INTRODUCTION TO WORLD RELIGIONS AND BELIEF SYSTEMS WEEK 3

Most Essential Learning Competency:

Analyze the influences of religion to culture and society

What I need to know:

Religion has become a very important aspect in the development of civilizations and cultures. In fact, most ancient societies based
their worldviews on religion, and it has been proven to be beneficial to the attainment and maintenance of social stability and
cohesiveness.(Ong,2016) However, change is constant. The rising conflict due to the variety of values and practicies, world views and
mental constructs upheld by groups risen to power also aid in the development as well as the imminent destruction of some belief
systems. It has happened througout history, the victor’s trophy is the chance to tell or write the story of their grandeur in history books,
sometimes even in sacred texts. But this is all part of the the grand desgin that is life on earth No matter what the effects of a belief
system is to people or whatever world views they tend to develop from these concepts it will still create socieity the consciousness of
its member sin return.

Learning objectives:
The learner demonstrates understanding of effects of Religions: positive and negative.

Pretest: :Write the letter of the correct answer on the blank provided before each number.

_____1. The economist and social philosopher who stated that Religion is opium of the people.
A. Adam Smith B. Carl Rogers C. Constantine D. Karl Marx

_____2. The Roman Emperor who sought to unite Roman empire under the Christianity.
A. Adam Smith B. Carl Rogers C. Constantine D. Karl Marx

_____3. Which of the following statements suggest that religion is used as ab economic and poltiical tool to exploit the masses?
A. The conquest for the promised land by the Jews
B. The wearing of hijab among Muslim women hide their identy from unrelated men.
C. The practice of Zhenmeng and the Five Relationships in Chinese religious tradition.
D. The establishment of the Inquisition by the Catholic church to root out all heretics and theri activities

_____4. Which of the following statements suggest that religion causes discrimination?
E. The conquest for the promised land by the Jews
F. The Hindu view of the pariah social class as dirty and sinful
G. The practice of xiao or filial piety, and ancestor worship in Chinese tradition
H. The establishment of the Inquisition by the Catholic church to root out all heretics and theri activities

_____5. Which of the following statements suggest that religion causes conflicts and fights?
I. The conquest for the promised land by the Jews
J. The Hindu view of the pariah social class as dirty and sinful
K. The practice of Self Immolation of Hindu wives as an act of loyalty to their dead husband
L. The establishment of the Inquisition by the Catholic church to root out all heretics and theri activities

_____6. . Which of the following statements is a positive effect of Religion?

M. Religion cuases dicrimination
N. Religion provides moral values
O. Religion triggers conflicts and fights
P. Religion obstructs the use of Reason

____7. Which of the following statements is a negative effect of religion?

Q. Religion promotes Social Change
R. Religion promotes Social harmony
S. Religion promotes religions hierarchy
T. Religion provides as sesne of belongingness

____8. It is a type or norm that establishes the core principles and ideals of a community or religious group.
A. cultural values B. folkways C laws D. mores

____9. It is a type of norm which deals with conventional beliefs fof righ and wrong within a community.
A. cultural values B. folkways C laws D. mores

____10. It is a type of norms that deals with written rules of conduct that when violated, one is subject to some punishment or
consequence.
A. cultural values B. folkways C laws D. mores
Positive Effects of Religion
Religion promotes social harmony in a way that poeple have something to believe and do together. The belief in supernatural beings
with supernatural powers promotes the belief in the importance of rituals and rites of passage. The belief sets the norm, a standard
pattern of behavior for an individual or a group. Norms have different types namely: folkways(the traditional behavior or way of life
of a particular community); mores(conventions of right and wrong within a group or community); laws(written rules of conduct); and
cultural values (core principles and ideals upon which a group exists). It is commonly believed that adherence to these norms not
only makes you a good member of particular religious group, it also gives you an opportunity to recieve a a token or reward from the
supernatural being that the group worships. Examples of practices that promote social harmony are the concept of “ahimsa” or
non-violence in Jainism and xiao or filial piety in Chinese traditional practices
Religion also promotes moral values. It provides a systematic model of the universe, which in effect determines organized human
behavior.(Ong, 2016) Rules of conduct where primarily determined by established notions of right and wrong. In ancient times, it was
commonly believed that right actions were pleasing to the gods and wrong actions displeased the gods.
Througout history, the promotion of moral values also lead to social change wherein religious values have evolved from the belief that
morals relayed to the will of the gods to a more humane and rational perspective. People now believe that religion aides greatly in the
development of human societies and providing solutions to some social issues. The concept of satyagraha or passive resistance,
promoted by Mahatma Gandhi in India lead to the Independence of India from British rule back in the 20th century.
Religion was developed from man’s need to have a sense of origin and destination; to discover where they came from and where they
are bound to go to when they die.(Ong,2016) Religion reducest the fear of the unknown, for Christians and monotheistic religions.
Death is not the end of life, but hte beginning eternal life but your actions during your life in the physical plane will determine
whether you go the Higher cosmic planes (heaven) of lower cosmic plane (hell) as religion promotes it. In Hindu belief, the concepts of
dharma and karma are also at play where dharma is your way, duty or obligatory destiny while living on Earth and Karma on the other
hand is the accumulation of merits while living on Earth, these merits will eventually determine the kind of life you will live in future
incarnations.
Futhremore, religion inspires believers and provides positive goals in life. Through the life stories of the founders of various religions,
people are inspired by their strength of character, unshakeable belief and determination. Take for example: the Buddha, Sidharatha
who gave up all his wealth to attain and serve people by teaching the way toward enlightenment; Take, Jesus the Christ, Master of
Love who taught compassion to mankind over hypocritic adherence to the law; and also Mohammed, the prophet of Allah, who was
uneducatted and simple yet was able to commune and deliver Allah’s message to the infidels by his determination and uparalleled
devotion.
Lastly, religion gives a sense of belonging. Religion provides people with personal identity as part of a group with similar worldviews,
beliefs, values, practices, and lifestyles. It provides communities with prospects to recognize and offer vital action and service to
provide the needs of the larger community.(Ong, 2016) The principle of seva which mean selfless service is practiced by followers in
Sikhism wherein they are taught to perform selfless service not only to promote good community relations but also to pave the way for
individuals to be morally uplifted.

