Types of Religious Faith

I have been thinking about types of faith, specifically, the motivations, whether conscious or unconscious, of a belief system, and their corresponding connotations or colorations on the faith syntax. It must be understood that all of the types I am about to describe are, to my mind, actual manifestations of a faith syntax, that is, the assertion is made that "what is held to be the case" is thus necessarily "what is the case."

I have arraigned the following seven types from what I would consider to be the "weakest" to what I would consider to be the "strongest" type. This attribute is intended to connote the propensity of perpetuation, i.e. to what degree it is probable that this faith syntax will not be abandoned, replaced, or modified by any external factor.

I. "The Infatuated Believer"

The infatuated believer manifests faith due to a sudden feeling or mood that could be best described as an association of an external principle to an internal syntax, most probably, an internal syntax originating from the unconscious that has either recently come to conscious realization or is brought to conscious realization upon reception of the external principle. This is the believer who is "possessed by the spirit of the gospel" and thus moved to manifest faith. Depending upon the summation of this individual's psyche, it may be equally probable that this initial stage of belief will progress to a stronger state or that the individual will abandon their faith as rapidly as it was acquired. In any case, this state of belief is inherently unstable and as such, cannot persist for any great duration without some change.

II. "The Confused Believer"

The confused believer manifests faith due to an intuition that the faith syntax possesses a mysterious value or quality; however, this value or quality is not comprehended by the ego except as an ineffable symbol. Because this type cannot unite their ego to the faith syntax, they will remain in a perpetual state of manifesting faith for no cause other than that it has "come upon them." If asked to state their reasoning, they will not be capable of providing a firm explanation, though some may recite doctrine they have heard from others as a defense of their faith. The true origin of their faith is that the ineffable symbol they perceive bears to some degree a similarity or parallelism to a member of their unconscious, and as such, represents a "missing part" of their conscious psyche. This arouses a conscious curiosity for the effect they perceive--they wonder "why?" "Why does this have an effect upon me?" "Why am I attracted to this?" "Why does this ring true?" Like the infatuated believer, the confused believer may remain faithful or not, however, it is much more likely that they will remain in a perpetual or enduring state of confusion. After a great duration of time, this may evolve into a resigned state, or they may abandon their belief in the face of external tragedy. The effect of external tragedy is often the "killer" of the confused believer--since their belief is motivated solely by the unconscious effect the faith syntax has upon their consciousness, the identical effect of trauma will often overwhelm this first effect. The curiosity, "Could this be true, and important to me?" will be overwhelmed by the undeniable pragmatic fact, "I cannot believe in something that would harm me for no good cause."

III. The Doubting Believer

The doubting believer is the believer in a transitional stage. He has been another type previously, but now he has chosen to assimilate some critical function (as in, a function of criticism) and ascertain for himself whether his belief can be validated by his reason, whether the syntax of his faith can stand the test of logic. As this type is motivated largely by an intellectual function, he comes the closest of any to the antithesis of faith. However, it is only slightly more probable that he will choose to discontinue his faith as to maintain it. Originally, this type begins with the question "Is there error in what I believe?" Many will discover that various elements of what they believe are unacceptable to their intellect. They may note certain discrepancies that have been passed over by less cautious eyes. They may have to confront certain paradoxes or mutual exclusivities. However, many will resolve this process by concluding that they should believe in a modified version of their original belief. They will then re-enter the circles of believers more inspired than any to confront and eradicate the error they have discovered, to reform, to improve. As such, it is often the doubting believer who is responsible for the great movements of religion, and who is ultimately admired and applauded by his peers, provided only that his conclusions are sufficiently argued and adequately presented, else he stands the risk of being labeled a heretic and forthright persecuted. Many times, however, the doubting believer becomes the tragedy of the religious community, the once strong believer who now openly expresses his preference of atheism, agnosticism, or any other philosophy or metaphysical structure. Should he find these more adequate, more validated by his intellect than his former belief, perhaps even should he discover that this new thing seems to have a quality of transcendence over his former belief, a transcendent paradigm, he will then become as adamant a proponent (and possibly, as adamant a believer, for not all faith is religious faith) of his heresy as he might have been of his reformation.

IV. The Resigned Believer

The resigned believer is often met with in cases where a less intellectual, or perhaps simply a more instinctual, individual has met with and endured the criticism of those who deem their arguments superior to his faith. At first, he will attempt, with what feeble powers are his, to defend his faith, but he will soon be laughed at and made a mockery of to such an extent that he can only stubbornly persist in his faith in the face of trial. However, eventually he will reach a psychic breaking point at which this stubborn persistence becomes conditioned to the abuse it endures, at which point he becomes apathetic. Then he "believes because he believes" and that is the end of the matter. There is no further questioning and not an iota of doubt, but neither is their argument or exceptional care for his cause. He is the most simple type, but he is also ineffable, or he has become the ineffable. His security is found in disassociation, and only by means of disassociation, of isolation, can he survive. In some cases, this may be achieved by means of repression, and thus his faith is truly a neurosis of the most typical nature. Unconsciously, great turmoil and chaos may rage, but he will rarely perceive this except in the occasional disturbing dream or premonition, which is dismissed as easily as it is encountered. Why? Because it is "too complex" and he is thus "dismayed."

