When we often ask people about the difference between faith and belief, they usually tell us that both words have the same meanings or the same thing. But there exists a significant difference between them. Faith is usually considered a spiritual concept of trust in something. In contrast, belief is simply considered as trust or confidence in something.
Faith vs Belief
The main difference between faith and belief is that faith is a trust in something or someone, and belief is a mental state where trust is placed in something or a person. Faith is generally used to refer to belief. Religion is used for general contexts. Faith is a divine trust in religion, but belief may or may not be as strong as faith.
Faith is trust in something very strongly. In the context of religion, faith is defined as a belief in a God or teachings of religion. Faith is an assurance of things that we hope for but have not received yet. Faith is a system of religious belief. Furthermore, it is a strong belief in a supernatural power that controls human destiny.
A belief is a firm thought or an acceptance of something which is true or real without any proof. It is a mentality of placing belief in another. A belief always comes from different sources like a person’s own experience, acceptance of cultural and social norms, or belief in something that other people say.
Comparison Table Between Faith and Belief
| Parameters of Comparison | Faith | Belief |
| Definition | Strongly trust on something | State of mind in which trust is placed on something maybe without any proof |
| Usage | Mostly used for religion. | Mostly used in general contexts. |
| Strongness | Strong trust in religion | It may or may not be as strong as faith |
| Devotion | Imply devotion | This does not imply devotion |
| Dependence | Faith does not depend on proof | Belief may depend on proof |
What is Faith?
Faith is a system of religious belief that is based on no proof. It is usually considered a spiritual concept. It is also defined as a belief in something or something. For example, “He has faith in God.” This statement suggests that he has complete faith in God without any proof. Faith is all about belief, devotion, and loyalty. It refers to something that cannot be proved by proof or evidence.
Faith is all about believing in the things which we can’t see or feel but at the same time, they are true. Faith is nothing but a belief without any authentication. Faith is a strong religious belief and not based on probability at all. Faith is usually made up of three things; knowledge, trust, and belief. These three-factor includes
● Knowledge: The first question always comes to mind is, “How can we have faith in something without even seeing it?” But measurable knowledge is essential to faith. It depends on the importance of getting knowledge. Religious belief is the way of gaining knowledge in religion through faith. If we never have faith, we will never succeed. Because we have faith that miracles happen.
● Trust: Faith is interrelated with trust. Faith involves trusting in something that cannot be proved by any clue. Faith without trust is nothing.
● Belief: Faith is based on belief. Belief in religion is defined by the concepts taught in a particular religion that is true. Belief is not as powerful as faith.
What is Belief?
Belief is a feeling of certitude that something that exists is true or good. It is based on revelation, trust, or confidence. This word is often used for religion. But philosophers use this term as an attitude about the world which is true or not. Faith is mainly used in religious contexts; belief is used in a variety of contexts.
Belief depicts trust in a person, concepts, or even belief in God. Belief never implies devotion. Belief is a temporary concept about the trust in a person for a select time frame. Belief is all about having confidence in the truth, the existence, or belief in something without any absolute proof. It is also considered as assuming something or understanding them with belief in it. A belief system may be in the form of religion, political affiliation, philosophy, spirituality, and many other things. Several belief systems include
● Religious Belief: Religious belief is associated with religion. It is associated with the supernatural natural power and the universe we exist in.
● Spiritual Belief: Spiritual belief usually includes the perspective of life, the nature of reality, and death.
Everybody has beliefs about many perspectives of life. It is a feeling of being sure that the person or a thing is true or not or trustworthy. Even the beliefs of humans come and go from time to time.
Main Differences Between Faith and Belief
- Faith is a divine trust in a thing or a person, while belief is a mental state in which trust is placed in something.
- The word faith is used for depicting religious values, whereas belief is used in the general state.
- Faith is all about a strong trust in religion, while belief is less strong than faith.
- Faith is a product of the spirit, while belief is a game of mind.
- Faith is an attitude of acceptance. On the other hand, belief is an attitude of assuming something or about a person.
Conclusion
Faith is an important constituent for all the people on the earth. Religiously, faith is all about having trust in religion. But if we take it as a common perspective of life, then it means that the faith in us gives us strength in times of weakness. Because without faith, we are nothing in this world.
Belief is considered as a habit of mind in which we consider everything as true or real while assuming. It is considered as the existence of something in the world which can be either true or real. Beliefs are not used to explain anything scientifically. It is also based on personal opinion. Many people will disagree with you because they have an opposite belief about many things.
References
- https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110321227.1/html
- https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-349-81670-5_1