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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]so what are beliefs - supernatural only?  from stories, doctrine, dogma you were taught? Could you describe some things you consider beliefs?[/quote]

To me "belief" in this context requires a leap of faith. Belief and faith are intertwined. But for me, belief/faith need to be distinguished from opinions and values.

So, for an example that isn't religious. I believe that "justice" includes gay marriage, but somebody else might disagree. The point is, we're all starting from the basic premise that something called "justice" actually exists; there's no questioning of the basic existence of a concept called "justice," and there's [i]no leap of faith [/i] that any of us is making to get to the point where we think somebody, or anybody, is deserving of justice. Instead, we're taking the existence of "justice" for granted and we're expressing our [i]opinions [/i]about who is deserving of justice.

It's true that people often use the word "belief" to express opinions, as in "I believe in justice and equity for all people."  Or even, more mundanely, "I believe that blue dress looks better on you than the green dress." But this statement isn't generally understood to mean that the person believes in some intangible thing called "justice" that can't be proven to exist. We're pretty sure this person means that "justice" is a real thing, but that she has clear opinions and values about how and to whom "justice" should be applied.

Belief requires a leap of faith. I'm religious, so I'd characterize it more respectfully than you do. But yes, belief and faith go hand in hand.[/quote]

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