What is the relationship between doubt and faith in spiritual life? Sometimes we lack experience talking about doubt in spiritual contexts. When we participate in religious communities, it may appear others are certain of their faith; in some cases, we may be taught to avoid doubts and questions. When personal doubts arrive, they can feel threatening. We might feel as if the spirituality woven into us is starting to unravel, not unlike a knit sweater with loose yarns being pulled.
Is doubt destructive of and subversive to faith? Faith and doubt by definition coexist, working in tandem. As Terry Eagleton explains, “Doubt isn’t some [weak] lapse from unwavering faith—it’s actually built into it. A proposition you couldn’t doubt wouldn’t be a matter of faith.” Faith and doubt depend on and balance one another, though doubt tends to grow heavier at times when we gain more life experience. Greater awareness of issues and complexities related to our faith and religious communities can require us to reevaluate and question. These periods are a normal and healthy part of personal spiritual development. Some religious thinkers even discuss doubt as an instrument of spiritual refinement.
How we choose to respond to our doubts will influence the way we grow and develop. If we sit with our doubts with self-compassion, integrity, patience, and willingness, they will eventually yield spiritual wisdom and beauty in our lives. As religious studies scholar Peter Enns writes, “Rather than being quick to settle on final answers to puzzling questions, a trust-centered faith will find time to formulate wise questions that respect the mystery of [divinity] and call upon [our faith] for the courage to sit in those questions for as long as necessary before seeking a way forward.” We also don't have to sit alone in our doubts, when we open up to others about them, we often discover how much of our experiences are shared by others, and also how much wisdom and strength we've gained to support others through our own experiences. Doubt can introduce new colors and new intricate patterns to the spiritual identity, beliefs, hopes and ideals we weave for our lives.
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