act of faith

noun

1. an act that demonstrates or tests the strength of a person's convictions, as an important personal sacrifice.

act of faith

noun

1. Christianity an act that demonstrates or tests a person's religious beliefs

Idioms and Phrases

Behavior that shows or tests a person's religious or other convictions, as in Rock climbing with a new, inexperienced partner was a real act of faith . The term is a translation of the Portuguese auto da fé , which referred to the sentencing and execution of heretics (often by burning at the stake) during the Inquisition, when punishing heresy was thought to constitute an assertion of faith. In modern times it is used for more benign circumstances. [Early 1700s]

Example Sentences

Sister Agnes chooses to voice her thoughts to the gathered cardinals only as an act of faith, calling out one of the papal candidates with evidence of his misbehavior.

From Los Angeles Times

The victim, who was not named, is still recovering and learning to trust but forgives the family in an act of faith, the statement said.

From Los Angeles Times

It truly is an act of faith and, for many of us, an act of survival.

From Los Angeles Times

Politics is an act of faith; it often requires watching for signs and portents, however faint.

From Slate

“I changed my strategy to search for new kinds of antibodies,” Dalmau says, and this “act of faith” paid off.

From Science Magazine