Guided Assessment : Identify the characters, places and events described below.
__________1. It mean sselfless service according to Sikh religious practice.
__________2. This is a Hindu concept that pertains to the accummulation merits both good and bad while living on Earth.
__________3. This concepts means passive resistance which helped in leading India towards in Independence from British rule.
__________4. It is a practice in Chinese tradition which means filial piety.
__________5. It refers to a standard pattern of behavior for an individual or group.

Negative Effects of Religion

Some religions affirm social hierarchy often favoring men and as a result, perpetuate the notions of class or gender discrimination
and oppression.(Ong,2016) In Chinese tradition, Confucian Philosophy he concept of zhengming and the five relationships which
promotes social order wherein one must rule and the other ruled. In India the concept of a social caste system is also promoted
politically where in it is believed that the Brahmin class is most likely to achieve enlightenment over the other classes.
Religion may sometimes cause discrimination because some religious practitioners become intolerant of other religious practices.
In truth there is no right religion, there is simply truth which not everyone can grasp in its entirety. In Islam, the hijab(a head
covering worn in public by Muslim women) is encouraged to be worn by Muslim women to maintain modesty and privacy from the gaze
of unrelated men. In India, pariahs are considered outcasts and they are treated as dirty and sinful because of their social class.
Another example is the practice of Sati. Sati, or the practice of self-immolation of a widow on her husband’s funeral pyre, is said to
have originated 700 years ago in India
Religion, throughout history has also caused conflicts and fights. Some of these conflicts are even written in sacred text such as the
battle for the promised land by the Jews against Palestine. The Battle of Christian for the Holy Land during the Midieval age. The battle
for land by the Muslims agains the Hindus for Pakistan. In our own history, our suffering from the colonization of Spain was also a war
of religious indoctriniation.
Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the sentiment of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium
of the people. The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of men, is a demand for their real happiness.(Karl Marx) Religion is
sometimes used as an economic and poltiical tool to exploit the masses. Since people rely on religion for guidance, it also
establishes enough power to twist rational thought away from devoted believers and make puppets out of them for the selfish gain of
the elite/ capitalists, as Marx might put it. A more graphic exampe would be the established Episcopal Inquisition (1184- 1230s) and
the Papal Inquisition (1230s). The Inquisition was a response to large popular movements in Europe considered heretical or profane
to Christianity, particularly Catharism (a Christian dualist movement which espousedthe idea of two gods, one being good and the
other evil) and Waldensians (a Protestant Christian movement which advocated that apostolic poverty is the way to perfection) in
southern France and southern Italy. The word “inquisition,” has somehow become associated with the word “torture.” This is because
after 1252, torture was used to punish the heretics. One common form of torture was the strappado, wherein the hands were bound
behind the back with a rope, and the accused was suspended this way, dislocating the joints painfully in both arms.
Sometimes, religions obstructs the use of reason. Religious doctrine is not an absolute scientific truth. In the minds of people, as
proposed by theory of wish fulfilment, peoples’ belief in the supernatural help them cope with stress and pressure of having dreams
and aspirations developing Gods and religions out of them. However some of these thoughts prevailed and were taken advantage of
would be religious leaders and used for their own personal gain. One example in history is the effort of the Roman Emperor
Constantine to unite and promote peace within the Roman Empire. On June 19, 325, Constantine intervened in a religious conflict he
invited all Christian bishops to attend a council in Nicaea, near present-day Istanbul. The goal of the council, which was attended by
more than 300 representatives of the church, was not to enforce Christianity as the state religion, but rather to establish a religious
peace that would stabilize the Roman Empire. The signing of this creed effectively ended the persecution of Christians.

Guided Assessment : Identify the characters, places and events described below.

__________1. The practice of self-immolation of a widow on her husband’s funeral pyre

__________2. A Christian dualist movement which espousedthe idea of two gods, one being good and the other evi
__________3. A Roman Catholic group establishes by the church to rool out all heretical and profane concepts against Christianity.
__________4. The Roman Emperor who sought to unite the Roman Empire under Christianity.
__________5. A head covering worn in public by Muslim women.

Independent Activity: Create a slogan or a poster which represents your hope for modern day religioua practice and its goal towards
harmony for all human kind. (100 points)

Reflection and evaluation:

Answer these questions to evaluate what you learned in this lesson.
What part of the lesson do you find most interesting and easy to understand?
What concpets do you find difficult to grasp and difficult to understand?

Referrences:
Jerome A. Ong and Mary Dorothy dL. Jose. Introduction to World religions and Belief Systems, Vibal Group Inc.

*note.
 Kindly answer all activities except ones specified as opitonal.
 NO ANSWER KEY was provided in this lesson to encourage the learner to read and comprehent the concepts at their own pace.
If you find some concepts difficulte you are encourage to discuss your concerns and clarifications with your teacher facilitator.
 Do not write anything on this booklet. Kindly write your answers on the medium specified by your teacher facilitator. .