person of the Blessed Trinity. Though really distinct, as a Person, from the Father and the Son, He is consubstantial with Them; being God like Them, He possesses with Them one and the same Divine Essence or Nature...It is by His operation that the Incarnation of the Word, is accomplished."Forget, Jacques. "Holy Ghost." The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 7. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 13 May 2021

The Church is accustomed most fittingly to attribute to the Father those works of the Divinity in which power excels, to the Son those in which wisdom excels, and those in which love excels to the Holy Ghost...The Holy Ghost is the ultimate cause of all things, since, as the will and all other things finally rest in their end, so He, who is the Divine Goodness and the Mutual Love of the Father and Son, completes and perfects, by His strong yet gentle power, the secret work of man's eternal salvation.Pope Leo XIII, "Divinum illud munus" (On the Holy Spirit"), §3, Libreria Editrice Vaticana

The Holy Spirit is the Master of Prayer. In Romans 8:26-27, Paul says, "In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And the one who searches hearts knows what is the intention of the Spirit, because it intercedes for the holy ones according to God’s will."Roman 8: 26-27, NAB

To the Holy Spirit is attributed the operations of grace and the sanctification of souls, and in particular spiritual gifts and fruits. The gifts of the Holy Spirit are of two kinds: The first, mentioned in Isaiah (11:2-3), are specially intended for the sanctification of the person who receives them. They are wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety (godliness), and fear of the Lord. The fruits of the Holy Spirit are traditionally listed as charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, and chastity.Catachism of the Catholic Church, §1832, USCCB The second, more properly called charismata, are extraordinary favours granted for the help of others. They are listed in (1 Corinthians 12:8-10): "The word of wisdom, the word of knowledge, faith, the grace of healing, the working of miracles, prophecy, the discerning of spirits, diverse kinds of tongues, interpretation of speeches".Wilhelm, Joseph. "Charismata." The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 3. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1908. 13 May 2021

Around the 6th century, the word Filioque was added to the Nicene Creed, defining as a doctrinal teaching that the Holy Ghost "proceedeth from the Father and the Son". The Latin fathers affirm that the Holy Ghost proceeds from the Father and "from" the Son, the Eastern fathers generally say that He proceeds from the Father "through" the Son. In reality the thought expressed by both Greeks and Latins is one and the same, only the manner of expressing it is slightly different. While the Eastern-rite Catholic Churches are required to believe the doctrinal teaching contained in the Filioque, they are not all required to insert it in the Creed when it is recited during the Divine Liturgy, so as to use the liturgical text as it was in antiquity.

Protestantism

The majority of mainstream Protestantism hold similar views on the theology of the Holy Spirit as the Roman Catholic Church, as described above.

Lutheranism The theologian Mark Ellingsen noted that "Lutherans have a strong doctrine of the Holy Spirit, giving the Spirit credit for working all things pertinent to salvation and following Jesus (Small Catechism, II.6)." The Apology of the Augsburg Confession teaches:

The Augsburg Confession teaches that “Because the Holy Spirit is given through faith, the heart is also moved to do good works” (XX, 31). In On the Councils and the Church (1539), Martin Luther epmhaized that it was important for Evangelical Lutheran priests to proclaim both Christ's redemption and the Holy Spirit's work of sanctification; he wrote that “Christ did not earn only gratia, ‘grace,’ for us, but also donum, ‘the gift of the Holy Spirit,’ so that we might have not only forgiveness of, but also cessation of, sin.” The Evangelical Lutheran tradition holds that the Holy Spirit "unites us to Christ in his death and resurrection through a life of repentance, in his fight against the evil one through the Word and prayer, and in his sacrificial service to others through various gifts." The Evangelical Lutheran theologian Leopoldo Sánchez writes about the Holy Spirit's role in sanctification, as discussed in the Formula of Concord:

The Lutheran sacrament of confession and absolution is grounded in the biblical passage of John 20, in which Jesus bestows the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles to remit and retain sins; bishops exercise “the power of the keys … to preach the gospel, to forgive and retain sin, and to administer and distribute the sacraments” (XXVIII, 5–6).

Methodism Methodist theology teaches:

Pentecostalism

While the Holy Spirit is acknowledged as God in all mainstream denominations, he is given particular emphasis in Pentecostal churches. In those churches he is seen as the giver of natural and supernatural gifts, such as tongues and prophecy, to modern-day Christians.

The Christian movement called Pentecostalism derives its name from the event of Pentecost, the coming of the Holy Spirit when Jesus' disciples were gathered in Jerusalem. Pentecostals believe that when a believer is "baptized in the Holy Spirit", the gifts of the Spirit (also called the charismata) are activated in the recipient to edify the body of Christ, the church. Some of these gifts are listed in .

The Pentecostal movement places special emphasis on the work of the Holy Spirit, and especially on the gifts mentioned above, believing that they are still given today. Much of Pentecostalism differentiates the "baptism with the Holy Spirit" from the salvific born again experience, considering it a usually distinct experience in which the Spirit's power is received by the Christian in a new way, with the belief that the Christian can be more readily used to perform signs, miracles, and wonders for the sake of evangelism or for ministry within the church (the body of Christ) and the community. There are also some Pentecostals who believe that Spirit baptism is a necessary element in salvation, not a "second blessing". These Pentecostals believe that in the baptism in the Holy Spirit, the power of the Spirit is released in their lives.

Many Pentecostals believe that the normative initial evidence of this infilling (baptism) of the Holy Spirit is the ability to speak in other tongues (glossolalia), and that tongues are one of several spiritual manifestations of the presence of the Holy Spirit in an individual believer's life.

There are significant differences in belief between Pentecostalism and the rest of Protestantism.

Restoration Movement and Churches of Christ During the late 19th century, the prevailing view in the Restoration Movement was that the Holy Spirit currently acts only through the influence of inspired scripture.Douglas A. Foster, "Waves of the Spirit Against a Rational Rock: The Impact of the Pentecosat, Charismatic and Third Wave Movements on American Churches of Christ," Restoration Quarterly, 45:1 (2003) This rationalist view was associated with Alexander Campbell, who was "greatly affected by what he viewed as the excesses of the emotional camp meetings and revivals of his day." He believed that the Spirit draws people towards salvation, but understood the Spirit to do this "in the same way any person moves another—by persuasion with words and ideas." This view came to prevail over that of Barton W. Stone, who believed the Spirit had a more direct role in the life of the Christian. Since the mid-late 20th century, many among the Churches of Christ have moved away from this "word-only" theory of the operation of the Holy Spirit.See for example, Harvey Floyd, Is the Holy Spirit for me?: A search for the meaning of the Spirit in today's church, 20th Century Christian, 1981, , 128 pages As one student of the movement puts it, "[f]or better or worse, those who champion the so-called word-only theory no longer have a hold on the minds of the constituency of Churches of Christ. Though relatively few have adopted outright charismatic and third wave views and remained in the body, apparently the spiritual waves have begun to erode that rational rock."

Non-Trinitarian views

Non-trinitarian views about the Holy Spirit differ significantly from mainstream Christian doctrine and generally fall into several distinct categories.

Unitarian and Arian