MODULE 1

WORLD RELIGIONS IN FOCUS

LESSON 1
UNDERSTANDING THE NATURE OF RELIGION
Why is there a need to study religion?

Religion has been in existence since the earliest time of humankind.

Wherever humankind inhabits, religion too exists
In all parts of the world, religious ideas have helped inflame
animosity and discord that shape conflicts and give rise to
oppression and tyranny.
Conversely, religious traditions have also created a strong backbone
that helped shape the importance of peace, justice, equality,
toleration, and brotherhood.
OBJECTIVE:
To differentiate the concept, elements and
characteristics of belief system, world view,
religion and spirituality.
Activity1:
In the context of religion, list down 5 things that you believe in by completing the following
statements. What have you observed in your own belief system? Write your answer in a one
whole sheet of yellow pad.
1. I believe in/that ______________________________________________________
2. I believe in/that ______________________________________________________
3. I believe in/that ______________________________________________________
4. I believe in/that ______________________________________________________
5. I believe in/that _____________________________________________________________
a. What is Belief b. What is
System? Worldview?
is an ideology or set of principles that
helps us to interpret our everyday reality.  Worldview – is a
This could be in the form of religion, collection of beliefs
political affiliation, philosophy, or
spirituality, among many other things. about life and the
universe being held
These beliefs are shaped and influenced
by a number of different factors. Our by people.
knowledge on a certain topic, the way we
were raised, and even peer pressure from
others can help
KINDS OF BELIEF SYSTEM

Kinds Description
Monism There is no real distinction between god and the universe.
Polytheism The belief and worship of many gods.
Monotheism The doctrine or belief in one supreme god,
Atheism Disbelief or in denial of the existence of a personal god.
Agnosticism God cannot be known.
Definition of Religion

Religion – is an organized system of beliefs, ceremonies and rules

used to worship a god or group of gods.
Latin word “religio” – means something done with overanxious or
scrupulous attention to detail.
Latin verb “religare” – means to tie together or to bind fast.
In its original sense, the word refers to the expression of proper
piety (devotion/respect), that is, binding to god.
Question to Ponder:
How is religion viewed by various people in
relation to their outlook about God?
NATURE OF RELIGION
Name of Social Scientist Background View on Religion

Edward Burnett Tylor (1832 - English anthropologist; founding figure of the science of social The belief of spiritual beings.
1917) anthropology

James George Frazer Scottish social anthropologist; one of the founding figures of A propitiation (gain the favor) or conciliation of power
modern anthropology superior to man which are believed to control and direct the
course of nature and human life.

Bronislaw Kasper Malinowski An eminent 20th century Polish anthropologist A body of self-contained acts being themselves the fulfillment
( 1884 – 1942 ) of their purposes; an affair of all, which everyone takes an
  active and equivalent part.

David Emile Durkheim (1858 – French sociologist; Father of sociology A united system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred
1917 ) things.
Exploring Spirituality
Spiritual” means“ relating or affecting the human spirit or soul as
opposed to material or physical things”.
From the Latin word Spiritus, its verb root spirare means ‘to
breathe”. There is an expression that people are surrounded by a
“divine reality as pervasive, intimate, necessary and invisible as the
air we breathe.”
The main belief of spirituality is of having an invisible spirit or soul
which is enjoying an earthy experience or journey, in a visible body.
Dogma - is a principle or set of principles laid down by an authority as incontrovertibly true.
- is an official system of principles or doctrines of a religion, such as Roman Catholicism,
A tenet - is a principle or belief honored by a person or, more often, a group of people. "Seek
pleasure and avoid pain" is a basic tenet of Hedonism. "God exists" is a tenet of most major religion.
Spirituality - refers to a belief in a higher power,
• an awareness of life and its meaning
• it is the centering of a person with purpose in life.
• It involves relationships with person with purpose in life.
• It involves relationships with a higher being, with self and with the world around the higher
being, with self and with the world around the individual.
• It implies living with moral individual and moral standards. ““The spirit of a human - is his
essence, that part of him or her that is not visible. The part that does not die but is immortal.
Differences
Religion Spirituality Theology Philosophy
( of Religion )
Refers to any set of Spirituality is one’s Deals with the study of Deals with issues
attitude, beliefs and integrative view of life. the nature and purpose like the analysis
practices concerning a It involves a quest for of god that may be on the existence
supernatural power. the meaning and undertaken using a of a divine being
  ultimate value of life as particular perspective. or on sacred
It is a pursuit of opposed to an   texts.
transformation guided instrumentalist or It is the study of God. It  
by a sacred belief materialistic attitude to comes from the word
system. life ‘theos’ which is Greek
for ‘God,’ and ‘logos,’
meaning ‘word’ or
‘study.’
 ELEMENTS OF BELIEF SYSTEM, WORLDVIEW, RELIGION AND SPIRITUALITY
BELIEF SYSTEM
Values Implicitly - or explicitly, belief systems define what is
good or valuable. Ideal values tend to be abstract summaries of
the behavioral attributes which social system rewards,
formulated after the fact.
Substantive beliefs - are the more important and basic beliefs of
a belief system. Statements such as: all the power for the
people, God exists, Black is Beautiful, and so on, comprise the
actual content of the belief systems and may take almost any
form. For the believers, substantive beliefs are the focus of
interest.
 
