UNIT 1

The Nature of Religion and the

Abrahamic Faiths
Topics:

Chapter1: The Nature of Religion

Lesson 1: Understanding Religion

Section 1: Etymology and Key Elements
Section 2: Spirituality and Divine Absolutes

Lesson 2: Studying Religions

Section 1: Approaches to the Study of Religion
Section 2: The Value of Studying Religion

Lesson 3: Geography,Culture and Religion

Section 1: Geography of World Religions
Section 2: Influences of Religion to Culture and Society
Standards
Content Performance
❖ The learner demonstrates ❖ The learner prepares character
understanding of belief system or sketches of a person who is
worldview Religion, Spirituality, spiritual but not religious and a
Philosophy of Religion, and Theology. person who is religious but not
spiritual.

❖ The learner demonstrates ❖ The learner conducts a group

understanding of historical and activity that demonstrates the
geographical contexts of the different influence of a religion in a
religions. certain culture.

❖ The learner demonstrates ❖ The learner gathers print or

understanding of effects of Religions: web-based articles, photos,
positive and negative editorial, etc. showing the
positive or negative effects of
religion.

Learning Outcomes
The unit generally aims to introduce the nature of religion and the
Abrahamic faiths consisting of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. These three
are generally referred to as Abrahamic faiths or religions since they all trace
their spiritual roots to Abraham’s belief in one God. After going through the
various lessons under this unit, you are expected to come up with a reflection
paper about how these lessons have broadened your view of life and have
deepened your spiritual life.
Lesson Content Most Essential Learning
Competencies
1 Understanding Religion Differentiate the concept ,
elements and characteristics
of belief system, world
view, religion, and
spirituality.
2 Studying Religion Analyze the influences of
religion to culture and
society.
3 Geography, Culture and Religion Analyze the interconnection
of geography,culture and
religion.
 Prelearning Concept Check

Direction: Mark the level of your knowledge or understanding of

the statements in the table on the succeeding page using the following
signs:

0 no knowledge
+ low level of knowledge
++ average or moderate level of knowledge
+++ high level of knowledge

At this point, answer only the left column (Before Studying Unit!).
Answer the right column {After Studying Unit I) after you have studied
all the lessons in the unit.

Before Statements After

Studying studying
Unit 1 Unit 1

1. Based on its root words, the word religion,

means “to join again” or “to reconnect.”

2. Religion contains a worldview that involves

spirits, sacred things, ethical codes, community,
central stories, rituals, and artistic expressions
(music, paintings, dances, and sculptures, among
others).
3. While one can be spiritual without being
religious, one cannot be religious without being
spiritual.
4. It is possible to have a religion even without a
belief in God.
5. Sacredness can be inherent (when one’s
sacredness is not derived from something else) or
derived (when one’s sacredness is derived from
something else).
6. The divine absolute, the inherently sacred, can
be in the form of a god or gods or some other form
such as the soul, principles, or teachings of a
revered teacher.

7. God’s relation with nature can be one of

transcendence (outside nature), immanence
(within nature), or both.

8. Approaches to the study of religions, which

come in the form of “theories of religion,” can be
internal (the approach of a particular religion to the
understanding of its own doctrines and practices)
or external (the approach of a certain academic
discipline to the understanding of a religion’s
doctrines and practices).
9. External approaches to religion include the
approaches of theology, comparative religion,
philosophy, psychology, sociology, and
anthropology.

10. The value of studying world religions can be

theoretical (as it cultivates a better
understanding'of human civilization and cultures,
among others), practical (as it provides different
models of spirituality and answers to our big
questions in life, among others), and artistic (as it
cultivates a better appreciation of artworks that
are religiously inspired).

11. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam

originated from the family of Abraham
12. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are
monotheistic religions (religions that believe in just
one God).

13. One can be a Jew in a biological and religious

way.
14. Abraham and Moses were the founders of
Judaism.

15. The Hebrew or Jewish Bible, called the

Tanakh, generally corresponds to the Old
Testament of the Christian Bible.

16. For the Jews, God gave His

commandments to Moses in written and oral
forms.
17. The Jews are still waiting for their Messiah.

18. Sects of Judaism range from ancient and

medieval forms to modern ones.

19. The major challenges of Judaism include

anti-Semitism and the Arab-lsraeli conflict.

