Despite his cynical worldview and his forays into the adult worlds of drinking and sex, Holden Caulfield is a person of faith because he maintains a strong belief that there exists an inherent innocence in the world which children can possess, and that this innocence is worth preserving.

 

Holden's cynical worldview is evident from the very first scene in the novel. While the rest of his classmates attend a football game, Holden walks away from the game and up onto an overlooking hill because he disdains the traditions of Pencey Prep, the "terrible" school from which he is expelled (and does not care). Holden's cynicism is later evident in his judgment of other people. He considers his roommate Stradlater to be a "secret slob" because he creates his clean-cut appearance with a rusty razor. Holden also criticizes New York citizens who attend movies and high-scale parties, even though he attends those events himself.

Holden's ventures into the worlds of drinking and sex might also lead one to believe he is not a person of faith. After leaving Pencey Prep, he chooses to travel to New York City based on the reputation of the city's nightlife. While in the city, he goes to the fancy bar Ernie's and gets drunk. Holden's self-control fails again when he gets back to his hotel. He impulsively accepts the elevator boy Maurice's offer to send a prostitute to his room, thinking that it will make him feel better. These breaches of moral code put the question of Holden's faith much in doubt.

 

However, Holden maintains a strong belief in the innocence of children throughout the novel. Although he shows disdain for Pencey's football games, Holden shows that he can appreciate football in what he thinks is its purest form when he recalls the winter evening when he enjoyed playing football on one of the school's fields with his classmates. Holden prefers this backyard type of football to the more popular organized version because he cherishes purity. Holden also displays his dedication to innocence in New York. He becomes depressed when he realizes that he is alone in this world of rampant drinking and sex, and instead of getting himself mired in that world, he turns to his memories of childhood friend Jane Gallagher. The effect of these sustaining memories is especially evident when Holden is confronted by Sunny, the prostitute whom Holden requested to come to his room. Holden becomes depressed when he sees Sunny because she has all but lost her innocence, and desires only to talk with her. This rejection of losing his own innocence shows that Holden has faith that his innocence is worth protecting.

 

The complex issue of Holden's faith is highlighted in his memory of his little brother Allie. When Holden heard the news of Allie's death, he threw a full-scale tantrum in his garage, smashing windows and permanently damaging his own right hand. Holden repeats this reaction when he tears up his essay about Allie’s baseball glove. However, Holden does not believe that Allie's death caused either Allie to lose his innocence. Rather, Holden takes comfort in knowing that Allie will always be innocent. In believing that Allie's death saved his innocence, Holden exhibits a total lack of faith in the living world.

 

Holden also shows us a glimpse of his perception of the world in his fantasy of being the catcher in the rye. Holden dreams that a group of innocent children are playing games beside a cliff. He fears that they will all eventually fall off this plateau of purity (their childhoods) and into a kind of amoral abyss (the real adult world). Holden fantasizes about being able to catch the children before they can fall all the way down and be corrupted by the world. This fantasy again exhibits Holden’s lack of faith in the world.

 

Holden acts on this fantasy when he decides to leave New York and travel to visit his little sister Phoebe. He goes to Phoebe's school and sees numerous profane graffiti messages on the walls. Fearing that Phoebe and other children may lose their innocence by being exposed to such messages, Holden tries to scratch them out. When this fails, he finally gives up trying to preserve the children’s innocence and resolves to go "out West" and live by himself, where the corrupted real world would not be able to trouble him.

 

Had Holden’s story ended here, he would not have been a very faithful person. However, before he leaves, Holden wants to say goodbye to Phoebe. He is shocked to find that Phoebe wants to go with him instead of stay at school, and angrily rejects her, causing Phoebe to cry over her supposed loss of Holden. At this moment, Holden realizes that he is not alone in the world, and that if he and his sister could share a pure friendship (something he had lacked throughout the book), the world would become bearable to him. He decides to stay, and in doing so shows his acceptance of the real world. Holden realizes that his faith in innocence was not in vain. Despite all the flaws he could find in the world, Holden and other children will always be able to find friendship, love, and innocence in each other.