Most people confuse the concepts of religion and faith, and some simply identify them. Meanwhile, these concepts are harmonious, and not completely identical.
Instruction manual
1
The word "religion" comes from the Latin ligio, which means to bind. In a general sense, this is a teaching on faith or a way for a person to connect himself with higher powers.
2
Faith is the recognition of something true solely by virtue of one’s own conviction, without any factual or logical evidence. Faith can be (and should be) the foundation of religion, but not vice versa.
3
Faith has the ability to unite people. On the basis of faith, a doctrine or its template arises, which in essence is a religion. Moreover, believers do not always see their reflection of the world in this template, which can lead to certain problems. Religion is a structured view of how to believe. With laws, ceremonial and prohibitions. We can say that religion is a way to believe by the rules.
4
Faith may well exist without religion. The most undeveloped civilizations believed in something, without formalizing their perception of the world into a specific religion. Religion is a type or form of worldview that is conditioned by people's faith in higher powers. Religion is impossible without faith, because without it it is a set of cultural traditions or a set of moral prohibitions and restrictions.
5
Faith is one of the important features of the mental development of a person. A person always has the opportunity to believe in what will make him happy. This Absolute in each case can be different, in fact, we can say that each person is characterized by some kind of his own, individual faith. This is an inner, innermost need that does not need to be shared with other people.
6
Religion is an external manifestation of faith, it can help a person to be a part of society, maintain correct moral guidelines, motivate to action. Religions differ, but one cannot say that one religion is qualitatively better than another, so the change of religious beliefs cannot be called progress, rather, it is a "horizontal movement."
7
Faith is absolutely disinterested, it is realized by the mind and accepted by the heart, but at the same time it cannot be forcibly imposed, unlike religion. In human history, there are many examples when religion exploited faith to achieve some goals, but there is not a single example of faith exploiting religion.
8
The fact is that, like any teaching, religion arises on suitable ground, that is, faith, which is an indispensable attribute of any such teaching. But faith does not require observance of rules, laws, ceremonies, because, unlike religion, it cannot be driven into a specific framework.
