INTRODUCTION TO THE WORLD RELIGION AND BELIEF SYSTEM

“Di magkakaroon ng contentment ang tao kung walang tiwala sa paligid niya.”

CHAPTER #1: BELIEF SYSTEM

What is BELIEF SYSTEM?

- Is something that affects our everyday lives.

- Commonly associated with religions.
- A set of mutual supportive beliefs (i.e. “Do this because this is right.”, “Be good to others.”,
“Huwag kang gumawa ng masama kung ayaw mong ma-karma.”)
- Are the stories we tell ourselves to define our personal sense of ‘reality. (The way things actually
exists).

What is the WORLDVIEW?

- Is a set of beliefs used to understand the world.

- More opinionated with reasoning.
- The basic way of interpreting things and events that pervades a culture so thoroughly that is
becomes a culture’s concept of reality — which is good, what is important, what is sacred, what
is real.

RELIGIOUS BELIEF SYSTEMS

- The beliefs of any such system can be classified as religious, philosophical, political, ideological,
or a combination of these.
- Structures around a moral code, the belief of one or more deities, and the ability for supernatural
occurrences to affect us and the universe that we exist in.

RELIGION

- Latin: “Religio” “reverence to something sacred” and Latin: “Religare” “to bind, in the sense of
an obligation.”
- A cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, world views, texts, sanctified places,
prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that serve the purpose of relating humanity to supernatural,
transcendental, or spiritual elements.
- Believing into something of a higher power, usually a supernatural being, practicing a set of
customs and traditions towards achieving an “ideal religious life.

RELIGION VS. CULT

RELIGION CULT
• Belongs to the wider culture; its adherents • Tends to be counter-cultural, restricting the
come and go freely. social life of its adherents to other cult
members.
RELIGION IN THE CONTEXT OF SOCIAL SCIENCES

TYPES OF DEFINITION

SUBSTANTIVE DEFINITION FUNCTIONAL DEFINITION

Answers the question: “What makes religion Answers the question: “What does religion do for
different from other fields in social sciences?” the society?”
“Religion is the belief to a ‘supreme being.’ People Religion is a “system of beliefs and practices by
use it to explain things that they cannot really which a group of people interprets and responds to
explain.” - Sir Edward Tylo what they feel is sacred and, usually, supernatural
as well.” - Ronald Johnstone

What is SPIRITUALITY?

- Refers to a religious process of re-formation.

- “Aims to recover the original shape of man,” oriented at “the image of God”
- In modern times the emphasis is on subjective experience of a sacred dimension and the
“deepest values and meanings.”

What is THEOLOGY?

- Derives from the Greek words Theos (God) and Logos (Knowledge).
- It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries.
- Is the critical study of the nature of the divine or the systematic study of God.
- There are 72 schools and universities offering Religion and Theology courses in the
Philippines such as [1] South Philippone Adventist College (Digos City, Davao del Sur), [2]
International Baptist College (Mandaluyong, Metro Manila), [3] De La Salle University (Manila,
Metro Manila), and [4] University of Santo Tomas (Manila, Metro Manila).

ELEMENTS OF RELIGION

Each of the major world religions has at least 8 common characteristics that sets them apart with other
belief system.

1. BELIEF IN SUPERNATURAL POWERS

a. Believes in the existence of some supernatural power.
b. Some consider it formless.
c. Unseen powers can influence every aspect of life.

*There is an Atheistic Religion; Buddhisim.

oIs a tradition focused on spiritual liberation, it is not a theistic religion.

oThe Buddha himself rejected the idea of a creator god, and Buddhist philosophers have
even argued that belief in an eternal god is nothing but a distraction for humans seeking
enlightenment.
2. BELIEF IN THE HOLY OR SACRED THINGS
a. Things that are regarded as holy and sacred.
b. Constitute the heart of religion.
c. Symbolize both unseen and tangible things.
*Most expensive religious object; The crown of thorns.

o According to myenglishlobby.com, the cost of which is probably hard to estimate. It is

believed that when Jesus crucified, this crown was placed on His head.
o These relics are displayed on the first Friday of the month during the holy period. One such
piece is located in the Notre Dame Cathedral. This beautiful crown decorated with 13146
decorated pieces of gems.
3. RITUALS
a. Behavior performed by an individual or a group of individuals’ reference to
supernatural.
b. Includes varieties of behavior such as wearing of special types of cloths, reciting prayers,
singing of hymns, taking a bath in the holy river etc.
4. SINFUL ACTS
a. Followers encourages sacred acts and insist avoid indulging in sinful activities.
b. Most of the religion conceptualize heaven and hell due to belief.
5. THE METHOD OF SALVATION
a. Consider as the ultimate goal of life.
b. Own explanation regarding method of salvation.
6. MODE OF WORSHIP
a. Has specific procedure of worshipping.
b. Worship of the supernatural power in form of statue or a formless matter.
7. LITURGY AND IDEOLOGY
a. Different practices public relations, rites, and rituals in fixed form.
b. Handed down an oral tradition or written tradition.
8. PLACE OF WORSHIP
a. Each religion has a definite place of worship.
b. This can be holy and sacred.

