Do You Really Know What You Believe (or What You're Supposed to Believe)?
The Smaller the Mind, the More Concrete the Image of God Must Be — A Faith Test
The Unconscious Certainty
Many people believe they know what they believe. In reality, many of their beliefs are largely unconscious — and they have little clarity about what they actually believe, or what they are supposed to believe.
Many people describe themselves as Christians, for example, yet have only a vague sense of what Christianity actually entails. They follow religious formulas — sometimes absorbed in childhood, sometimes shaped by their culture — without ever having consciously examined them.
This is the central problem I explore in Chapter 4 of my book "Call It God If You Like: The Sense and Nonsense of Religion and Religiosity": the question of how consciously we hold our beliefs.
The More Confused the Mind, the Greater the Desire for Certainty
One of the central observations from my work as a psychotherapist is this: the smaller — or more confused — the mind, the more concrete the image of God and the need for certainty must be.
This may sound provocative, but psychologically speaking, it is precisely right. People who feel insecure, confused, or who lack maturity and/or education often need very concrete, vivid ideas of God — a God who rewards or punishes, who intervenes, who issues clear commandments. This gives them stability and orientation. That is not something to criticise — it is deeply human.
But it also reveals something important: our faith is not independent of our psychological state, our intellectual capacity, or our personal life history. Belief is always, in part, a function of our psychological condition.
What Religion Offers — and Where It Can Cause Harm
This chapter is not only concerned with the question "What do you believe?" — but also with: How does religion affect you?
Devout people frequently report significant benefits from their faith:
Orientation and a guiding principle in life
Support in times of crisis and difficulty
Meaning and purpose
Community and a sense of belonging
At the same time, my work as a psychotherapist consistently shows: religion can also restrict, patronise, and — in serious cases — lead to religious neuroses: anxiety, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorders, and feelings of guilt that revolve around religious content.
Religion is therefore neither simply "good" nor simply "bad." It is ambivalent. Understanding this is important.
The Typology of Believers
In my book, I distinguish between several types of religious individuals — ranging from the open-minded and reflective believer (who believes consciously while also thinking critically), through the compulsive-anxious believer (driven by fear of punishment), and the dogmatic know-it-all (who holds absolute certainty and seeks to impose it on others), to the church-hater, the sceptic, and the agnostic (who rejects religion or regards it as meaningless).
Each of these types has their own psychological dynamic. Each has their own reason for believing — or indeed for not believing — as they do.
The Little Faith Test
In order to help you explore where you stand, I have developed a small faith test. The focus is primarily on Christianity — but many of the questions can equally be applied to other religions.
This test is not an examination. There are no "right" or "wrong" answers. The aim is simply to help you become consciously aware of what you actually believe — not what you are supposed to believe.
Take your time with the questions. It is best to write down your answers. And pay attention not only to the answer itself, but also to your inner reaction: clarity, uncertainty, resistance, confusion, unease. All of these responses offer valuable insights into your — more or less conscious — attitude toward religion.
The Little Faith Test (with a Focus on Christianity)
Do you believe that God exists? If so — what do you think about God, and what can you say about him?
What is God for you? (e.g. "God is a personal being," "God is an impersonal energy," "God is in everything," "God does not exist for me" …)
If God exists for you — is there also an adversary of God (a personal figure: Satan, the Devil, Lucifer — or simply: evil/the bad)?
Is Jesus Christ, for you, God made human — and a divine being at all?
Do you believe that Jesus died for us through his atoning death?
Do you believe in the "Immaculate Conception" of Mary (the Virgin Birth) — the doctrine that Jesus came into the world having been conceived by the Holy Spirit?
Do you believe in the Resurrection of Jesus after his death?
Do you believe in the (bodily) Ascension of Christ (and/or) Mary?
What is the Holy Trinity (God the Father — the Son — the Holy Spirit) for you?
For Catholics: Do you regard the Pope as God's representative on earth?
Do you consider him infallible when he speaks "ex cathedra"?
Do you regard the Bible (or the Qur'an, the Torah, the Bhagavad Gita …) as a sacred text? On what grounds?
Do other realities exist for you? What do they look like, and how did they come into being?
What, in your view, happens after death — for you and to you?
Do you believe in the Last Judgement, in reincarnation — or in something else entirely?
If we are to rise again in bodily form after the Last Judgement — in which body do we do so? As a six-year-old, when one still believed everything without question? As an eighteen-year-old, when one had stopped believing altogether? Or as a fifty-eight-year-old, when one had started to believe again?
Do you believe in "eternal life" (after death)?
Do you believe in heaven and hell? What do they look like?
Capacity for symbolisation: Is there anything that is sacred to you? What is it — and why is it sacred to you?
What further questions do you have for your religion?
(from: Gross, Werner: "Don’t Believe, What You Think - Sense and Nonsense of Religion and Religiosity")
What Your Answers Tell You
When you work through this test, you will likely notice: on some questions, you feel clear and certain. On others, you sense an inner tension or uncertainty. Some may provoke resistance or even irritation. And on others, you may realise you have never truly thought about the question at all.
That is precisely the therapeutic value of this test. It shows you where your personal faith actually stands — and where you are simply repeating what has been handed down to you. It can serve as a tool for self-knowledge. In my understanding of psychotherapy, becoming conscious of one's own beliefs is a central path toward inner freedom. You are free to believe what you believe. But you should do so consciously — not unconsciously, not out of fear, not out of mere habit. This little faith test is an invitation to do exactly that.
Heretical interjection: I believe one may think up and entertain all manner of ideas and speculations — and develop any number of theories about them. However, they should be able to withstand a reality test: that is, they must not contradict the established findings of science.
