This article reports the findings of interviews conducted with students (aged 11-13) in four English secondary schools, examining reasons why young people find it difficult to understand Christian beliefs regarding Jesus' miracles, resurrection, and status as the Son of God. For the students in this sample, understanding and belief are closely related concepts. Many of them assume that belief is a necessary condition for understanding. The article argues that greater attention should be paid in Religious Education (RE) to the relationship between belief and understanding and to the ways in which young people experience and conceptualize their learning in RE. (Contains 5 tables.)