WORLDVI

EW,
BELIEF
SYSTEMS
AND
RELIGIO
 Worldview is a set of beliefs used to
understand the world. Everyone has a set
of principles by which to judge right and
WORLD wrong and which guides them in everyday
VIEW living.
-Matt Slick
 Belief systems are the stories we tell
ourselves to define our personal sense of
‘reality’ (the way things actually exist).
Every human being has a belief system
BELIE that he/she utilizes and it is through this
F mechanism that we individually “make
SYSTE sense” of the world around us.” It could
MS be a set of beliefs or a philosophy of life.
 Belief system shapes your worldview
about the world, your existence, and
relationships with your fellowmen. In
other words, “ a worldview whether
BELIE religious or nonreligious, is a personal
F insight about reality and meaning, often
SYSTE termed a “life understanding” which is a
MS product of belief systems. Most often
worldviews are shaped by religions.
WORLDVIE
WS ABOUT
MAN’S
PERSPECTI
VE OF
GOD.
 NATURAL
ISM
• Naturalism (e.g. Atheism, Agnosticism, Existentialism). It denies
existence of God. The material universe is all that exist.
the

• Naturalism is the belief that the natural world as we know and experience it
is all that exists. To put this in religious terms, we could say that
Naturalism teaches the ultimate truth does not depend on supernatural
experiences, supernatural beings or divine revelation; instead it can be
derived from the natural world.
 PANTHEIS
M
Pantheism (e.g. Hinduism, Taoism, Buddhism; much New Age
Consciousness. They believe that only the spiritual dimension
exists. All else is illusion. Man is spiritual and eternal.

Pantheism (pan=all; theos= God) God is all; all is God.

 THEISM
Theism (e.g. Judaism, Christianity, Islam). It
means that God or gods created the Universe
and continued to actively participate of the
world’s activities and in human history.
 SPIRITISM
Spiritism: The world is inhabited by spirit
beings who govern earthly activities. Man is
created by gods like the rest of the creatures
on earth. Material things are real but they
have spirits associated with them.
 POLYTHEI
SM
Polytheism: This is the belief in many
gods or deities. The culture of Ancient
Greeks and Romans depict this kind of
beliefs.
Worldviews are not all about God, but these are
also about our views about reality, man, truth
and values. There are also economic, political
and social worldviews.
·Catholic Christians keep in their hearts the “Apostles’
Creed”
·The Muslims practice “the five pillars of Islam”,
·The Shinto reveres the dead ancestors or “Kami”,
·The Confucians hold dearly the necessity of past
traditions, and
·The Taoists embrace the importance of being close to
nature.
 THE
CHARACTE
RISTICS OF
ELEMENTS
RELIGIONS
 The power which is beyond 1.BELIE
human powers. The human F IN
sufferings enable human being to SUPERN
seek God’s help for their ATURAL
problems. POWERS
 2.BELIEF IN THE
HOLY
This is the heart of everyOR
religion.SACRED
Every religion has sacred
books or texts. For example, Scriptures and the Bible are sacred
for the Jews and so with the Christians, Qur’an for Muslims and
Tripitaka for Buddhists and Vedas for Hindus. But something
sacred is not just books but also places, symbols, animals, rocks
and many more. Hindus for example believes that cows are
sacred because of their beliefs in reincarnation.
 3.SYSTEMS OF
These are the differentRITUALS
ways each religions expresses their faith.
Catholic Christians have the seven sacraments which include
ceremonies and rituals. For example, Baptism. A child must be
baptized at an early age in the church with the presence of
parents, God parents, priest as celebrator and the community
that supports the child. The most important symbol of baptism is
water. It symbolizes cleansing from sin. The child also has to
wear white dress to symbolize purity.
 Usually a violation of the laws
established by God which each 4.SINFU
member has to follow. For example
the Ten Commandments for Judaism
L ACTS
and Christians and the Five Pillars of
Islam which when violated the
believer commit a grievous sin
The belief in the afterlife or the idea
of heaven and hell. If you are a good
believer you will go to heaven but if
5.THE
not, you will go to hell. Islam went METHO
further by believing that if one’s life D OF
is sacrificed against the enemies of SALVATI
Islam, their soul goes straight to ON
heaven.
 Each religion has different
6.MODE
expressions of worship which include OF
praying, kneeling, dancing, singing to WORSHI
name a few. P
 Liturgy is described as public 7.LITUR
worship. It is a gathering of believers GY AND
with ceremonies such as wedding IDEOLO
ceremonies, worship services or bible
studies.
GY
 8.PLACE
Each religion has holy places which OF
they believe God is present such as WORSHI
churches, temples, mosques and
other sacred places.
P
 The elements or characteristics of
religions mentioned are necessary for a
particular religion to perpetuate their
worldviews and belief systems.
 AKO! A
STRANGER
FROM OUTER
SPACE
Directions: Think of what these factors
(worldview, belief systems, religion, and values)
would help you in your direction towards life.
You can present their influence through concept
map or a semantic web as show in the next slide.
For example, you can start by writing “Religion
makes me a better person.” Write your answer in
a sheet of paper