20. Christianity was founded by Jesus Christ.

21. While Christians generally believe in the
doctrine of the Holy Trinity (that the one God has
three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy
Spirit), there are some Christian sects that do not.

22. The Christian Bible consists of an Old

Testament and a New Testament. The New
Testament is taken as the fulfillment of the Old
Testament.

23. The Gospels are divided into the synoptic and

nonsynoptic kinds.

24. The Christian Churches are generally divided

into Western and Eastern Churches. The Western
Churches are divided into Catholic, Protestant,
Anglican, and Nontraditional Churches

25. Muslims call their god “Allah.

26. Islam was founded by Mohammad, who
regarded himself as the last messenger of God.
 27. The sacred text of Islam is called the Qur’an.

28. Muslims have five obligatory activities called

the Five Pillars of Islam, consisting of a testimony
of faith, prayer, charity for the poor, fasting during
Ramadan, and a pilgrimage to Mecca.

29. The division between Sunni Muslims (or

Sunnis) or Shia Muslims (or Shiites) resulted from
issues concerning who should succeed
Mohammad as the spiritual leader of Islam after
his death.

30. Islam has a mystical version called Sufism,

which has produced great poets.

Lesson 1

UNDERSTANDING RELIGION

GUIDE QUESTION:

What is religion?

TOPICS
♦ Section 1: Meaning and Key Elements
♦ Section 2: Spirituality and Divine Absolutes
KEY CONCEPTS:

* Religion *materialism
*“religare” *spirituality
*“relegare” *religiousness
*“religio” *divine absolute
*Worldview *god-centered sacredness
*spiritual world *nongod-centered sacredness
*sacredness *theism
*inherent sacredness *atheism
*derived sacredness *agnosticism
*community *nontheism
*rituals *traditional pantheism
*central stories *panentheism
*artistic expressions *transcendence
*supernaturalism *immanence

EXPLORING INITIAL IDEAS AND VIEWS

1. How would you define religion?

____________________________________________________

2. What characteristics do you think are common to all religions?

____________________________________________________

3. What do you think is the value of studying the different religions in the world?
____________________________________________________

4. Identify three benefits of having a religion.

____________________________________________________

5. Identify three benefits of studying the different religions in the world.

____________________________________________________

6. What do you think is the relationship between spirituality and

religiousness/religiosity?
_______________________________________________________________
EXPECTED LEARNING COMPETENCIES:

At the end of the lesson, you should be able to:

➢ Explain the etymological meanings of the term religion.

➢ Identify and explain the key elements of religion.

➢ Explain the difference between religiousness and spirituality, as well as their

relationships.

➢ Distinguish between god-centered and nongod-centered forms of

sacredness.

➢ Distinguish between theism, atheism, agnosticism, and nontheism,

Distinguish between traditional theism, pantheism, and panentheism.

ACTIVITY

Fill in the KWL Chart placed after the Review Questions on page 27.
This can be done individually or as a class.

MEANING AND KEY ELEMENTS

GUIDE QUESTION:

❖ What does the word religion mean?

❖ What are the key elements of religion?
 In examining the meaning of religion, we shall look into the etymology (the
origin of the linguistic form of the said word) of the word religion, the definitions
given to religion by some scholars from different disciplines, and the key elements
of religion (the common characteristics of religions).

ETYMOLOGY
There are at least three closely related accounts on the etymology of the term
religion. According to the first account, the term comes from a Latin
word that means “to tie or bind.” Some identify this Latin word as religare (Palmer
2004, 14) while some identify it as religio (Saucier and Skrzypiska 2006, 1259). In
any case, this etymological meaning of religion, to tie or bind, indicates the two
objectives of religion: first, to bind humanity and the divine together; and second,
to bind humans into a community that is bound with the divine. The second
account states that the term religion consists of two Latin words, namely, re,
which means “again,” and lig-, which means to “join” or “connect” (Molloy 2010, 5).
Religion, based on the combination of these two Latin words, therefore means “to
join again” or “to reconnect.” And what is being joined again or being reconnected,
in this context, is humanity and the divine, or the human world and the sacred
world. This meaning of religion suggests that there was originally a unity between
the human world and the sacred world which was somehow lost or strained; and
religion is the way for humans to recover or reestablish that unity.

According to the third account, the word religion derives from the Latin word
“ relegare”which literally means “to tread carefully” and which indicates “respect
and care for both the natural and supernatural worlds” (Palmer 2004, 14). This
further suggests that a primary concern of religion is to provide guidance on how
humans ought to live.

