Reference Terms
from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Belief
Belief is usually defined as a conviction of the truth of a proposition without its verification; therefore a belief is a subjective mental interpretation derived from perceptions, contemplation(reasoning), or communication. In the religious sense, "belief" refers to a part of a wider spiritual or moral foundation -- generally called faith. Knowledge is often defined as justified true belief, in that the belief must be considered to correspond to reality and must be derived from valid evidence and arguments.
In the religious sense, "belief" refers to a part of a wider spiritual or moral foundation -- generally called faith. Historically, faiths were generated by groups seeking a functionally valid foundation to sustain them. The generally accepted faiths usually note that, when the exercise of faith leads to oppression, clarification or further revelation is called for.
Related Stories
1
2
Science & Society News
October 24, 2026
Oct. 22, 2026 Forty years after the Chornobyl disaster, tiny radioactive particles still linger in the soil, carrying a dangerous legacy. Using powerful X-rays, scientists discovered that some of these particles have remained surprisingly stable, trapping ...
Oct. 20, 2026 A new study reveals that improved hurricane forecast graphics may help people identify threatened areas without making them more likely to recognize the danger or take protective action. Researchers also found that a widespread misunderstanding of ...
Oct. 20, 2026 The aging brain may be undergoing a remarkable transformation rather than simply losing its abilities, shifting its focus from remembering details to understanding the bigger picture. Scientists suggest this change could be an evolutionary ...
Oct. 18, 2026 A catastrophic volcanic eruption 7,300 years ago devastated Japan, but new research reveals that its impact on prehistoric populations was far more complex than previously believed. While some ...
Oct. 6, 2026 New mothers paired with patient navigators were much more likely to receive postpartum care, depression screening, preventive testing, and ongoing primary care. By helping with barriers such as transportation, childcare, scheduling, and confusing ...
Sep. 24, 2026 A large Danish study found that children diagnosed with ADHD or autism today more closely resemble their peers in the general population than those diagnosed 10 years ago. The shift suggests that rising diagnosis rates may partly reflect broader ...
Sep. 22, 2026 A Yellowstone super-eruption would begin not with a sudden surprise, but with weeks of increasingly alarming warning signs such as migrating earthquake swarms, rapid ground uplift, changing geysers, ...
Sep. 14, 2026 A World War I submarine wreck off Denmark is leaking TNT into the surrounding water, seabed, and marine life more than a century after it sank. Scientists warn that thousands of similar wrecks could pose growing environmental risks as they continue ...
Sep. 13, 2026 Scientists have engineered yeast to turn PET plastic and agricultural waste into ingredients for protein-rich, 3D-printed cookies called µBites. Developed partly for NASA’s Deep Space Food Challenge, the system can produce proteins, fats, ...
Sep. 1, 2026 Where you live in early adulthood may quietly shape your heart health for decades. Researchers found that adverse neighborhood conditions were linked to a higher risk of coronary artery calcification in midlife, an early warning sign of ...
Aug. 24, 2026 Common medications may reshape the gut microbiome long after the last dose is taken. In a study of more than 2,500 people, researchers found lasting microbial changes linked not only to antibiotics, but also to antidepressants, beta-blockers, ...
Aug. 24, 2026 More screen time during infancy and around the start of school was linked to poorer academic performance and weaker working memory years later. The findings suggest that early childhood may contain particularly sensitive windows when screen habits ...
Latest Headlines
updated 12:56 pm ET
Oct. 24, 2026 A groundbreaking study challenges 70 years of assumptions about how human language works. By analyzing billions of word uses, scientists discovered that meaning is organized around power, danger, and ...
Oct. 17, 2026 Archaeologists have discovered 1,200-year-old remains of Peru’s famous hairless dogs at an ancient Wari Empire burial site, including remarkably preserved mummies and puppies buried alongside ...
Oct. 16, 2026 In 1960, scientists predicted that runaway population growth would bring humanity to the brink of destruction on November 13, 2026, and their mathematical forecasts remained surprisingly accurate for ...
Oct. 16, 2026 Scientists investigating Nazi Germany's secret nuclear program have uncovered evidence that its final experimental reactor was nowhere near as close to working as previously claimed. Analysis of ...
Oct. 14, 2026 A groundbreaking study suggests that 2.22 million Indigenous Australians lived on the continent before European colonization, far more than ...
Oct. 6, 2026 A study comparing 100 primate species, including humans, suggests that everyday aggression and lethal violence did not evolve as part of the same simple behavioral spectrum. Species that frequently ...
Oct. 6, 2026 Ancient pottery from Tampa Bay appears to have been made by migrant craftspeople who brought specialized Mississippian pottery-making knowledge hundreds of miles south. Remarkably, they even ...
Sep. 30, 2026 Mount Vesuvius’ famous 79 CE eruption has given scientists a remarkably precise benchmark for dating events deep in Earth’s past. The improved ...
Sep. 26, 2026 Ancient DNA shows that adults and children buried together in medieval Sweden were often not members of the same immediate family, suggesting that ...
Sep. 26, 2026 Scientists discovered that tiny amounts of lead in ancient ink can make writing inside burned papyrus scrolls stand out dramatically in X-ray scans. The technique could help unlock lost Greek and ...