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synonyms FAITH, CREDENCE, CREDIT: belief signifies mental acceptance of or assent to something offered as true, with or without certainty: “we tend to speak of faith when we are designating the less sure beliefs. We believe our eyes, and we believe the proposition that twice two are four -- G.W.Allport;” “the belief that the dead shall rise and live again is purely a matter of faith with which reason has nothing to do directly -- Frank Thilly.” FAITH applies to full and certain assent, often on grounds other than those afforded by the senses and reason and often with a complete trust or confidence: “the faith that human science and freedom would advance hand in hand to usher in an era of indefinite human perfectibility -- John Dewey;” “he's still touchingly full of faith, even after all that has happened in a new heaven and a new earth -- Rose Macaulay.” CREDENCE suggests the fact of intellectual assent without implying anything about grounds for assent;it may refer to less intimately significant matters than FAITH and BELIEF: “we are not now concerned with the finality or extent of truth in this judgment. The point is that it gained a widespread credence among the cultured class in Europe -- C.D.Lewis;” “the colonial office statement is too pitiably thin for credence -- New Statesman & Nation.” CREDIT suggests that a notion is held worthy of trusting consideration although it practically never connotes certainty or conviction in acceptance “giving no credit to such reports.” http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/unabridged?book=Third&va=belief
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