Orientation - The believer may assume the existence of a
framework of assumptions around his thought, it may not
actually exist. The orientation he shares with other believers
may be illusory
Language - is the logic of a belief system. Language L of a
belief system is composed of the logical rules which relate one
substantive belief to another within the belief system.
Perspective - The perspective of a belief system or their Values
cognitive map is the set of conceptual tools.
Prescriptions and proscriptions  - includes action alternatives or Economy
policy recommendations as well as deontical norms for Economy is an important part of your worldview.
behavior. Historical examples of prescriptions are the Agriculture affects the economy.
Marx’s Communist Manifesto, the Lenin’s What is To Be
Done or the Hitler’s Mein Kampf
Ideological Technology - every belief system contains associated beliefs Knowledge
concerning means to attain ideal values.
WORLDVIEW RELIGION SPIRITUALITY
Geography - Every religion has the same three basic elements: Wisdom or creed, Worship or cult and 1. Holistic (fully integrated view to
You only know what you live by. Works or code. life)
When you live somewhere you get used to the place you aren’t
used to other geography so limits your worldview.
Time Wisdom or creed - refers to the theological beliefs and scriptures of holy writings of a 2. Quest for meaning (including the
People take time and think their religion and their relationship religion. purpose of life)
with people. People take time for granted.    
A creed – is a set of truths that must be accepted and agreed to by those who wish to
belong to the religion, to those who choose to be a follower or a disciple. It is a
“summary of principle beliefs of religion”.
Creed - A doctrine of salvation (what we believe)
Worship or Cult – refers to the way of worshipping, to the rituals that are practiced by
followers of the religion.
- This is often a difficult element to describe because it involves so many diverse
elements.
Cult - Belief in deity (how we worship)
Works or code – refers to the ethical values and the system of moral practice directly
resulting from an adherence to the beliefs.
- It is a set of moral principles and guidelines that must be respected and followed
by those who would be identified as menbers of the religion.
- A code, when used in religious sense, is simply a summary of principles and
guidelines by which people choose which actions are good, and which to be
avoided.
- Code - code of conduct (how we live )
Community – the believers
Beliefs Reflects an effort to elevate their whole self to a higher dimension of existence. 3. Quest for the sacred (beliefs about
When you believe in something you will look at everything God)
through that filter of that belief. People’s belief makes them  
individual.
Society A framework of transcendent (surpassing the ordinary) beliefs 4. Suggests a self-reflective existence.
Your society affects your worldview because the society
influences you and your decisions.
Text or scriptures and rituals  
When people value stuff they will look at the thing differently for
that thing.
Sacred spaces (e.g. church, temple, mosque, synagogue).  
   
You believe in what you know. If you don’t know about something you
mostly won’t believe in it.
 CHARACTERISTICS OF BELIEF SYSTEM, WORLDVIEW, RELIGION AND SPIRITUALITY
BELIEF SYSTEM WORLDVIEW RELIGION SPIRITUALITY
Personal commitment - is one of the most observable An explanation of the world. 1. BELIEF IN DEITY Meaning-
and interesting features of an ideology. If it were not for   Three philosophical views: Having purpose, making sense of life.
the fact of personal commitment, belief systems could  Atheists believe that no deity exists.
not have strong social consequences, and the study of  Theists believe in deity or deities.
social systems would not be so interesting.  Agnostics say that the existence of deity can neither be proven nor
  disproven
Belief systems have an existence that is independent of A futurology, answering the question "Where are we 1. A DOCTRINE OF SALVATION Values
their committed believers. The believers do not wholly heading?"  It is based on the belief that people are in some danger from which they Having cherished believers and standards.
contain the belief system; in fact, they are unlikely to be   must be saved.
aware of more than a small part of it and, knowingly or  Major religions like Christianity, Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism stress
unknowingly, they must take the rest of the belief system that salvation is the highest goal of the faithful and one that all
on faith. followers should try to achieve.
   
Psychological mechanisms such as cognitive Values, answers to ethical questions: "What should we 1. CODE OF CONDUCT Transcendence- Appreciating a dimension that
congruence may help explain individual commitment, do?"  Is a set of moral teachings and values that all religions have in some is beyond the self.
but they do not necessarily explain the connectedness of   form.
a belief system in human society.  Such a code or ethics tells believers how to conduct their lives.
 It instructs them how to act toward the deity and toward one another.
 
