Crisis of faith
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Crisis of faith is a term commonly applied to periods of intense doubt and internal conflict about one's preconceived beliefs or life decisions. A crisis of faith can be contrasted to simply a period of doubt in that a crisis of faith demands reconciliation or reevaluation before one can continue believing in whichever tenet is in doubt or continuing in whatever life path is in question - i.e., the crisis necessitates a non-compromisable decision: either sufficiently reconcile the cause of doubt with the belief or decision in question, or drop the belief.
Religious doubt could lead to anxiety over the doubter’s supposed eternal future. People experiencing religious doubt or total deconversion can suffer if they fear Hell might exist. The friends or relatives of those dealing with a crisis of faith can also experience distress over the supposed eternal future of a loved one.
The concept of a crisis of faith is most commonly applied to religious beliefs, since faith is a fundamental tenet of many religions and the gravity of religious decisions is perceived by many to be great enough to aptly describe a period of extreme doubt as a "crisis". It can also be applied to doubts over influential life decisions, such as doubts over a chosen career, a marriage partner, etc.
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