Almighty God, creator of all

things visible and invisible,

source of all goodness and
love. Light the darkness of our
understanding, Give us a keen
memory to grasp things
correctly, Guide us from start
to finish and Protect us from
evil. Amen
 Lesson 1:
Defining Religion
 Religion has
always been and
remains a powerful
dimension of
human experience
 Religion the belief in
and worship of a
superhuman
controlling power,
especially a personal
God or gods.
https://www.google.com/search?q=what+is+religion&rlz
=1C1CHBD_enPH914PH914&oq=what+is+religion&aqs
=chrome..69i57j0l7.1845j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
 Religion is an organized
collection of beliefs,
cultural systems, and
world views that relate
humanity to an order of
existence.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/terms/religion.htm
 It is a rather common
misconception to think that
religion has to do with god, or
gods and supernatural beings or a
supernatural or spiritual
dimension or greater
reality.  None of that is
absolutely necessary because
there are religions that are
without those elements. 
Federick Ferre in his work Basic Modern Philosophy of
Religion.
Homo Religiosus

It is the nature
of human beings to
be religious
Religious beliefs
inspired and
influenced us in
different ways
ART
PHILOSOPHY
ETHICS
POLITICS
Ignorance about religion itself and
the world’s religions traditions
promotes misunderstanding that
weakens respect for diversity.
 Article 18 of the UN’s Universal
Declaration of Human Rights
“Everyone has the right to freedom of thought,
conscience and religion; this right includes
freedom to change (one’s) religion or belief, and
freedom, either alone or in community with
others and in public or private, to manifest his
religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship,
and observance.
 (Saucier and
Skrzypiska 2006)

Religion Religio

Conscientiousness /
Reverence
(Palmer 2004)

Religare To bind fast

“re” “lig”

Again Join
Molloy 2010
 Relegare
Tread Carefully

(Palmer 2004)
“respect and care for both the
natural and supernatural worlds”
To bind humanity and the way for humans to
the divine Together recover or reestablish
that unity.

This further suggests that a primary concern of

religion is to provide
guidance on how humans ought to live.
 Fundamental
Creed beliefs

Norms of
Code
behavior

Cult Practices
 Creed Code Cult

Reality Religion

History Geography Culture

Common Characteristics of Religious Worldviews

• Dealing with Existence

• Life beyond death
• Code of Ethical Behavior
The Study
of
Religions
THEOLOGY
Theos Logos

Word/
god thought/
principle/
 RELIGIOUS
STUDIES
Audience of religious studies is
assumed to be open to the logical
persuasion of evidence, but is not
ultimately expected to make a
religious commitment.
 PHILOSOPHY OF
RELIGION

Consists in analyzing
religious concepts,
beliefs, and practices of
religious adherents.
 PSYCHOLOGY OF
RELIGION

Attempts to explain
religious behavior by
making use of current
theories in psychology.
 SOCIOLOGY OF RELIGION

Describes religious
phenomena in terms of
their function in human
societies.
 RELIGIOUS
ANTHROPOLOGY

Studies the cultural

significance of religious
experiences, ideas, and
institutions.
Spirituality Religiousness
 Zinnbauer and
Pargament (2005)
identify two general perspectives on the
relationship between spirituality and
religiousness.
it is not possible to be
it is possible to be religious
religious and spiritual at the
and spiritual at the same
same time.
time. A religious person
A religious person, in this
can be a spiritual person,
regard, is not a spiritual
and a spiritual person can
person, and a spiritual person
be a religious person.
is not a religious person.
 Zinnbauer and
Pargament (2005)
The first perspective, which sees religiousness and spirituality as
incompatible opposites, is based on certain views, opinions, or
observations about what makes religiousness and spirituality
different.

religiousness is spirituality is
substantive (or functional (or
substance- function-
oriented) oriented).
 Zinnbauer and
Pargament (2005)

Second is the view that religiousness is institutional and objective,

while spirituality is personal and subjective.

religiousness is spirituality is
Communal individual
 Analysis

First, limiting religiousness to substance alone does not explain how religion
affects the personal lives of believers or what religion does to make the lives of the
believers meaningful.

Second, inasmuch as religiousness involves communal or organizational activities,

the end goal is still a personal relationship with the divine.