*Largest religious structure; Angkor Wat.

o According to the guinnessworldrecords.com

WORLVIEW OF THE WORLD’S MAJOR RELIGIONS

5 MAJOR CATEGORIES OF RELIGION

1. NATURALISM
a. Example: Atheism, Agnosticism, Existentialism
b. Reality: Reality is “One Dimension”
i. Everything can be explained on the basis of natural law.
c. Man: Man is the chance product of biological process of evolution.
d. Truth: Understood by scientific proof. Five senses is accepted as real or true.
e. Values: No objective value or morals exist.
2. PANTHEISM
a. Example: Hinduism; Taoism; Buddhism
b. Reality: Only spiritual dimension exists.
i. Everything is possible part of God.
c. Man: Man is one with ultimate reality
d. Truth: Experience of unity with “oneness” of universe.
e. Values: Ultimate reality is impersonal. Unenlightened behavior is that which fails to
understand essential unity.
3. THEISM
 a. Example: Judaism; Islam; Christianity
i. Abrahamic Religion; Belief in one god.
b. Reality: An infinite, Personal God exists.
i. Reality is both material and spiritual
ii. There is beginning and an ending.
c. Man: Humankind is unique creation of God. People create according to the image of God.
d. Truth: truth about God is known through revelation.
e. Value: Moral values are the objective expression of an absolute moral being
4. SPIRITISM OR POLYTHEISM
a. No examples.
b. Reality: World is populated by spirit beings who govern what goes on.
i. Gods and demons are the real reason behind natural events
c. Man: man is a creation of God like the rest of creatures on earth.
d. Truth: World is discovered through the shaman figure who has visions.
e. Values: Moral values take the form of taboos.
5. POSTMODERNISM
a. No Example
b. Reality: Must be interpreted through our language and cultural “paradigm.”
c. Man: Humans are nodes in an cultural reality they are a product of their social setting.
d. Truth: are mental construct and meaningful. Truth is relative to one’s culture.
e. Value: is part of our social paradigm. Tolerance, freedom of expression, inclusion, and
refusal to claim to have answer the only universal values.

● MONISM: All is one (Monistic) one god

○ A theory or doctrine that denies the existence of a distinction or duality in some
sphere, such as that between matter and mind, or God and the world.
○ Attributes oneness or singleness to a concept e.g., existence.
○ Kinds of Monism
■ Priority Monism
● States that all existing things go back to a source that is distinct from them.
● All things are created by one God and return to one source.
● Examples: Alpha and Omega;
○ First and last letters of the Greek Alphabet
○ Title of Christ and God in the Book of Revelation.
○ This pair of letters is used as a Christian symbol, and is often
combined with the Cross, Chi-rho, or other Christian symbols.
■ Existence Monism
● Strictly speaking, there exists only a single thing, the universe, which
can only be artificially and arbitrarily divided into many things.
● Example: One God in Three Persons
○ In Trinitarian doctrine, God exists as three persons but is one
being, having a single divine nature.
○ The members of the trinity are co-equal and co-ethereal, one in
essence, nature
■ Substance Monism
● Asserts that a variety of existing things can be explained in terms of
a single reality or substance.
● Example: Yoga
○ A spiritual discipline rooted in Hindu philosophy and is universally
available to anyone without ano coercion, pressure, or
requirement to change one’s religion.
Trivia; Religion of Aten (Oldest Monist Religion)

- Aten (Also Aton, Egyptian) is the disk of the sun in ancient Egyptian mythology. The religion of
Atenism established by amenhotep IV in 1353 BC.

● POLYTHEISM: Many Gods

○ Is the worship of or belief in multiple deities, which are usually assembled into a
pantheon of gods and goddesses, along with their own religions and rituals.
○ In most religions which accept polytheism, the different gods and goddesses are
representations of forces of nature or ancestral principles.
○ Examples: Greek Gods and Egyptian Gods.
■ Greek Gods - consists of 12 major deities who were said to reside at Mount
Olympus: Zeus, Hera, Aphrodite, Appollo, Ares, Artemis, Athena, Demeter,
Dionysus, Hephaestus, Hermes, and Poseidon.
■ Egyptian Gods - over the course of Egyptian history hundreds of Gods and
goddesses were worshipped. Here are a few of the most important deities to know:
Osiris, Isis, Horus, Seth, Ptah, Re, and more.
● ANTHEISM: No God
○ Atheism is, in the broadest sense, the absence of belief in the existence of deities.
○ Less broadly, atheism is the rejection of belief that any deities exist.
○ Atheism is contrasted with theism, which, in its most general form, is the belief that at least
one deity exists.

