“I Doubt. Therefore, I Believe”: Facing Uncertainty and Belief in the Making

Abstract

Human affairs are characterized by isolated islands of certainty in an ocean of uncertainty. This chapter locates expressions of the relationship between and doubt in a pragmatist frame of belief in the making. Combining pragmatist approaches with empirical research on various forms of lived religions in Western European contexts, it identifies three ideal-typical modalities of belief: believing as aspiration and trust, believing as self-discipline, and believing as an experience of being together. These modalities may practically alternate or combine within a given person. It is through observing the way people grapple with and doubt in ordinary, practical ways that one can shed light on the act of believing as a lived experience, rather than as a simple intellectual assent to religious or spiritual ideas. This more nuanced approach to is important for the study of religion in times of crisis. Keywords: modalities of belief; pragmatist frame; religion; spiritual ideas; Western European contexts