... religion is based entirely on belief in the historical, literal existence of ...

[Vladv1]

"The story of "Jesus" is another outstanding case, probably the best. The Christian religion is based entirely on belief in the historical, literal, existence, of a Jewish man who was born to a virgin mother, performed countless "miracles", died on a cross to save us all, disappeared from his tomb after three days, and then ascended to heaven to be with his dad. Over the best part of 2,000 years, billions of lives on this planet have been controlled, limited, manipulated and directed by a belief that the Jesus story actually happened".

David Icke, Children Of The Matrix.

Explain please the absence of the article in the first bolded place and the aritcle A in the second before the same word.

 

[Tarheel]

The writer could answer your question better than I can. However, this is, in my humble opinion, a case where the article is optional. Would using "the" in the first one have contributed to your understanding of what the writer is saying?

 

[jutfrank]

Using a zero article is a way to refer to a general concept. Here, that concept is 'belief'.

Using an indefinite article is way to refer to one 'thing' in the world, separate from other things.

What I'm saying here is always the case. If you learn the very basic ontology behind article usage, then you'll never have to ask this kind of question again. Let me put it for you very simply:

a (indefinite article): This means you conceive one thing, in a world of things.

- (zero article): This means you conceive of something as substance, and not a thing.

the (definite article): This is for pointing to something in the world that is known by both speaker and listener.