CHAPTER #2: WORLD RELIGIONS BEGAN

THE CONCEPT OF HISTORY OF RELIGION

• History of Religion - Refers to the written record of human religious experiences and ideas.
• Prehistory of Religion - Involves the study of religious beliefs that existed prior to the advent of
written records.

The school of religious history called the Religionsgeschichtliche Schule is a late 19th-century
German school of thought, originated the systematic study of religion as a socio-cultural phenomenon. It
depicted religion as evolving with human culture, from polytheism to monotheism.

THE STUDY OF HISTORY OF RELIGION (Historiography of Religion)

• Is how historians have studied religion in terms of themes, sources and conflicting ideas.
• Focus on one particular topic in the overall history of religions in terms of geographical area or of
theological tradition.
• Historians for centuries focused on the theological developments of their own religious
heritage.

STUDY OF RELIGION IN THE 19TH CENTURY

• Social scientists in the 19th century took a strong interest in "primitive" and “comparative” religion.

PRIMITIVE RELIGION COMPARATIVE RELIGION

MEANING: Primitive religion includes numerous MEANING: Comparative religion is the branch of
factors such as magic, supernatural beings in the study of religions with the systematic
human form usually divided into classes, a world comparison of the doctrines and practices,
occupied by the souls of the dead, ceremonies. themes and impacts (including migration) of the
world's religions.

Most primitive form of religion: ANIMISM

 Represented the earliest form of religion, being
situated within an evolutionary framework of
religion that has developed in stages and which will
ultimately lead to humanity rejecting religion
altogether in favor of scientific rationality.

STUDY OF RELIGION IN THE 20TH CENTURY

• 20th century the field focused mostly on theology and on church organization and
development.

Example of Theological and Church Organization Development: Vatican II

• The Second Vatican Council (or Vatican II) was the twenty-first ecumenical council of the Catholic
Church . It was convened by Saint John XXIII and lasted for four sessions from 1962 through 1965.
• It produced a series of documents to direct the life of the Church in the twentieth century and
beyond.
• As a result of Vatican II, the Catholic Church opened its windows onto the modern world,
updated the liturgy, gave a larger role to laypeople, introduced the concept of religious freedom
and started a dialogue with other religions.

DYNAMICS OF GEOGRAPHY, CULTURE, AND RELIGION

THE INTERPLAY OF RELIGION AND GEOGRAPHY

“Geography is the fertile ground for religion to flourish.” – Salazar, 2018

RELIGION AND GEOGRAPHY

• Geography is the study of earth and its people.

• Its features are things like continents, seas, rivers and mountains.
• The relationship between religion and geography can be termed as Religious Geography by
which geographical ideas are influenced by religion such as early map-making, and biblical
geography.
• Spreading the faith has been shaped by geographical context.
• For example, for the Jews the land of Canaan, is the land promised to them by their God Yahweh
through Abraham.
• Some of them spread in other grounds like Europe hence they were branded as Western religions
like Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
• Those that remained in Asia are called the Eastern Religions which are Hinduism, Buddhism,
Taoism, Shintoism, etc.
• There is a significant disparity between Western and Eastern religions in terms of belief systems,
worldview and philosophy about life.

*Trivia; That major religions of the world have their origins in Asia? Asia is the largest and most populous
continent and the birthplace of many religions including Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism,
Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, Judaism, Shinto, Sikhism, Taoism, and Zoroastrianism.
Characteristics between the Western (Occidental) and Eastern (Oriental) Paradigm as discussed by
Christine Carmela R. Ramos

There is a significant disparity between Western and Eastern religions in terms of belief systems,
worldview and philosophy about life.

WESTERN (OCCIDENTAL) EASTERN (ORIENTAL)

a. Religions and Philosophy are different d. Religion is philosophy and philosophy is
disciplines. religion.
b. Mindset is linear which means there is a e. Mindset is circular. The end conjoins the
beginning and end. beginning in a cyclic manner.
c. Speculate and theorize, no application to life is f. Acceptance of the validity of intuition and
necessary. mysticism.

SACRED PLACES

Religious experiences and the belief in religious meanings transformed physical spaces into sacred
places.

