Have a Little Faith
By Stephen Beggs, Writer & Director of the Belfast Faith Trail
The definition of Faith in the Collins English Dictionary is as follows: Strong belief, especially without proof. Religion. Complete confidence or trust. Allegiance to a person or cause.
The same dictionary defines Religion as: A system of belief in and worship of a supernatural power or god.
This casts up some big questions. Where does faith come from? What is faith based on? The answers to these eternal quandaries will be different for almost every person you ask. Is it a way of explaining the existence? Surely this unbelievably complex and amazing universe cannot have come to exist without the presence of a divine hand? Ironically, its very complexity and variety to many is the clinching evidence for the exact opposite!
Is it a way of coming to terms with mortality – there must be something beyond this? A way of explaining our sense of soul? We can’t just be flesh and blood? Even with these desires to seek explanations for our own existence, the spiritual nature of that existence and the world around us, surely faith must have some basis in our actual lived experiences? How do people experience God, or a sense of the divine? How does God communicate with people? Some have experience of a palpable sense of God speaking directly to them and through prayer and worship being able to reply and ask questions. For others it is more of a feeling or a presence. Sometimes this can come to people for the first time when they really need it – when their lives are in chaos. For others it has been with them since birth; something they were brought up as part of.
Some look to miracles as proof. Others see such occurrences as examples of faith before a scientific explanation was available. Sometimes things still happen that can’t be explained even today – maybe we just haven’t discovered why, or maybe it’s God at work. The very fact that, as the dictionary definition I quoted at the start states, ‘faith is a strong belief especially without proof’, means it’s very difficult to make hard and fast statements about. I have known mathematicians and scientists that require absolute proof in their work and study, but in their wider life, faith is everything.
Many have no religious faith, but this does not mean they are without faith altogether. Some would say that their faith lies in humanity and its innate goodness; in friends and family; or in those who they appoint to manage their societies (no matter how challenging that can be at times).
Full disclosure – I do not have faith, but I am deeply respectful of those that do. I don’t think you can really understand the world and human behaviour if you don’t engage with this subject. Just because you don’t share a faith or belief doesn’t mean that it’s not vital to understand and learn about it.
I have seen great good come from faith, helping people overcome terrible difficulties in their lives and be called to do amazing service for others. That said, I have seen these characteristics in those without faith too. We have all seen people carry out acts of great unkindness in the world in the name of faith, as indeed there has been much suffering inflicted in the secular sphere. You only have to look at our own country for any examples of both. When we examine the beliefs and traditions of different faiths it is amazing how much they have in common. Many of the great conflicts in history and today are sparked by very small differences between one belief and another.
All I know is that for so many millions of people in the world to have faith, as the old saying goes – there must be something in it; and this afternoon we’re going to visit and learn about a variety of faith communities that have made Belfast their home. To do this we’ll be going into places of worship but of course faith goes beyond these locations – for many it governs their lives and is all around them wherever they go. As we go on our journey today, take time to look around you and see whatever you believe in at work in the world.
There is no scholarly consensus over what precisely constitutes a religion, but we know that there are an estimated 10,000 distinct religions worldwide, though nearly all of them have regionally based, relatively small followings. Four religions - Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism - account for over 77% of the world's population, and 92% of the world either follows one of those four religions or identifies as nonreligious, meaning that the vast majority of remaining religions account for only 8% of the population combined. The religiously unaffiliated demographic includes those who do not identify with any particular religion, atheists, and agnostics, although many in this demographic still have various religious beliefs. Many world religions are also what are described as organised religions, including the Abrahamic religions (Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and the Baháʼí Faith) while others are arguably less so, in particular folk religions, indigenous religions, and some Eastern religions.
In our sometimes distressing and divided world, it is more important than ever to remember that despite not agreeing with each other on everything, we can understand and appreciate others’ beliefs and values, what they’re based on and how they developed.
We are all one global family living on a beautiful planet, more alike than different. Surely, we can have a little faith in each other?