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Religious Studies & Theology vocabulary · Beliefs and Doctrine

Faith

Meaning in religious studies & theology, with examples

/feɪθ/nounCore term

In religious studies & theology, faith means: Trust and commitment to God or to religious teachings, often held without proof; also used as another word for a whole religion or religious community.

In Turkish: iman, inanç, din

How it is used

Uncountable when it means trust (faith in God, lose one's faith). Countable when it means a religion (people of all faiths, the Jewish faith). Faith and reason, faith-based organizations and interfaith dialogue are frequent phrases in academic and public writing.

Example sentences

  1. The chaplaincy team supports students of all faiths and of none.

  2. Medieval thinkers spent centuries discussing the relationship between faith and reason.

Common collocations

  • faith in God
  • people of all faiths
  • faith and reason
  • lose one's faith
  • faith community
  • beliefSomething a person or group accepts as true, especially an idea about God, the world or the afterlife; also the state of accepting it.
  • religionA system of beliefs, practices, values and communities that relates people to what they regard as sacred, divine or ultimately real.
  • 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.

More terms: Beliefs and Doctrine

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