What is the belief: explanations, examples

The word "belief" is often found in literature and cinema. Its meaning is clear. But to explain in detail what a belief is, sometimes it is not easy. If you want to understand the issue, our article will help.

Let's glance at the dictionary

The answer to the question of what a belief is, the dictionary tells us. Modern sources give the following definition: "Belief is a people's tradition, which is based on belief in the connection between the destiny of man, accidental events and natural phenomena." Simply put, in the old days people had mystical ideas about the world, trying to see signs from above in the surrounding reality. Our ancestors believed that careful consideration of these messages and their analysis can help to avoid danger, not to miss a happy chance, to hedge against failure.

How the popular beliefs appeared

Whence came the belief that during a thunderstorm in the sky a god rides a thundering chariot? It's simple: what people could not explain with the help of exact sciences, overgrown with legends and myths. What else could a heavenly roar seem to someone who did not have knowledge in the field of physics?

Similarly, other beliefs were formed. Some of them formed the basis of folk tales, omens, proverbs, legends and legends.

Common synonyms

Modern sources not only suggest that such a belief, but list and similar in meaning words. In Russian there are many synonymous words, but each of them has its own meaning. For example, superstition is not just a belief, but a firm belief in the causal relationship between the two events. The most striking example - scattered salt, which certainly promises failures.

Myths, legends and legends are also synonymous. But most of them are narrative. Often they describe the origin of the world as a whole, as well as the emergence of certain customs, rituals, traditions. Often in such beliefs the forces of nature are personified, represented in human form, endowed with characters and destiny. For example, in the worldview of the ancient Slavs, Heaven seemed to be a man, and the Earth a woman, and all life was born once from their love.

Belief in the modern world

Analyzing the dictionary interpretation, we can conclude that such a phenomenon as beliefs, has lost its relevance. After all, modern man does not look scared into the stormy sky, trying to see the wheels of the thunderer? However, you should take a closer look at the surrounding world, as you can see, not only are ancient beliefs alive, but also new ones.

There are many examples that show what a belief in the modern world. A huge number of beliefs exist in the student environment. Even such pragmatists and skeptics as doctors, observe a lot of certain rituals. For example, in a medical environment there is a belief that the wish for a good night in the hospital is a bad omen, the night will turn out to be just restless. People of dangerous occupations or having an extreme hobby often decorate clothes and even their own skin with the image of death or skull, believing that this will protect them from evil fate. And those who are afraid of accidentally sprinkle salt or cross with a black cat, today as much as in the old days.