THE SYMBIOSIS

OF RELIGION &
CULTURE
Group 4
EXPECTATIONS
You will analyze the interconnectedness of culture and religions.
Specifically, this lesson will help you to:
• Understand the development of the different religions in a specific
culture
• Appreciate the role of culture in the development of religion and;
• Observe their influence in your interaction with your fellowmen,
the world, nature, and God
BRIEF 3

INTRODUCTION
This lesson Introduces us to the Possible
relationship of the three concepts which are
religion, gography and culture. The first two
concepts are already discussed from the previous
lesson. This lesson will focus on the concept of
culture and it’s influence towards Religious
Beliefs or vice versa.
DISCUSSION
 The Symbiosis of Religion and Culture
5

DISCUSSION
Culture is “a Whole way of life” The way we think, act, or speak.
It is “ordinary”. Culture can be also dynamic, it can be shared,
Learned, Transmitted From one generation to another, Adaptive
and Integrated.
Unesco Defines culture as:
“the whole complex of distinctive spiritual, material, intellectual
and emotional features that characterize a society or social group.
It Includes not only the arts and letters, but also modes of life, the
fundamental rights of the human being, value systems, traditions,
and beliefs.”
 DISCUSSION

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6

By the way, if you consider your own culture as superior from

the rest, then your belief is termed as ethnocentrism. On the
other hand, if you are open minded towards other culture
without judging them and respect the diverse culture around
you, then you believe in cultural relativism. In our present
age of technology wherein the world is one-big community
and every human beings communicate through the internet
from different cultural backgrounds, we cannot help but
become a cultural relativist.
 DISCUSSION

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7

We should respect the culture of others because we are all

citizens of this world and we are all equal. As a member of
a society, we have no choice but to interact with our
fellowmen.
We are in a multi-cultural society or simply we live amidst
a multiculturalist world wherein multiculturalism should
prevail.
WHAT IS
MULTICULTURALISM?
 MULTICULTURALISM

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9

• The word “multi” implies many. According to

Harrison (1994) multiculturalism is a theory about
the foundations of a culture rather than a practice
which subsumes cultural ideas. In a broader sense,
the term is often use to describe societies which
have many distinct cultural groups, usually as a
result of immigration.
 MULTICULTURALISM

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10

• In terms of religious beliefs, there are people who

are fundamentalists who defend their beliefs at all
costs, and there are people who are open minded
enough to respect the beliefs of others.
CULTURE &
RELIGION
 CULTURE AND RELIGION

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12

What is the role of culture in the development of

religion? The evolution of culture is simultaneous
with the evolution of man. As man progresses from
homo habilis to homo sapiens, from Old Stone Age
to New Stone Age then to Iron Age, Industrial Age
and Technological age, significant changes in the
way human acts, lives, or use tools have been
observed.
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13

This is true in all dimensions of human life including

religion. It was believed that man’s consciousness of
the divine can be traced back to the time of the
Neanderthals. Lawrence McKinney observed that,
“the discovery of bear skulls with unusual markings
indicates the basis of a primitive religion while
others, noting the existence of flower petals and
pollen in ancient burial sites, have speculated on
the possibility of Neanderthal funeral rites.”
 CULTURE AND RELIGION

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14

The reality of death developed into a cultural funeral

rite as a way of respecting the dead. This reality is
taken seriously by religion and sought divine aide to
solve the riddle of life.
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15

Our experience of the Covid-19 pandemic can attest

to this. The sight of people dying left and right in
hospitals, coffins paraded in the streets and millions
of people all over the world struggling to survive
from this malady triggered humans to depend on
some divine power to intercede. The pandemic as of
June , 2020, hit a record high of almost ten (10)
million people affected all over the world and
hundreds of thousands of deaths.
 CULTURE AND RELIGION

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16

Since no vaccine is in sight, posts in Facebook,

messenger, Instagram, Twitter and even mainstream
media are all dominated by God-related shares in a
form of prayers and pleas for divine intervention. The
“new normal culture” is our way of coping our
vulnerability.
 CULTURE AND RELIGION

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17

The church has to adjust to the new culture. This is

how culture influences religion and vice versa. There
are certain periods in history that the intermarriage
between culture and religion, the latter dominates in
shaping the way of life of the people.
 CULTURE AND RELIGION

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18

Let us take for example the functions of religion laid

down by Calderon. He assumed that religion also
influence not just the religious life but also social,
economic and even political way of life of people.
The Symbiosis of Culture And Religion 19