It can be observed in these three etymological accounts of the meaning of the

word “religion” that religion serves as a bridge between the human world and the
sacred world. Accordingly, the etymological accounts suggest that a higher
purpose in human living is unity with the divine, and religion provides the
necessary way or guidance to accomplish this purpose.
Definitions from Some Scholars

Scholars from different disciplines have defined religion in varying ways,

though some similarities and intersections can easily be observed in these
definitions. These definitions resulted from their studies of religions using the lens
or perspectives of their own respective disciplines, which include sociology,
anthropology, philosophy, theology, and religious studies. Examining these
definitions will give us an idea of the different aspects of religion, as well as of
what is essential in a religion. Here are some of these definitions (as quoted in
House 2006, 15):
1. Friedrich Schleiermacher (1768-1834): “The essence of religion consists in
the feeling of absolute dependence.”
2. James Martineau (1805-1900): “Religion is the belief in ... a Divine mind
and will ruling the universe and holding moral relations with mankind.”
3. C. P. Tiele (1830-1902): “Religion is . . . that pure and reverential
disposition or frame of mind which we call piety.”
4. F. H. Bradley (1846-1924): “Religion is ... the attempt to express the
complete reality of goodness through every aspect of our being.”
5. James Frazier (1854-1941): “[Religion is] ... a propitiation or conciliation of
powers superior to man.”
6. Emile Durkheim (1858-1917): “[Religion is]... a unified system of beliefs and
practices relative to sacred things . . . which unite into one single moral
community.”
7. Rudolf Otto (1869-1937): “Religion is that which grows out of, and gives
expression to, experience of the holy in its various aspects.”
8. Paul Tillich (1886-1965): “Religion is the state of being grasped by an
ultimate concern, a concern which qualifies all other concerns as preliminary and
which itself contains the answer to the question of the meaning of our life.”
9. J. Milton Yinger (1916-2011): “Religion is a system of beliefs and practices
by means of which a group of people struggle with the ultimate problem of human
life.”
10. John Hick (1922-2012): “Religion constitutes our varied human response
to transcendent reality.”
11. Ninian Smart (1927-2001): The six characteristics or dimensions of
religion are: “the ritual, the mythological, the doctrinal, the ethical, the social, and
the experiential.”
12. Peter Berger (1929- ): “[Religion is] ... the establishment through human
activity of an all-embracing sacred order, that is, of a sacred cosmos that will be
capable of maintaining itself in the ever-present face of chaos.
 13. James C. Livingston (1930- ): “Religion is that system of activities and
beliefs directed toward that which is perceived to be sacred in value and
transforming power.”
14. Roy A. Clouser (1937-): “A religious belief is any belief in something or
other as divine. ‘Divine’ means having the status of not depending on anything
else.”
15. Roland Robertson (1938- ): “[Religion pertains] to a distinction between an
empirical and a super-empirical, transcendental reality: the affairs of the empirical
being subordinated in significance to the nonempirical.”

THE KEY ELEMENTS

Though the human desire and effort to unite or reconnect with some sacred or
divine reality may be an essential feature of religion, as indicated by its etymology
and the definitions of some scholars, religion, as commonly understood and
practiced, has other important features. In identifying the key elements of religion,
two things need to be noted. First, these elements are limited to those shared by
the particular religions that we shall examine in this textbook (Judaism,
Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, and Shinto). This
means that there is no claim that these key elements are final and complete, for
once we include other religions, other elements may have to be included or some
of the elements in our list may no longer be applicable. Second, not all of these
key elements are essential in the sense that not all particular religions have all of
them in the same degree. Most of these elements are shared by these religions,
but some of these elements are shared only by most of them. (For instance, while
most religions have a definite set of ethical codes, Shinto does not.) In any case,
in what follows, we shall look into the following key elements of religion: worldview,
spiritual world, sacredness, community, central stories, rituals, ethical codes, and
artistic expressions.

Worldview

Religion contains a worldview. A worldview refers to a set of beliefs that is

both coherent and comprehensive. As a coherent set of beliefs forms a belief
system, another way of saying the same is that a worldview refers to a
comprehensive belief system. First, religion consists of beliefs. Beliefs generally
refer to assertions, claims, or thoughts about things that are held to be true.
Beliefs are, strictly speaking, mental states that advance claims or knowledge
about the world, and are expressible in the form of statements (or propositions).
Examples of religious beliefs are the beliefs that humans have immortal souls,
that there is a God or gods, and that there is universal justice in the world in which
wrongdoings shall be appropriately punished and good deeds shall be
appropriately rewarded, if not in this world, in the afterlife.

