In this article we will try to understand with you what faith is. We will consider the concept not only from the point of view of religion and theology, but also as a result of research by scientists.
Faith is one of the foundations of self-identification and human existence in society, therefore, a more accurate understanding of this phenomenon is simply necessary for everyone.
Read on and you'll find out what believers of different religions think about the need for faith, as well as sociologists, psychologists, and other researchers.
Etymology and the classic meaning of the term
Before talking about the definition of this phenomenon, let's dwell on the etymology of the word “faith”. Scientists see the meaning in a consonant adjective from Latin. In this ancient language, "verus" meant "truthful, true." Words with a similar sound and meaning are in Old Irish and Old High German languages.
Now let's talk about what faith is for an average person who does not go into the intricacies of psychology, philosophy, or different religions.
So, it is generally accepted that faith is a recognition of truth that cannot be verified by logical, factual, experimental or any other means. In mathematics, a similar concept is called an axiom.
Thus, it turns out that faith is a kind of unproven fact, which is justified solely by subjective belief, does not require confirmation, but sometimes it may try to find them.
From here comes the concept of "trust." This condition is the basis of all social relations. Including fidelity, it depends on certain rules, which, when violated, translate the relationship into another category - betrayal.
But before the conditions are met, this concept means the unconditional ability of the subject to transfer certain rights, information, things or people to the trust object.
Bertrand Russell writes that as soon as any evidence arises, there can be no talk of faith. Then we are already talking about knowledge.
The object and subject of faith
After we have briefly defined the basic concept of what faith is, it is worth starting to deepen it. Now we will try to separate the object and the subject.
The first is usually not felt. None of the five senses is capable of recognizing the presence of an object of faith. Otherwise, this would have been empirical evidence of physical existence.
Thus, the object for society is exclusively in a state of opportunity. Although for an individual person or group of people it seems to be real in reality. Due to various processes in the body, it can be felt psychologically, emotionally, figuratively.
The subject is the whole of humanity as a whole and each individual in particular. If you look from this angle, then faith means the relationship of a person or society to the subject.
For example, ancient people believed that thunder was a roar from the chariots of the gods, who were angry at them and sent lightning down. This was the attitude of primitive society to a similar natural phenomenon, which caused panic and horror. Today, by virtue of scientific discoveries, even a schoolchild knows that these are just processes in the atmosphere of the planet. They are not animated at all, but simply mechanical.
Accordingly, faith has changed. We don’t make sacrifices to the “formidable thunders” in order to save our lives, unlike the ancient people who sincerely believed in the expediency of such behavior.
Religious understanding
Spiritual faith is often replaced by synonyms such as religion, creed and religious teaching. One can hear the terms “Christianity”, “Christian religion”, and “Christian faith”. Often in colloquial communication this is one and the same.
By the word “believer” in a religious context, we mean a supporter of a certain picture of the world that supports the views of one of the existing religions.
If we ask what faith is for Christians, Muslims, or other representatives of monotheistic worldviews, we will hear that this is the most important virtue of man. In the absence of this quality, many events are simply impossible both during life and after the death of a believer.
For example, in the Abrahamic religions, all unbelievers and doubters will face eternal torment in hell or fiery hell.
The ancient sages, whose thoughts are fragmentarily cited in various scriptures, provide astonishing examples of this from everyday life.
If you take the farmer as an example. He may be a Christian, pagan, or even an atheist, but faith is the basis of his activity. No one will put hard work in cultivating the field, sowing seeds, not believing in the future abundant harvest.
Sociology
The basis of modern Western society is the Christian faith. It is her principles that govern the relationship between people on almost all continents.
But sociologists are calling for a separation of religion from faith. They say that the former is more designed to suppress the human essence in the individual. In terms of the fact that in fact the believer is only interested in himself, his needs and benefits. The true desire of man is hardly inherent in the desire for altruistic help to the Church or the priest.
The natural thoughts of people are based solely on selfishness, which is introduced into the framework of social norms of behavior. Therefore, faith must be perceived only from this point of view.
Thus, sociologists are not interested in the very phenomenon of faith, but in the result to which it leads in society. Studying various religions, scientists conclude that people strive to create optimal conditions for individual happiness through participation in groups, sects, ashrams and other associations.
Psychology
Psychologists first of all claim that any faith is subjective. Therefore, there can be no talk of any single phenomenon that is exactly identical for all participants. Everyone perceives and feels to the best of their abilities, attitudes, previous injuries and doubts.
From the point of view of psychology, the Christian faith is based on the absence of contradictions. There are no clarifying questions, and the opinions of ordinary parishioners are of no interest to anyone. The pastor must look after and lead his flock to salvation.
Thus, psychology refers to faith as its opposite. It cannot be understood, measured or calculated. This is something comparable to the notorious “human factor”, which leads to unexpected consequences.
Theology
This discipline puts faith in the foundation of knowledge of the world. "I believe, therefore, I exist."
The problems of these issues in theology are divided into a wide and narrow understanding.
