To what extent is faith a legitimate basis for knowledge claims, in religion and different areas of knowledge?

ToK Essay: Some people say that religious beliefs can be neither justified nor refuted by reason. However, while sometimes this claim is used as a reason for rejecting religious beliefs, at other times it is used to conclude that these beliefs are established by faith. To what extent is faith a legitimate basis for knowledge claims, in religion and different areas of knowledge?
Faith and science undoubtedly share contradictory aspects yet nevertheless I believe they both can be used for generating knowledge. Religion, relying as it does on faith, can be seen as a means by which we may com…