THE SPIRITUAL SELF

WHAT IS SPIRITUAL SELF?

 The activity we engage in to find and nurture a sense of
connection to a Higher Power and deeper meaning for our lives.
 The simplest way to describe the spiritual self is that unseen part
of who we are that provides our physical self with insight,
intuition, and other ways of knowing and being beyond what our
five senses experience in the physical world.  Our five senses and
our emotions may be access points or portals into experiencing the
spiritual self.
RELIGION

 Is the socially defined patterns

of beliefs concerning ultimate
meaning of life’ it assumes the
existence of the supernatural.
-Stark
CHARACTERISTICS OF
RELIGION
Belief in a deity or in a power beyond the individual
A doctrine (accepted teaching) of salvation
A code of conduct
The use of sacred stories
Religious rituals (acts and ceremonies)
FUNCTIONS OF RELIGION

Religion serves as a means of social control.

It exerts a great influence upon personality development.
Religion always fear the unknown.
Religion explains events or situations which are beyond the
comprehension of man.
It gives man comfort, strength and hope in times of crisis and
despair.
FUNCTIONS OF RELIGION

It preserves and transmits knowledge, skills, spiritual and

cultural values and practices.
It serves as an instrument of change.
It promotes closeness, love, cooperation, friendliness and
helpfulness.
Religion alleviates sufferings from major calamities.
It provides hope for a blissful life after death.
CHURCH

Tends to be large, with inclusive membership, in low tension

with surrounding society and tends toward greater intellectual
examination and interpretation of the tenants of religion.
SECT

 Has a small, exclusive membership, high tension with society. It

tends toward the emotional, mystic, stress faith, feeling,
conversion experience, to be “born again”.
CULT

The more innovative institutions and are formed when people

create new religious beliefs and practices. There are three types:
audience cults, client cults and cult movements.
ELEMENTS OF RELIGION

 Sacred - refers to phenomena that are regarded as

extraordinary, transcendent, and outside the everyday
course of events - that is, supernatural.
 Legitimation of norms – Religious sanctions and beliefs
reinforce the legitimacy of many rules and norms in the
community.
 Rituals – are formal patterns of activity that express
symbolically a set of shared meanings.
ACCORDING TO YOUR
BELIEFS

Monotheist – believe in one God

Polytheist – believe in more than one God
Atheist – do not believe in God
Agnostic – have doubts about God
 5 PILLARS OF 10 COMMANDMENTS OF R.C
ISLAM
1. Shahada: Faith. 1. You shall have no other gods
2. Salat: Prayer. before Me.
3. Zakat: Charity. 2. You shall not make idols.
4. Sawm: Fasting. 3.You shall not take the name of the
5. LORD your God in vain.
Hajj:Pilgrimage 4. Remember the 6. Sabbath day, to
keep it holy.
5. Honor your father and your
mother.
6. You shall not murder.
7. You shall not commit adultery.
8. You shall not steal.
9.You shall not bear false witness
against your neighbor.
10.You shall not covet.
10 COMMANDMENTS OF HINDUISM
1. Satya (Truth) 
2. Ahimsa (Non-violence) 
3. Brahmacharya (Celibacy, non-
adultery) 
4. Asteya (No desire to possess or
steal) 
5. Aparighara (Non-corrupt) 
6. Shaucha (Cleanliness)
7. Santosh (Contentment) 
8. Swadhyaya (Reading of scriptures) 
9. Tapas (Austerity, perseverance,
penance) 
10. Ishwarpranidhan (Regular prayers)