We tend to associate the idea of faith primarily with matters of religion, but in fact it is something more basic. 

Creativity as a common human capacity and characteristic in which all people share and exchange naturally, is the basis for human faith. 

A linguistic root of “confidence” points to the reality of how acting in faith is critically linked to creativity. For example, the Latin root for “confidence” is a combination of two words, “con” (with) and “fide” (faith).* To have confidence therefore is to have faith (in the sense of trust). To have creative confidence is to locate such faith activity in a larger understanding of creativity. 

It therefore makes better sense to speak of faith first as an invitation to step into that basic reality of  the creativity in which all humanity and the world and everything in it—created—share. Religion is after the fact. Religion may give shape to how we embody and negotiate our primal creativity of being created in the image of the Creator. The real basis for faith however is the reality of sharing in the creativity of the Creator that is prior to religion per se.

Creativity as the backdrop or larger framework for all human activity is essentially prior (philosophically or theologically) to all religion. 

Consider,

How might participating in the creativity of the Creator as prior to any sort of religious identity shape our understanding of what it means to be truly creative? 

How might stepping into creativity restore and renew our confidence in our capacities to be creative and to make a creative difference in the world?

*For more on the Latin root word “fid” check out: “No fiddling around with Fid!” https://membean.com/roots/fid-trust

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Photo by Steve Johnson on Unsplash. Thank you!