As human beings, we all to often tend to make decisions based on the fact that we believe something, not necessarily because of the fact that we actually know it. While this distinction between knowledge and belief may not seem exceedingly important in the day to day conduct of mortals, such a fine distinction is important in the realms of knowledge as well as the field of  philosophy in general. In addition, the heavy reliance of mankind on “beliefs” rather than knowledge is heavily manifested in the fields of science, mathematics, and , perhaps more poignantly in the realm of religion. Every religion, whether it be Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hindu, Buddhist, or Satanic is built on one central premise: faith. From a Christian standpoint, it is often said that “faith is the belief in that which we cannot feel, belief in the unseen”. This statement, despite its Christian origin, can be applied to all religions. Every religion bases its entire structure on one or a set of key beliefs.  More often than not, one of the central facets of the belief of a religion is the belief in some sort of divine being(s) or deity. Those who actively participate in religion and who have a strong sense of “faith” seem to have their faith very closely tied to their emotions. This issue raises the question of whether or not faith is purely emotional. Faith, it seems, is very closely tied to emotion; perhaps this close link is due to the fact that faith is essentially a type of emotion or rather an extension of emotion itself. 
	The centrality of such a strong belief or faith in the church is evident in the following abridged version of the Apostle’s Creed:
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, God's only Son.............
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy christian Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting.
	This statement, which is essentially nothing more than a statement to reaffirm faith, makes heavy use of the word “belief”. This sheds light on the heavy dependance of essentially every one of the veritable plethora of religions on belief.  For example, in order to be a Christian, one must believe in one supreme almighty God, believe in His son Jesus Christ, as well as the Holy Spirit. Christians also believe that these three separate entities are in fact one entity as well. Nowhere in the passage is the word knowledge or any of its forms used.  From a philosophical standpoint, the religious “faith” is essentially one of the weakest beliefs that exists. Few other beliefs have so little evidence with which to support it; to many, there is more evidence for the existence of Santa Claus.
	From an early age, many children around the world are taught to believe in such fictional characters as the Easter Bunny or Santa Claus. Based on the evidence that their young minds are presented with, such a conclusion seems logical. After all, if the only two main figures of authority in your life tell you that yes, Santa Claus is in fact coming down the chimney to give you that nice green bike and place it under the Christmas tree, what reason would you have to not believe them. You go to sleep, wake up the next morning, and sure enough, that nice bicycle is waiting for you under the tree.  Thus, children have a completely rational basis for their fervent belief in Santa Claus, a fictional character.  Faith in Santa Claus is justified because of the evidence that supports his existence. But what basis would a child have for faith in God.
	Hence, all knowledge and all good beliefs should have some sort of rational basis. What good is believing in something if you know all evidence points to the contrary. One can believe that a million dollars will fall from the sky mysteriously; however, such a belief has little or absolutely no rational basis in this world and therefore not very likely to happen. 
	Why then, do millions of people worldwide believe in the Christianity, or any of the other religions for that matter? Many would argue that there is absolutely no evidence for the existence of God, except for the Holy Bible. But many disregard the Bible as nothing more than a book of man, not some divine being as Christians devoutly believe. Still others would argue that there is evidence for the existence of God everywhere, through miracles, regardless of the scale of the miracle. Opponents would argue that such “miracles” can be easily explained by means of simple scientific investigation, or that such “miracles” are nothing more than hoaxes themselves. One cannot experience God directly through sound, sight, touch, taste, or smell. Belief or faith in God is merely that, a belief. It is a belief which some hold an others do not.
	Yet, many devout believers of religion make the assertion that they do not believe in God at all, but rather that they know God. This assertion, which appears to have no rational basis at all, appears ridiculous; however, closer examination of the assertion and the premises upon which it is founded, shows compelling evidence. One basic argument for the existence of God goes as follows: “ Matter cannot create itself. The universe is made up of matter. The universe cannot create itself, because it is matter. Something created the Universe. God created the universe.”. Such a claim adheres to the principals of logic and reason, and even uses scientific principals to explain the existence of a divine being. Is it then enough to be regarded as a rational basis for faith in God itself?
	Faith essentially stems from a combination of human factors. Humans, by their very nature, are curious creatures. For ages, man has sought to explain that which he cannot fathom. The ancient Greeks explained natural phenomena though the extensive use of stories dealing with celestial beings. They believed the sun riding across the sky was actually one of the gods, Apollo, in a chariot of intense fire. The Greek society, a society which throve on the pursuit of knowledge and produced some of the most well known philosophers to date, believed in celestial beings. Their belief in the gods on Mount Olympus essentially fitted a need in their lives, a need to fulfill curiosity. It is in this sense that faith of all types can be classified as a sort of emotion. Faith is not limited to the realms of religion, one can have faith in science, in technology, or in some other field. 
	Faith is indeed a personal and often intense experience for humankind. To many, religious faith is so tightly knit at the core of a web of belief that it is unshakable. Despite its seemingly emotional and irrational nature, faith can have a rational basis. Classifying faith as merely a sort of emotion would trivialize it. Emotions are fleeting. The tides of love, hate, jealousy, and anger all eventually ebb with time.  Intense faith, however, will last a person a lifetime, regardless of whether or not this faith is religious, scientific, or otherwise. Every person on earth believes in something, in themselves, or in someone else. It is in this sense that faith is not purely emotional, but rather accompanied by it.