But faith could easilly be spawned from hope.
If you hope for something enough, sometimes, people start to have faith in it. I admit this is pretty irrational, but many people think this way.

While medical researchers have a clear idea of what they're doing, ordinary people can't make any forecasts on the progress of medical science.
( mistaspakkaman and the inedible shifting caterpillars, Wed 25 Mar 2009, 22:58, 1 reply)

The word 'faith'
has several dictionary definitions. In the context of the QOTW, faith means unsubstantiated belief. We're not talking about faith as a synonym for confidence in a particular outcome which itself is derived from knowledge.

i.e. I might have faith in the pilot to safely land the aircraft, but that's because I know he's trained to do so and I vaguely understand the mechanics of aerodynamics and flight. I have confidence in his abilities and the laws of physics, not unsubstantiated belief.

I think you are focussing on the *placing-your-trust-for-a-reason* definition here, so although you are correct, it's a straw man argument and has nothing to do with 'faith' in the context of religion.
( chart cat has an itch, Thu 26 Mar 2009, 1:55, closed)