V. The Traditional Believer

The traditional believer is the bulk and muscle of the religious community. He believes, quite simply, due to tradition. This can occur either consciously or unconsciously, it makes no difference. If it is conscious, then his tradition is hailed as the all-important foundation of his existence. "What I have been taught and what has been affirmed to me" is the sum of his facts; his concept of knowledge is the most primitive. He may be highly conscious of what he knows, but he has never experienced a paradigm shift and does not even understand the concept. Nothing is abstract, abstraction itself is nonsense, lunacy. "Those people" who speak of abstractions are the idiots, the puffed up bigots, that ruin society by questioning the common sense passed down by the forefathers and their forefathers before them. If influenced unconsciously by tradition, then he is in much better shape, and will likely either morph to another type of faith, or abandon his faith for a worldly, hedonistic lifestyle. However, this all hinges on the probability of his encounter with a foreign society and his reception of this encounter. If he experiences an unpleasant or repulsive encounter, he may likely become a conscious traditional type: "that culture is obviously evil since it did me harm to experience it, therefore my culture is obviously good since it soothes me." If he experiences an elating encounter with a foreign society, he may well abandon his tradition to lead a life of debauchery and squander.

VI: The Motivated Believer

If the traditional believer is the muscle of the religious community, the motivated believer is its brain. The motivated believer manifests faith for no other reason than that he sees good cause to. While this may seem paradoxical to some, it must be admitted that if the syntax of faith is presupposed to be valid, then it matters not whence arises the inclination to affect it, and really, what better cause than an intellectual one, with which the heathens and blasphemers shall be smitten with their own weapons? The names of the motivated believers will be found on the textbooks and tracts, on the theological treatises and doctrinal compendiums, on the commentaries and religious aids. They will often be found in prominent positions within their religious community, teaching, serving, or evangelizing. Very few external things will sway the motivated believer from their faith, and if they are swayed, they will return to the flock shortly. Yet, as their conscious becomes increasingly fortified from external influence, as the castle of their religion forms within their mind, walls guarded, moats dug, and gates locked, then it is that their fatal weakness is too often exposed, their Achilles heal, their "thorn in the flesh." And this is precisely what it is, it is their flesh. As the motivated believer convinces himself more and more of the truth and purity and correctness of his doctrine, he must repress more and more his shadow, striving above all else to attain the idolized perfection he perceives. Soon, his shadow will grow as strong as he, yet no fortress he builds can protect him from its strength, for it already dwells within. Thus it is that often the motivated believer is suddenly caught, discovered, exposed and laid bare, red-handed, in the most vile and grotesque of sinful exploits; and from this we can assume that a great number of those perceived as innocent are only the more clever to conceal their inner demons.

VII. The Ideal Believer

Now we come to the rare gem, the rare and costly jewel, of the religious community. Of all others, this type deserves the most admiration and respect. They are the heart of the religious community, the life so often looked for but so rarely found. The ideal believer believes because they comprehend, either consciously or unconsciously, the syntax of faith, and accept it. Their faith is not truly a religious belief at all, but rather, faith in faith itself. The ideal believer either perceives or senses that somehow the syntax of faith is in opposition to the syntax of assimilation and that both are attempts at reaching objectivity. However, they perceive that faith places the possibility of enlightenment not upon the individual, but on the Supreme, on God, the individual being lowly and base in comparison, as he obviously must be as he is subjective, before the awesome Objective Deity. From this point, it is a mere coincidence what religion the individual happens to advocate, this type will seize on one and remain faithful to it until death. Beautiful as this spectacle may be, for its sheer integrity and its child-like innocence, or at least, a very near resemblance or imitation of such innocence, it is yet equally tragic from any external perspective. More machine than human is this type, a human being, a person, so totally and unequivocally possessed by one law that he can no longer see the world around him but through the green goggles chained about his eyes. He cannot be approached, for he is truly holy, sacred, set apart--he himself creates his god. He himself is his god. By his perfect manifestation of faith, the world and all its voices are rendered mute, he calms the storm with his hand. Any sin he commits, any doubt he suffers, matters not, for the divine idea, the vision spectacular, transcends his very existence and will be validated long after his brief earthly trial. To this type, the kindest unbeliever can only say, "farewell," and softly refuse his extended hand. To do so would be as if a human had allowed Azimov's three laws of robotics to be hardwired into their brain. To this type, this metaphor may seem offensive, as they still consider themselves capable of the uniquely human attribute of choice, but this is precisely the paradox they fail to see. If all choices are excluded a priori excepting the one they currently maintain, then there is no choice, there is only affirmation of a present, static state. If the choice was made at one point, which is not necessarily the case, then at best they can say they made a choice once long ago, and at that point they were human and capable of choice, however, that says nothing of the time from that point on to the present, for nothing can be said of that time. It may also be argued that choice is always present because the human psyche is incapable of perfection in any sense, even perfect faith, but the person who has faith in faith never doubts this fact, but only that the external events he perceives adequately validate the particular religion he has chosen to adhere to. Of course, there is the slightest possibility that such a person will encounter the dreaded paradigm of a transcendent perspective, by means of accidental and undesired self-reflection. What may happen then I dare not say.

That concludes my thought. By no means do I intend to promote this short list as an exhaustive one, nor is the thought very technically constructed. It was written over a three hour time span using a few very brief notes I had jotted down earlier, and is intended merely as, at best, an interesting, perhaps intriguing survey of what I would consider to be some of the more typical types of religious persons, in regard to the subject of their faith.