AMONG THE MANY

FUNCTIONS OF
RELIGION
IDENTIFIED BY
CALDERON (1998)
ARE THE
FOLLOWING:
1. RELIGION
SERVES AS A
MEANS OF
SOCIAL
CONTROL.
2. IT EXERTS A
GREAT
INFLUENCE
UPON
PERSONALITY
DEVELOPMENT.
3. RELIGION
ALLAYS FEAR OF
THE UNKNOWN.
4. RELIGION
EXPLAINS
EVENTS OR
SITUATIONS
WHICH ARE
BEYOND THE
COMPREHENSION
OF MAN.
5. IT GIVES MAN
COMFORT,
STRENGTH AND
HOPE IN TIMES
OF CRISIS AND
DESPAIR.
6. IT PRESERVES
AND TRANSMITS
KNOWLEDGE,
SKILLS,
SPIRITUAL AND
CULTURAL
VALUES AND
PRACTICES.
7. IT SERVES AS
AN INSTRUMENT
OF CHANGE.
8. IT PROMOTES
CLOSENESS,
LOVE,
COOPERATION,
FRIENDLINESS
AND
HELPFULNESS.
9. RELIGION
ALLEVIATES
SUFFERINGS
FROM MAJOR
CALAMITIES.
10. IT PROVIDES
HOPE FOR A
BLISSFUL LIFE
AFTER DEATH.
 CULTURE AND RELIGION

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30

The above functions show that religion penetrates the

whole dimension of one’s life and society even to
non-believers. When the Spaniards brought
Christianity in the Philippines, it changes the social,
economic and political life of the people. The Noli
Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo, the two famous
novels of our national hero Dr. Jose Rizal reflect how
religion dictates the way of life of the people.
 CULTURE AND RELIGION

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31

How religion became an instrument of power to

control the Indios or the Filipinos. Christianity was
used as a sword or weapon to make the natives obey
from the whims and caprices of the Spaniards. As
history goes by, the perspective of religion changes.
Religion today is used as a weapon not of oppression
but of compassion and solidarity with the poor.
 CULTURE AND RELIGION

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32

From the perspective of Christianity, this is the

original intention of the founder, Jesus Christ. The
Bible, the sacred book of the Christians is very
specific that Christ’s leaning is towards the poor and
the oppressed. Plenty of parables in the New
Testament can attest to this. What happened when
Christianity embraced different cultures along the
way?
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33

Historically, in 313 AD, the Emperor Constantine

issued the Edict of Milan, which accepted
Christianity: 10 years later, it became the official
religion of the Roman Empire.
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34

The sudden shift of attitudes and lifestyles among the

Christians was observable among which;
a) being powerless, they become powerful;
b) being persecuted, they become persecutors.
 CULTURE AND RELIGION

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35

We have a long list of abuses since then especially

during the Dark Ages of the church. What does this
mean? The development of religion is influenced by
the cultural milieu where it belongs. When
Christianity was embraced by the Greeks and
Romans, it became a religion of the mind.
 CULTURE AND RELIGION

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36

It became and academic subject devoid of

compassion and mercy. Compassion and mercy are
the original values of Jesus Christ. Thanks to Vatican
II which happened in the 1960’s the church realized
that there was a need to retrieve the real spirit of the
Bible.
 CULTURE AND RELIGION

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37

It became the marching order from the top echelon of

the Catholic Church from the Pope to the Cardinals,
bishops and priests all over the world. This
movement caught fire and duplicated by other
Christian denominations and sects. Hence we have
now the term, ecumenical movement or ecumenism.
ECUMENISM
 ECUMENISM

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39

Ecumenism- is a movement or tendency toward

worldwide Christian unity or cooperation. The
ecumenical movement seeks to recover the apostolic
sense of the early church for unity in diversity, and it
confronts the frustrations, difficulties, and ironies of
the modern pluralistic world.
 ECUMENISM

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40

Today, ecumenism is not only exclusive among

Christian churches but it extends towards other
religions through the principles of “unity in
diversity” and “many paths yet only one destiny.”
Ecumenism simply means that no religion possesses
the whole truth as Gandhi reiterates.
 41

“ NOBODY IN THIS WORLD

POSSESSES ABSOLUTE TRUTH.
THIS IS GOD’S ATTRIBUTE
ALONE. RELATIVE TRUTH IS ALL
WE KNOW.
Mahatma Gandhi ”
THANK YOU

Presented by:
Kurt Abaya
Say Del Rosario