The life span  of a belief system is potentially longer A praxeology, or methodology, or theory of action: 1. RELIGIOUS RITUALS Connecting -
than the life span of believers “How should we attain our goals?”  These includes the acts and ceremonies by which believers appeal to Relating to others.
  and serve God, deities and other sacred powers.
 The performance of a ritual is often called a service.
 The most common ritual is prayer or for some Asian religions,
meditation.
 Many religions have rituals intended to purify the body. Some have
pilgrimage.
 Rituals commemorate events in the history of religions and mark
important events in the a person’s life.
Belief systems vary almost infinitely in substantive An epistemology or theory of knowledge: "What is true   Becoming -
content.  and false?" Which involves reflection, allowing life to
unfold, and knowing who one is.
The boundaries of a belief system are generally, An etiology. A constructed world-view should contain    
although not always, undefined. Collections of beliefs do an account of its own "building blocks", its origins and
not generally have neat boundaries. construction.
Belief systems often include representations of      
alternative worlds.
A PERSON WHIO IS RELIGIOUS BUT NOT SPIRITIUAL AND A PERSON WHO IS
SPIRITUAL BUT NOT RELIGIOUS

1. A person who is religious but not spiritual

• is someone who is a member of a community, goes through the motions, the ritual, and appreciates a
structured way of living but has no interest in anything beyond the immanent (existing or operating within;
inherent), the everyday, and the mundane. (lacking interest or excitement; dull)
• A non-spiritual religious person is simply a member of their religious community with no deep feelings
about it beyond feelings pertaining to their membership in the community.
• It causes terrorism, prejudice, extremism, bigotry and racism.
Example:
Cain was not a godless man. He was a deeply religious man who believed in offering sacrifices to God
(Gen. 4:3). Abel also offered sacrifices to God. But the difference between the two sacrifices and between
Cain and Abel was the difference between hell and heaven, the difference between religiosity and
spirituality. Cain and Abel symbolize two ways in which people have trodden - the way of religiosity and the
way of spirituality. Cain is a type of those who offer external things to God - money, services, time, etc. Abel,
on the other hand, symbolically laid himself on the altar when he killed the lamb and laid it on the altar.
2. A person who is spiritual but not religious

• Honors and bless diversity in all of nature and in the rights of individuals to choose
to worship.
• Seeks to love one another without being commanded to. They seek to express
that love because it makes them feel more alive and makes the world a better place.
• Prefers to find their own answers to the questions they hold about life and their
role in it.
• Believes that the Universe is benevolent and that everything which happens
carries a seed of magnificence, although it is sometimes buried by appearances.
• knows they have access to the One Power which flows through “all there is” and
that communion with this Energy is found in the quiet; in the silence found in the gaps
between the incessant chatter of the human mind.
Summary:
 Religion may refer to any set of attitudes, beliefs, and practices aimed at
communicating or propitiating with supernatural beings. Humans may
recognize a superhuman being controlling power (such as a god or spirit) that
seeks worship and obedience from them.
 Religion may have originated in response to human’s need to explain their
dreams and experiences as well as the need to understand the different forces
of nature, especially so that humans may have faced pain and ignorance in their
daily struggle for existence in early times.
 While religions are frequently viewed as sets of ideals practiced and
followed by organized groups, spirituality involves one’s integrative view of life
that is more personal while affecting the human soul.
VI. ASSESSMENT

A. Match Column A with Column B. Write the letter of the

correct answer on a one whole sheet of yellow pad.

Column A Column B
1. A belief in the existence of one God viewed as the creative source
of the human race and the world.
A. Theology
2. Relating or affecting the human spirit or soul that is one’s personal B. Agnosticism
integrative view on. C. Polytheism
3. The belief that there is only one God who could have designed D. Theism
and created the universe
4. The belief in many principal gods among whom no one is E. Worldview
supreme. F. Monism
5. The belief that there is no genuine distinction between God and the G. Monotheism
universe
6. Denial of the existence of God
H. Atheism
7. The belief that God's existence is unknown and unknowable I. Religion
8. An organized system of beliefs, ceremonies, and rules used to J. Spirituality
worship a god or a group of gods  
9. A collection of beliefs about life and the universe held by people
10. The systematic study of the existence and nature of the divine.
 
 
REFERENCES:
 
Introduction to World Religions and Belief Systems
By: Jerome A Ong and Mary Dorothy dL Jose
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10699-015-9409-z
https://prezi.com/zxav93joxiu-/7-elements-of-worldview/
https://prezi.com/zxav93joxiu-/7-elements-of-worldview/
https://www.slideshare.net/arias201625/belief-system-religion-and-spirituality
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Worldview#:~:text=A%20worldview%20or%20world%2Dview,
values%2C%20emotions%2C%20and%20ethics.