Faith espousers believe not just in a Deity or some Universal power but also that this power is active in the everyday world. It is all-pervasive, acting in the psychological world just as much as in the physical world – perhaps more so. It is accessible to human beings through the act of prayer or meditation and is open to personal requests for solace, salvation, forgiveness or revenge.

Faith is most frequently, although not always, allied to some form of religious belief – a system of earthly authority that codifies the Will of the Deity in terms of the proper ways to conduct oneself and various rituals that should be performed.

This combination of belief in an active Deity and adherence to a religious code provides a powerful source of self-identity to the Faith espouser – a sense of something certain in an uncertain world.

Most religious codes place great emphasis on the raising of children. Usually this properly requires two actively involved parents, preferably of opposite sexes. To ensure continuity while the children are raised, the parents are expected to enter into a ritual contract (marriage) and to hold to that through thick and thin. Bringing up children in correct ways is more important than the health and happiness of the relationship between the parents.

Faith espousers have a tendency to believe that there is good in everyone. Consequently, they are more likely than most to forgive transgressions of rules and codes or improper behaviour, wiping the slate clean to allow opportunity to do better next time.

Faith espousers also tend to feel some personal responsibility towards others, particularly in their own locale. They are more likely than most to offer their help to improve things in their community.

Most religious codes also advocate the primacy of the male over the female, so the man is regarded as the “head of the family”. In some cases, there is a whole hierarchy of male family members taking precedence over the hierarchy of female members.

It is a mark of the powerful hold of faith that this is accepted by so many women. Indeed, women are more likely than men to espouse Faith. In modern secular societies, it should be pointed out that male primacy is espoused in the ratio of about 3:2 between men and women, whether Faith espousers or not.