In the first case, the study includes all of science, since it explores not only the content of a concept, but also its implementation in our world. That is, here, special attention is paid to faith, as a life practice and personal relations of a person with God.
In a narrow sense, faith is the interconnection and cognition of the Most High by people, which the Lord initiated. That is, the Orthodox faith speaks of the realization of God only by means of the means that he himself gave. These are primarily revelations.
The Most High is perceived as unknowable. Therefore, we can only find out what he conveys to us, based on human abilities to understand.
Atheists
In the framework of this article, it is worth touching on such a thing as atheism. If we turn to the translation of the term, it means "godlessness."
In fact, atheism is a belief in a person, science and progress. But the very concept of “faith” is unacceptable here. Scientific atheism argues that the basis of the attitude of its followers is the adoption of reasonable and proven facts, and not faith in myths.
Thus, such a worldview simply tries to describe the visible material world, without touching the question of God and faith at all.
Materialists
In Soviet times, materialism was known as the Russian faith. It was by such a worldview with an appeal to science and atheism that the previous social foundations were tried to replace.
Today, however, proponents of this philosophy speak of it as faith. Today, materialism is an unconditional belief that matter was primary and spirit was secondary.
Thus, faith in man and his ability to rule the world, and with proper development and the universe, is the basis of this worldview.
Faith in Ancient Societies
Let us now talk about what happened before the first systematic faiths of the world appeared.
In primitive society, people first endowed all objects, living beings, landscape objects and natural phenomena with the soul. This worldview is called animism today.
Then comes fetishism (faith in the supernatural power of certain objects), magic and shamanism (faith in a person’s ability to control nature).
But between these views, atheism and the subsequent return to spirituality, there is a long way that humanity has traveled within the framework of various religions.
Christianity
The conversation about the attitude to faith in individual religions should begin with Christianity as the most widespread belief on the planet. This worldview has more than two and a half billion followers.
All life aspirations of a true Christian are aimed at salvation. Theologians say that the foundation of faith lies not only in striving toward the Lord, but also from events in real life. If you look at the history of mankind, we will see that the picture does not change throughout all the millennia. As Fromm rightly remarked, history is written in blood.
It is on this fact that the Orthodox faith is based. Here the basis is original sin. The priests claim that the state in which we live is the result of disparate desires of the body, mind and soul. Therefore, during your stay in this world, it is necessary to atone, to correct this failure, so that after death you will feel bliss in paradise.
Russian faith has always sought holiness. It is on this territory that miracles in cells take place and various godly people travel with the ability to heal, preach, and other gifts.
Islam
Muslims approach faith issues more strictly. Here, “iman” (faith) means the complete and unconditional acceptance of everything that the Prophet Muhammad conveyed to people. Any doubt in at least one of the six “pillars” of Islam turns a Muslim into a kyafir. In this case, he will have to sincerely repent and read the shahada, provided that he understands every word spoken.
The basis of Islam lies in six basic provisions: faith in Allah, angels, books, messengers, Judgment Day, and the predestination of fate. A faithful Muslim must know all these “pillars”, pray five times a day and not commit even the slightest misconduct.
Thus, faith in the future is actually swept away. The fatalism of a Muslim, on the one hand, is that nothing depends on a person, everything is already written in the Great Book, and no one has the power to change his fate. On the other hand, a sincere belief is included that Allah chose only the best for his children, so bad events are just lessons.
Judaism
If you compare Judaism with other religions, you will get some inconsistency. Here faith is not placed above knowledge. Here they try to answer any, even the most confusing question, since it is believed that only by asking can you find out the truth.
Some sources refer to the interpretation of the Hawakkuk quote. He said that a true righteous man will only live by faith. But translated from Hebrew, the word "emuna" means precisely "trust."
Therefore, the discussion and comparison of these two concepts goes further. Faith is an unconfirmed feeling of the truth of a certain object or event. Trust is based on the knowledge of certain rules, which adhere to two parties.
Therefore, the Jews believe that the Almighty sends them only the right, good and good. And the basis of human life lies precisely in complete trust in the Lord, which, in turn, is the cornerstone of all the commandments.
Hence, faith in the future grows as a constant process of development and improvement of the human soul.
Buddhism
Many consider Buddhism one of the most popular religions in the world. But in fact it is a philosophical faith. If we turn to the history of the appearance of this phenomenon, as well as to its philosophy, we will see enormous differences, for example, from Abrahamic beliefs.
Buddhists do not recognize original sin. Moreover, they consider karma, which is not a moral code, to be the basic law. Therefore, sin is not immoral in nature. This is a simple mistake, a person’s misconduct on the path to enlightenment.
Buddha said that the main goal is to achieve enlightenment. There are Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path for this. If every thought, speech and deed is correlated every second with these two postulates, then it will be possible to break the wheel of samsara (rebirth) and achieve nirvana.
Thus, we figured out what faith is. We talked about the significance of this phenomenon for scientists, as well as for believers of different religions.