Proof is a word, when used in the vernacular, can be interpreted in many ways. Faith, by it's very definition, means accepting what you can not logically prove. You choose to believe in God or Zeus or whatever, no one can give you logical proof.

If I look at mathematics (and we'll get back to math later!), I can logically prove thousands of theorems. For example, you do not have to accept that "e" is an irrational number, it can logically be proven. I don't have to accept that Newton's First Law of Motion is true, I can experiment with it's predictions all I want and see that it always works. With religion, the "evidence" is more along the lines of that for UFOs, ghosts, etc. That last sentence is not an insult, just a lack of sleep that has me listening to Coast to Coast in the middle of the night quite a lot!

Religion is often contradictory which seldom shakes anyone's faith. If a tornado destroys a town and kills ten people, its always "Thank God for having saved me" rather than "God destroyed our town and those ten people." Things that can not be explained are given the label "God works in mysterious ways." To me, that's no different than a person locked into a conspiracy theory who tells me that all the proof is there but it is "hidden" by those in power.

One unproven theory I like (using faith!) is that humans are the only living beings we know who learn at an early age that they will die no matter what. That is such a devastating revelation that man creates an afterlife, a continuity that extends beyond death. As it is unknown, that continuity is assigned to the supernatural. Christians believe in heaven, Hindus (Hindi?) believe in karma and reincarnation, Muslims believe in Allah, etc. The vast majority of the world believes in some form of the supernatural that provides absolutes, something to cling to.

Now, some people claim that mathematics also requires faith, after all, it starts from axioms and first principles. But Bertrand Russel stated it clearly: for us to believe in mathematics and that which derives from it, mathematics must be internally consistent. That means, no matter where you start in math, no matter what you choose as your axioms and assumptions, all the rest of math is obtained the same way. You don't have to choose Euclid's axioms to derive geometry in flat space.

There is the vernacular version of proof that is used in faith, law, aliens abductions, medicine, etc. There is also another more rigorous proof required by science and mathematics. For better or worse, I go with the science and math crowd. That does not mean that faith plays no part in my life. There are things I accept with no proof (rigourous proof) that qualifies as faith. I think everyone does. That suspension of proof for me, however, does not extend to the current beliefs or concepts of any modern religion I am familiar with.

OK, that's a start. I believe I have to administer the physics final now!