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You might lose your religion or change your spiritual beliefs and practices. While this loss can be painful, it’s possible to overcome it and thrive.
- Overview
- What Is Faith?
- Why Faith Is Important
- Reasons You May Feel A Loss of Faith
- What to Do When You Feel You Are Losing Your Faith
- Keep in Mind
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Living through a pandemic, natural disasters, racial discrimination, and the sporadic adversities that accompany everyday life, it can often feel as if you are losing your faith. You might not only lose faith in the higher power you worship, but you might also feel a loss of faith in humanity, loved ones, or in yourself.
Many people experience feelings like this, especially when it feels like you have no control over what is going on in your life and the world around you. It is when we are consumed by all the uncertainties of life that faith is needed most, but also when it’s the most difficult to grasp.
It’s definitely easier to have faith when everything is going well but it's a lot more challenging when they are not. That is why it is important for us to recognize when we start having these feelings and work towards reestablishing or holding on to our faith, especially during troubling times.
At a Glance
Losing your faith can involve the loss of connection with the things you believe in, whether it's your religion, your values, or humankind. It can be a devastating feeling that undermines your confidence, convictions, and well-being. No matter why it's happening, there are steps you can take to cope. Acknowledging your emotions, reconnecting with spirituality, practicing gratitude, and finding social support may help. Let's take a closer look at why your faith might be floundering and what you can do about it.
First, let’s get into what faith is exactly. The term "faith" is defined as "a strong belief in something or someone" or a "belief in the existence of God; strong religious beliefs or feelings."
According to the Journal of the Society of Christian Philosophers, faith is having belief in something without an apparent reason. The Christian Bible describes faith as "the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things unseen." (Hebrew 11:1 KJV).
Most people correlate faith with trust in God, the Universe, or a Higher Power. Faith means believing in the existence and presence of our higher powers in our lives, even though we cannot physically see them.
Since a higher power is not something you see in the physical sense (as with other sources we put our trust in at times), if you no longer feel the impact of these things in your life, you may begin to lose faith in them.
Many religious texts associate faith with belief and trust in God and seeking God during times of hardship. The Christian Holy Bible’s book of Psalms as well as The Jewish sacred text, The Tanakh, book of Misheli says “What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.” (Psalms 56:3, Misheli 56:3)
There may be times when you don’t feel the presence of God or loved ones. It is actually when feeling a disconnect from these things that you can lean into your faith the most.
Having faith, whether it is in a religious belief or in yourself, gives you a sense of confidence, belongingness, and conviction. Such faith can give you the resolve and strength to remain resilient in adversity.
Research has also shown that having faith can positively affect physical and mental health.
There are various reasons why one may begin to feel a loss of faith. Some examples are:
•Stress
•Depression
•Loss
•Illness
•Uncertainty
Faith is very important in spirituality, which benefits mental and physical well-being. One older study found that participation in spiritual activities was beneficial for those who felt depression was caused by losing faith.
Many often equate depressive feelings with loss of faith. Religious struggles are also associated with higher levels of depression.
Feeling lost, uneasy, and withdrawn happens to the best of us, sometimes at the most unexpected times. Although one does not always have control over what is going on in the world around them or even situations happening in their own lives, they do have authority over how they perceive and react to these experiences.
One should not judge or dismiss their feelings, but it is, however, important that they don’t dwell on thoughts that result in amplifying negative emotions too long, because it is easy to become overwhelmed by them.
When challenging moments do appear, consider engaging in activities that help you reconnect with yourself, those you care about, and your relationship with your ever-evolving spirituality and faith.
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Jun 13, 2023 · In the early 20th century, a variety of new terms describing religious changes were proposed, such as “loss of faith,” “religion departure,” and “religion change.” These terms were often used to describe those who moved away from religion in general, not from one specific faith or denomination.
Mar 1, 2023 · Four primary themes emerged. About half of the sample (51.8%) reported leaving for intellectual reasons or because they outgrew their faith. Roughly a fifth of the sample (21.9%) reported religious trauma, such as the hypocrisy of the sexual abuse scandals in the Catholic Church.
Leaving a belief system behind can cause depression, anxiety, isolation, and shame. Here are five tips to help you through a “crisis of faith.”
Sep 28, 2014 · The study showed that 20 percent of people who have left religion report being in excellent health, versus 40 percent of people currently part of strict religious groups (such as Jehovah’s...
Apr 6, 2018 · In terms of values and beliefs, the religious exiters increased more in “fate control” (believing that fate governs what happens in life, but that it is also possible to intervene in this process); and not surprisingly, they also showed a sharper decline in religiosity.
