Think about what been said in this thread.
People trying to come to some agreement on the meanings of words and how these words relate to their interest of thought. Words related in subject or context to “belief" seems to be the topic.
A statement that no intelligent person relies on belief, and that every intelligent person avoids that word, is dogmatic and demonstrably untrue.
Example this statement can go any direction, depending on which end of the scale of thought you are at.
Used in subject of this thread for some people the statement is very true and for others it is false.
Example, if your friend was Neurological Doctor and not a lawyer, then his thoughts could be looked upon as rational. Same for the people’s thoughts on “gravity", we know its effect, but we do not know the inner workings of what makes it work. Once gravity is all figured out then all logical thinking about gravity will be rational. All thinking of ill rational thought will be placed in the “belief" basket.
When one hears the word “belief" one can assume there is missing “knowledge" or untested knowledge or knowledge that is unaccepted by the masses or people of authority on the subject.
IMO that is a very narrow interpretation of the word "believe" and "belief"
Believing is a verb of a brain function, we believe we are real based on overwhelming evidence. But are we? It grants a shared confidence of probability and is completely neutral in application. Similar to the term "trust", which is also neutral in concept or stigma.
Belief is
Definition of belief (n) , Bing Dictionary
be·lief
1.acceptance of truth of something: acceptance by the mind that something is true or real, often underpinned by an emotional or spiritual sense of certainty
2.trust: confidence that somebody or something is good or will be effective
3.something that somebody believes in: a statement, principle, or doctrine that a person or group accepts as true
Synonyms: confidence · trust · certainty · credence · acceptance
What is the semantic problem if used in proper context? If that is misunderstood the fault lies not with the user. To automatically attach any other weight or meaning to perfectly good verbs or nouns is understandable but not logically permitted.
We have these words in order to communicate, not to quibble about subtle implications or hidden agendas, unless that is the subject of the conversation. Is it?