But there is also a shared belief that things aren't as they appear.
"The underpinning of their wealth is based on this shared belief that conservative leverage gives you incredible staying power".
What joins Fifa and Qatar in unholy matrimony is the shared belief that journalists should know their place.
More important, they entered each other's places of worship in the shared belief that every person is a child of God.
Yes, all those internal tensions still exist, but the shared belief that there is no solution to their biggest problem has forged an odd kind of solidarity.
He was famously opinionated, supporting these radical artists' shared belief that painting should engage with the sights and subjects of the modern world.
But they were fired up by a shared belief that journalism could help make the world better, a chokingly poignant idea in these shockingly cynical times.
They bonded over -- what else? -- a shared sense of commerce and a shared belief that bodybuilding was a ticket to somewhere.
Instead of arguing the case for a progressive enabling state, the coalition rests on a shared belief that the state is often the problem.
"Years ago, we were drawn together by a shared belief that those of us in public service owe an allegiance not to party or faction, but to the people we were elected to represent," the president wrote.
A decade ago, wine professionals were determined to persuade American consumers to overcome a shared belief that rosé was the Full Cleveland of wine, as déclassé as a sedan on blocks in the front yard.
