cognitive content, mental object, content - the sum or range of what has been perceived, discovered, or learned

conviction, strong belief, article of faith - an unshakable belief in something without need for proof or evidence

faith, trust - complete confidence in a person or plan etc; "he cherished the faith of a good woman"; "the doctor-patient relationship is based on trust"

doctrine, ism, philosophical system, philosophy, school of thought - a belief (or system of beliefs) accepted as authoritative by some group or school

philosophy - any personal belief about how to live or how to deal with a situation; "self-indulgence was his only philosophy"; "my father's philosophy of child-rearing was to let mother do it"

expectation, outlook, prospect - belief about (or mental picture of) the future

fetichism, fetishism - a belief in the magical power of fetishes (or the worship of a fetish)

meliorism - the belief that the world can be made better by human effort

opinion, persuasion, sentiment, thought, view - a personal belief or judgment that is not founded on proof or certainty; "my opinion differs from yours"; "what are your thoughts on Haiti?"

autotelism - belief that a work of art is an end in itself or its own justification

originalism - the belief that the United States Constitution should be interpreted in the way the authors originally intended it

pacifism - the belief that all international disputes can be settled by arbitration

faith, religion, religious belief - a strong belief in a supernatural power or powers that control human destiny; "he lost his faith but not his morality"

popular opinion, public opinion, vox populi, opinion - a belief or sentiment shared by most people; the voice of the people; "he asked for a poll of public opinion"

sacerdotalism - a belief that priests can act as mediators between human beings and God

spiritualism - the belief that the spirits of dead people can communicate with people who are still alive (especially via a medium)

spiritual world, unseen - a belief that there is a realm controlled by a divine spirit

supernaturalism - a belief in forces beyond ordinary human understanding

superstition, superstitious notion - an irrational belief arising from ignorance or fear

theory - a belief that can guide behavior; "the architect has a theory that more is less"; "they killed him on the theory that dead men tell no tales"

theosophy - belief based on mystical insight into the nature of God and the soul

thought - the organized beliefs of a period or group or individual; "19th century thought"; "Darwinian thought"

totemism - belief in the kinship of a group of people with a common totem

tribalism - the beliefs of a tribal society

values - beliefs of a person or social group in which they have an emotional investment (either for or against something); "he has very conservatives values"

individualism - a belief in the importance of the individual and the virtue of self-reliance and personal independence

spiritual being, supernatural being - an incorporeal being believed to have powers to affect the course of human events

idea, thought - the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about; "it was not a good idea"; "the thought never entered my mind"

presence - the impression that something is present; "he felt the presence of an evil force"

effect - an impression (especially one that is artificial or contrived); "he just did it for effect"

first blush - at the first glimpse or impression; "at first blush the idea possesses considerable intuitive appeal but on closer examination it fails"

hunch, suspicion, intuition - an impression that something might be the case; "he had an intuition that something had gone wrong"