Second, a set of beliefs forms a system when these beliefs are coherent; and
they are coherent when they are consistently interrelated. Being interrelated, the
beliefs in a system influence or affect one another. For instance, the belief that
humans are free and thus are accountable for their actions is related to the belief
that there is universal justice; or the belief that human life is sacred, as it is a
creation of God or animated by a soul, is related to the ethical principle that it is
wrong to destroy a human life. And being coherent, these beliefs do not contradict
one another. An example of two incoherent beliefs are the belief that there is
universal justice and the belief that there is no life after death. For without an
afterlife, there would be no guarantee that universal justice will be served in that
all wrongdoings will be appropriately punished and all good deeds will be
appropriately rewarded. Being coherently interrelated, a worldview thus has the
function of giving order to our experiences and the realities in our world.
Lastly, a belief system is comprehensive when it accounts for a wide range of
phenomena (or events in the world) or when it deals with a wide range of human
concerns. Religious belief systems are comprehensive in this light for they
address a wide range of human concerns. For instance, they address concerns
about what makes life meaningful, what happens after death, how the world
began and how it would end, how humans ought to deal with one another, why
there are various human races and languages, how humans ought to regard their
natural environment or its nonhuman members, and what is the right attitude
towards wealth, authorities, spouses, money, sex, worries, knowledge, sufferings,
and so many others. A set of beliefs that is not comprehensive is not a worldview.

Spiritual World

Religion believes or assumes that there is a spiritual world or a transcendent

reality (see Hick’s and Robertson’s definitions of religion on page 11), in addition
to the physical, natural world that we live in. By spiritual, we simply mean
nonphysical or non- natural. As such, the spiritual world refers to what is
sometimes also called the transcendental world or supernatural world (by
“transcendental” and “super,” we mean “outside the physical or natural”). Being
nonphysical, the spiritual world is known or accessed not by means of scientific
methods (generally the methods of sense observation and quantification), but by
other means of knowing such as visions, revelations, and mystical (or religious)
experiences.
 Moreover, the acceptance of its reality or truth is not a matter of having some
objective evidence or method of verification; rather, it is a matter of having faith.
Religion is therefore opposed to materialism (sometimes also called physicalism
or naturalism), which is the belief that reality is just physical and nothing more, or
that the only real world is the world that is known through the methods of the
sciences. Depending on the particular religions being considered, the spiritual
world of religion usually includes a God, gods, souls, angels, principles (like the
law of karma), and values, among others.

We earlier noted that religion contains a worldview or a comprehensive belief

system. It shall, however, be noticed that it is not only religion that contains a
worldview. Science, some philosophies, and ideologies (like Marxism) also
contain worldviews, for they too hold a set of beliefs that are coherent and
comprehensive. One essential difference, however, between the religious
worldview and these other worldviews is that the religious worldview includes a
spiritual world.

Sacredness

Religion regards certain things as sacred (on page 11, see Livingston’s,
Durkheim’s, and Clouser’s definitions of religion). The sacred is contrasted with
the ordinary, secular, or profane. While ordinary things can be used as mere
instruments to satisfy human interests, sacred things are treated with respect or
reverence. Also, the value of ah ordinary thing depends on human interests (it is
“mind-dependent”), while the value of a sacred thing does not (it is
“mind-independent”). A sacred thing either has its own (intrinsic or inherent) value
or it derives its value from association with a sacred thing which has value on its
own. In this consideration, we can distinguish between two kinds of sacredness,
which we shall call inherent sacredness and derived sacredness.