1. The Hindus consider the Ganges River as sacred

2. The Jews consider Mt. Sinai as holy.
3. Temples, Churches and Mosques are some of the sacred places for Buddhists, Christians and
Muslims respectively.

“The interplay of geography and religion not only highlights the role of religion in affecting landscape
changes and in assigning sacred meanings to specific places, but also acknowledges how religious
ideology and practices at specific spaces are guided and transformed by their location.” - Kong, 1990

THE SYMBIOSIS OF RELIGION AND CULTURE

WHAT IS CULTURE?

• “Culture is “whole way of life” the way we think, act, or speak. It is “ordinary.”” - Williams, 1958
[Culture is our system.]
• “Culture can be also dynamic, it can be shared, learned, transmitted from one generation to
another, adaptive and integrated.” - Bodley, 1999 [Culture is not stagnant.]
• “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.” - UNESCO

LET US NOT FORGET THE FOLLOWING TERMS:

• ETHNOCENTRISM - You consider your own culture as superior from the rest.
• CULTURAL RELATIVISM - You are open minded towards other cultures without judging them
and respect the diverse culture around you.
• MULTICULTURALISM - A theory about foundations of a culture rather than a practice which
subsumes cultural ideas.

RELIGION AND CULTURE

● The evolution is simultaneous with the evolution of man.

● CULTURE REVOLUTION: The idea that human culture changes in socially transmitted beliefs,
knowledge, customs, skills, attitudes, languages, and so on.
FUNCTION OF RELIGION BY CALDERON

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.

HOW IS RELIGION AND CULTURE RELATED?

• The relationship between culture and religion is revealed in the motivation and manifestation of
cultural expression.
• If culture expresses how humans experience and understand the world; religion is a fundamental
way in which humans experience and understand the world.

WHY IS RELIGION SO IMPORTANT IN CULTURE? Religion provides things that are good for health and
wellbeing, including social support, existential meaning, a sense of purpose, a coherent belief system and
a clear moral code.

IS RELIGION A PART OF CULTURE? Religion is considered to be a part of culture and acts as one among
many forms of overtly expressing and experiencing spirituality that is inward, personal, subjective,
transcendental, and unsystematic.

HOW RELIGION AFFECTS SOCIETY AND CULTURE? Religion shapes culture because people who
subscribe to religion participate in the enactment of the culture in which they live; they do not exist in a
vacuum. Likewise, because religions and religious communities operate within a given culture, culture
shapes religious beliefs and practices.
POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF RELIGION

POSITIVE IMPACTS NEGATIVE IMPACTS

1. Promotes Social Harmony 1. Fills People with Gatred
• Religion trusts supernatural powers and • They manipulate them and spread bad things
beings. about their religion.
• By integrating and alleviating countries, and • There are communities that shows that their
cultures, religion contributes to overall religion is the best and everyone should
harmony in the world. convert into their religion.
2. Provides Moral Values • Demands on the grounds of religion are
• Offers an organized model of the entire baseless, and unethical.
universe that regulates sophisticated human 2. Causes Discrimination Among People
behavior. • Religion is one of the causes that turns
• Providing moral values, religion helps people people against each other.
to distinguish between right and wrong, evil • Tolerate religions ideologies of other people.
and good. • Religion discriminates people, and puts them
• Offers a system of punishment, and reward into categories from upper section to lower
supervises and normalizes human’s behavior section/untouchables.
in this society. 3. Tiggers Fights, and Conflicts
3. Provides Social Change • Religion has been the major reason for
• By including moral value to people, religion several wars that have happened in the past.
serves as a platform for social change. o “Some of these dreaded events such as
• Religion teaches you to solve issues with self-immolation of one buddhist monk in
peace and non-violence and not by agitation Vietnam.”
and violence. o “Burning hindu widows in india, The
4. Reduces Anxiety of Unknown Godhra Train Episode in 2002, etc. are
• Religion helps them to realize their still remembered by people.”
source/origin and where they are destined to 4. Exploit People
go after their death. • Religion also serve as an economic tool to
• Teaches people how to live life and what will exploit people and create differences among
a person take away with him after death. masses.
5. Gives Positive Goal in Life • “Religion works as an opium for the people.” It
• Gives you a purpose in life. creates power struggles between minority and
• Brings ignorant people on the right path and majority that sometimes escalate into
prevent them from getting misled. occurrences of shocking historical events in
• Saves people from drowning and encourage the world.” - Karl Marx
them to self-introspect in order to enhance
their quality of life.
6. Gives a Sense of Belongingness to People
• Like family, nationality, and ethnicity, religion
also inculcates a sense of belongingness and
familiarity among people.
• Religion makes people identify as a part of
one group that has similar beliefs, worldview,
practices, lifestyles, and values.