LESSON 1: Introduction to Religion

Specific Objectives:

1. Explain that religion unifies and creates social division in the society
2. Discuss the effects of religion in terms of social interaction

The Nature of Religion

Studying disciplines under the social sciences, what bothers scholars most (things that
become their source of debates) is working to understand terms. Aspiring learners of any social
science field must first and foremost, be able to distinguish between concepts and conceptions to
better understand why scholars have clung to their school of thought. A concept is an idea, term,
or category such as body or soul that is best approached with a definition restricted to its inherent
characteristics (remember your subject in Senior High School - Religions of the World). A good
definition of body or soul as a concept, in this narrow but important sense, should be clear and
concise. For its part, a conception builds on a concept by describing the understandings,
perspectives, or interpretations of a concept. Most of our conceptions come from experiential
(sense) learning.

The English word religion comes from the Latin verb Religare, which means “to tie” or “to
bind fast”. As it evolves now, religion has many definitions. It is hard to give the meaning of what
religion is and to ensure that the given definition will characterize it apart from magic, cults, and
the like. There are two ways in defining religion: Substantive and Functional.

A substantive definition of religion is given by a contemporary scholar as “a system of

beliefs, rituals, and practices, usually institutionalized in one manner or another, which
connects this world with the beyond. Religion provides the bridge that allows the humans
to approach the divine, the universal life force that both encompasses and transcends the
world” (Super and Turley 2006).

The substantive definition of religion limits religion to the belief of the supernatural or divine
force. As the anthropologist Tylor explained, religion is “a belief in spiritual beings.” He espoused
those human beings to develop religious beliefs to explain dreams, visions, unconsciousness,
and death. The problem of the substantive definition of religion has been pointed by the
Sociologist Durkheim. Unlike Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism, Durkheim argued, Buddhism
tends to be a religion without God or belief in any supernatural being.

Some scholars advocate a functional definition of religion that does not necessarily refer
to the belief in a supernatural being (god or force). In the functional definition, religion is anything
that provides an individual with the ultimate meaning that organizes his/her entire life and
worldview. An American scholar of religion, Milton Yinger, describes the functional definition of
religion as

“a system of beliefs and practices through which a group of people struggles with the
ultimate problems of human life.”

Such definition of religion therefore may also include humanism, individualism,

nationalism, or even socialism.

Characteristics of Religion

Still, social scientists would have to argue that to define religion, it would be useful if the
initial idea of religion would be phrased in terms of its characteristics which most people who have
any experiences with religion can more likely identify.

Common characteristics of religions are:

❖ The notion of deity or absolute that which is of ultimate concern and importance;
❖ Ideas on the nature of human beings;
❖ The idea of divine providence, destiny, fate;
❖ The idea and meaning of human history
❖ The problem of evil explained
❖ Description of the central problem of human life and suffering, the idea of an afterlife-life
after death
❖ A concept of the world
❖ Ideas of human community and ethics – a moral code.

The more a certain phenomenon displays these characteristics, the more likely it is
accepted as a religion. The fewer manifestations of these characteristics, a phenomenon may be
termed magic, sorcery, or cult but not a full-fledged religion.
 Types of Religious Organizations

Religion is necessarily social. People belonging to a definite religious community shared

beliefs and rituals. While an individual denies belonging or affiliate with an established religion,
that person is still religious and belongs to an individualistic or spiritualistic interpretation of
religion.

▪ Church – it is a religious organization that claims to possess the truth about salvation
exclusively. A classic example is the Roman Catholic Church. Membership is by childbirth
and inducted through baptism.
▪ Sect – it also perceives itself as a unique owner of truth but constitutes a minority in a
given society. Membership is through recruitment and conscious individual choice. Once
joined, an individual has required a high level of commitment and activity. He/she is
expected to support the teachings of the sect and to comply with its lifestyle. An example
is the Iglesia ni Cristo (INC).
▪ Denomination - unlike the church and sect, it is oriented towards cooperation, at least as
it relates to other similar denominations. Memberships are through individual and
voluntary choice although some are also from childbirth. It has established a cordial
relationship with the larger society. Most protestant groups are a denomination.
▪ Cult – a non-traditional form of religion, the doctrines of which are taken from diverse
sources, either from non-traditional or local narratives or a combination of both.
Memberships are either loose or an exclusive group believing in the divine element within
the individual whose teachings are derived from either real or legendary figures. In the
Philippines the Sagrado Corazon, Tadtad (Kublan) are considered cults.
▪ New Religious Movements (NRMs) – this group flourished in the 1960s as coined by social
scientists as an alternative label for a cult. People who believed in the Unidentified Flying
Objects (UFOs) and other esoteric beliefs were considered cults or occults. Known groups
are the Peoples Temples at Jonestown, Guyana whose 900 followers committed mass
suicide at the command of their leader. Modern-day witchcraft like Wicca in Britain
combined Christian tradition, paganism, and eastern rituals and symbols.