Is belief in God a matter of choice, a bestowed gift, or a result of reasoned consideration of evidence?

It’s possible that I may be proposing a false trichotomy, but when considering belief in God, I identify at least three distinct possibilities: - **Belief as a Choice**: Belief in God might be a decision of the will, subject to one’s volitional control. This perspective makes sense if libertarian free will exists, allowing individuals to freely choose whether they believe in God. In philosophy, this view is known as [Doxastic Voluntarism](https://iep.utm.edu/doxastic-voluntarism/) . - **Belief as a Gift**: Alternatively, belief in God could be viewed not as an arbitrary choice but as a consequence of receiving the gift of faith, presumably from God. Here, God, rather than human will, is the source of faith. - **Belief as a Result of Reason and Evidence**: Another possibility is that belief in God is neither an arbitrary choice nor an arbitrary gift but a natural result of sound reasoning applied to available evidence. Thus, a person who honestly examines the evidence and uses reason should naturally conclude that God exists. It seems to me that fields like [natural theology](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_theology) and [Christian apologetics](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_apologetics) are premised upon this assumption. It's possible that I may be overlooking additional possibilities and that the three options I've outlined might not be mutually exclusive. Moreover, I might be conflating *belief* with *faith*, and I welcome any corrections on this point if that’s the case. With all that said, **what is an overview of Christian perspectives on how belief in God arises?** Specifically, I'm interested in the following subquestions: - **Choice of the Will**: Are there specific theological traditions or denominations that view belief in God as a volitional choice? - **Gift from God**: Are there theological perspectives or denominations that consider belief in God a gift from God? - **Result of Reason and Evidence**: Are there groups that see belief in God as a result of reasoned analysis of evidence? - **Other Views**: Are there other theological views on how belief in God comes about that do not fit neatly into the three options I’ve suggested? --- **Clarifications** > I think it's better if the Q clarifies the *cognitive content* of "belief in God" that you're asking about. Even demons believe in the existence and the power of God and they shudder (James 2:19). But then you don't seem to ask about "faith" which demons don't have. Or is "belief in God" in the OP simply refers to the existence of the first mover? The first chapters of *Mere Christianity* talk about moving carefully step by step from mere existence, to awareness of God in the conscience, to dread of what this God might do, to theism (but no relationship), and finally to Christian theism. I like this comment. It emphasizes the distinction between *belief* as mere *intellectual assent*, which the demons possess, and *saving faith*, leading to *relationship with God*, which the demons do not possess. I would very much appreciate answers that split the analysis into these two aspects. > This misses the most common case. Most people grow up believing what they do because that's what their family (and others in their society) believe. It would be crazy not to. This is a good point, although I think this case can be reinterpreted as and reduced to a more primitive version of belief based on "reason + evidence", even if the reasoning process is arguably fallacious or flawed. The potential fallacies involved in this reasoning process might include [*argument ad populum*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argumentum_ad_populum) , [*argument from authority*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argument_from_authority) , and [*appeal to tradition*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appeal_to_tradition) , whereas the evidence might take the form of "my parents told me so", "my culture told me so", "my tradition told me so", and so on. One example is how children develop a belief in [Santa Claus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Claus) , because their parents told them so and they regard their parents to be reliable authorities conveyors of truth. Please don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that all beliefs based on tradition or authorities are necessarily comparable to belief in Santa Claus or fallacious (e.g. if all medical institutions and laboratories around the world agreed that certain vaccine is safe and effective against certain virus, I wouldn't necessarily consider trusting their expert judgement to be fallacious). Believing something because X said so is not necessarily a bad reason if X is, for instance, an [expert witness](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expert_witness) or a [credible witness](https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/credible_witness) .