Except that that's not the sense of the word being used, at least, I'm pretty sure it's not. The definition in use is 'believe in' as a synonym for 'consider socially acceptable,' analogous to the usage 'I don't hold with ' - it's what I've always thought of as a run-of-the-mill southern american english usage. It's not a statement about what exists at all, it's a statement about what's appropriate. (Since, after all, last we checked, they don't believe in sinnin', either, and everybody knows that happens all the time)
OKCupid has a question "Do you believe in monogamy?" and I can't definitively tease out the intent. Does it mean "Do you believe people are capable of true monogamy?" Or "Do you practice monogamy?" I figure people might interpret it either way, so I skipped it.
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The definition in use is 'believe in' as a synonym for 'consider socially acceptable,' analogous to the usage 'I don't hold with ' - it's what I've always thought of as a run-of-the-mill southern american english usage. It's not a statement about what exists at all, it's a statement about what's appropriate. (Since, after all, last we checked, they don't believe in sinnin', either, and everybody knows that happens all the time)
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Sorry, I think that may have been the drugs talking :)
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OKCupid has a question "Do you believe in monogamy?" and I can't definitively tease out the intent. Does it mean "Do you believe people are capable of true monogamy?" Or "Do you practice monogamy?" I figure people might interpret it either way, so I skipped it.
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