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Religious Studies & Theology vocabulary · Beliefs and Doctrine

Belief

Meaning in religious studies & theology, with examples

/bɪˈliːf/nounCore term

In religious studies & theology, belief means: Something a person or group accepts as true, especially an idea about God, the world or the afterlife; also the state of accepting it.

In Turkish: inanç, itikat

How it is used

Countable for specific ideas (core beliefs, religious beliefs) and uncountable for the attitude (belief in God). Note the two patterns: belief in something (in God, in angels) and belief that something is true. Academic writing often pairs it with practice: beliefs and practices.

Example sentences

  1. Belief in angels is one of the six articles of faith in Sunni Islam.

  2. The survey asked people about their beliefs and how often they attend services.

Common collocations

  • religious beliefs
  • belief in God
  • beliefs and practices
  • core belief
  • freedom of belief
  • faithTrust and commitment to God or to religious teachings, often held without proof; also used as another word for a whole religion or religious community.
  • doctrineA belief or set of beliefs that a religious community officially teaches and expects its members to accept.
  • creedA short formal statement of the central beliefs of a religion or community, often recited in worship, such as the Nicene Creed in Christianity.
  • religionA system of beliefs, practices, values and communities that relates people to what they regard as sacred, divine or ultimately real.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Beliefs and Doctrine

Practise with graded reading

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