と vs. のを / ことを when used with 信じる


Take the following sentences:

  1. いつか願いが叶うと信じている。

  2. いつか願いが叶うのを信じている。/ いつか願いが叶うことを信じている。 

I know what they mean, but I don't know if there is a practical difference
between the two versions. More generally, are there times when only と **or**
のを/ことを can be used, but not both?




As a native Japanese speaker, I'd rather explain my own feeling or thoughts at
the times facing of someone saying those sentences:

1) いつか願いが叶うと信じている。

He/she has "made" him/herself believe something - or he/she consiously defines
his/her beliefs as such.

2) いつか願いが叶うのを信じている。/ いつか願いが叶うことを信じている。

He/she believes something.

Basically those sentences are fairly similar but I slightly sense of more
consciousness on #1 than #2. Perhaps "と" makes me feel of psychological
distance between subjects and objects, thus revealing existense of implied
forces (i.e., will) tighten them up and turning objects into subjects (or
"heartfelt voice"). On the other hand, objects on #2 are still objects.

If the verb "信じている" is changed to some other, for example "考えている", I think the
distinction between two becomes clearer. I'm not sure this can be applied to
"信じている" but could be understood as some inherent meanings of "信じる" has masked
out grammatical differences - probably "信じる" is subjective after all.




As a native Japanese speaker, I'd rather explain my own feeling or thoughts at
the times facing of someone saying those sentences:

1) いつか願いが叶うと信じている。

He/she has "made" him/herself believe something - or he/she consiously defines
his/her beliefs as such.

2) いつか願いが叶うのを信じている。/ いつか願いが叶うことを信じている。

He/she believes something.

Basically those sentences are fairly similar but I slightly sense of more
consciousness on #1 than #2. Perhaps "と" makes me feel of psychological
distance between subjects and objects, thus revealing existense of implied
forces (i.e., will) tighten them up and turning objects into subjects (or
"heartfelt voice"). On the other hand, objects on #2 are still objects.

If the verb "信じている" is changed to some other, for example "考えている", I think the
distinction between two becomes clearer. I'm not sure this can be applied to
"信じている" but could be understood as some inherent meanings of "信じる" has masked
out grammatical differences - probably "信じる" is subjective after all.

