I know the power of belief. I was raised a devout Mormon in Arkansas, where my religion shaped every aspect of worldview. It gave my small, ordinary childhood purpose and meaning. It gave me a place in the world. Then I left.

I no longer practice my family’s faith, but I still see belief everywhere. I see it in the cross dangling from my Uber driver’s rearview mirror. I hear it in the prayer my seatmate whispers on a plane. I laugh about it as my friend knocks wood to avoid a jinx. I feel it in people’s unyielding devotion to a fandom, political activism, their country. We want to belong. We want an explanation, something to help make sense of the chaos around us. We spend our lives trying to find it.

These stories — about how people search for meaning in their lives — are the ones I most want to tell, and I need your help.

I’m working on a project about belief. While I can’t share all the details yet, I’m eager to get your input. Has faith shaped your life? Have you deepened, changed, discovered or lost belief in something?

If you’d like to share, please fill out the form below. We’ll read every submission and contact you if we’re interested in publishing your response. We won’t publish any part of your submission without reaching out to you and hearing back. We also won’t use your contact information for any reason other than to follow up with you, nor will we share it outside our newsroom. Thank you!