Something has inherent sacredness if it has value on its own (or it is valuable
by itself), while something has derived sacredness if its value is derived from
something that has inherent sacredness. Accordingly, we respect the inherently
sacred because it is worth respecting on its own; and we also respect the
derivatively sacred because we respect the inherently sacred that is associated
with it.
Our division of the sacred into the inherent and the derived can be gleaned
from the following remarks by Zinnbauer and Pargament (2005, 34) on the nature
of the sacred in consideration of the views of Durkheim (1915) and Pargament
and Mahoney (2002): “As stated by Durkheim (1915, 52), by sacred things one
must not understand simply those personal beings which are called Gods or
spirits; a rock, a tree, a spring, a pebble, a piece of wood, a house—in a word,
anything can be sacred. Thus, the designation is not limited to higher powers or
imminent forces, but includes other aspects of life that take on divine character
and meaning through their association with or representation of the holy.”These
remarks indicate that the inherently sacred are usually spiritual in nature, such as
God or gods, souls, principles, and values; while the derivatively sacred are
usually physical in nature, such as spaces (like the places of worship and the
places where important events or turning points in the development of a religion
occurred—which may be a place in nature like under a certain tree, a certain
river, a certain mountain, and others), symbols, statues, relics, scrolls, and
clothing. Moreover, this explains why the spiritual world is given a value higher
than the physical world (see Robertson’s definition of religion). A typical way of
showing respect to sacred things is by following the ethical codes associated with
these things, saying prayers, offering flowers, tithing, and others. And when
respect is accorded by a person to sacred things, the belief is that this person has
done something good which will merit some form of reward, either in this world or
in the world beyond.

Ethical Codes

Religions have ethical or moral codes (see Martineau’s, Durkheim’s, and

Smart’s definitions of religion on pages 10 and 11), referring to guidelines
concerning how humans ought to relate to the divine, treat one another, or behave
towards one another, God, gods, and revered teachers. In some cases, these
codes also include rules about what types of food to refrain from eating generally,
what type of clothes to wear on specific occasions, and others. Some of these
ethical codes are revealed by a God to chosen messengers; while some are
realized through a heightened form of spiritual activity like meditation.

Community

Religions have communities. A religious belief system is shared and practiced

by a community of believers (see Durkheim’s and Otto’s definitions of religion).
The community of believers usually involves an organization consisting of a
hierarchy of authorities. Each level in the hierarchy has designated rights and
duties. How people get to occupy the higher positions vary in different religions.
The ways include revelations, reincarnations, blood relations, and election by
revered members of the religious community.
Sacred Writings

Religions have sacred writings, which contain their main teachings or

doctrines, central stories, ethical codes, and prophecies. Sacred writings are
divinely inspired. Their contents are usually revealed by a God or gods through
chosen messengers. In some cases, they are arrived at by revered teachers as
realizations during spiritual activities like meditation. Sometimes the mere
recitation of passages in the sacred writings can already produce religious effects
like blessings, forgiveness, spiritual calmness, and power to overcome sin and
fear or to exorcise evil spirits. Sometimes, too, the mere presence or sight of a
sacred book is enough to produce these religious effects.

Central Stories

Religions have central stories. Some scholars refer to these stories as

“myths,” but due to a connotation of the term “myth” as being a story that is purely
imaginary or that is historically untrue, we shall use the (hopefully) neutral term
“story.” The central stories of religions include accounts of how the world and the
human race (or a chosen human race) began; how God was personified or
manifested in the world; how a great teacher came to a realization of religious
truths or received messages and instructions from God, the gods, or the heavens;
how the important events in the life of a great teacher came about; and how some
actions of faithful followers (like acts of martyrdom) became worthy of emulation
or sources of religious inspiration. ^ "

Rituals

Religions have rituals (see Smart’s, Durkheim’s, and Yinger’s definitions of

religion on page 11), which include ceremonies that reenact sacred stories, and
various activities, such as songs and dances that express praise or thanksgiving
to God, gods, or a revered teacher or prophet.

Artistic Expressions

Religions engage in various artistic expressions for their beliefs. These artistic
expressions can be in the form of music, dance, architectural design, sculpture,
poetry, drama, and others. Many of the world-renowned artistic works were
religiously inspired.
Discussion Questions:

1. Take a look again at the definitions of religion given by some scholars. Among
these definitions, which for you best captures the meaning of religion. Why?

2. Which among the key elements of religion do you think is the most important
and the least important? Explain your answers.

ACTIVITY

Choose a world-renowned work of art considered to be religiously inspired.

Make a presentation of it in class. (This is a written requirement.) Explain the
specific religious inspiration of the artist behind the artwork
SPIRITUALITY AND DIVINE ABSOLUTES
We noted that among the key elements of religion are the belief in a spiritual
reality and the sacredness of certain things. In this section, we shall discuss
concepts related to these two elements, which are important considerations in
understanding the meaning of religion. Related to the belief in the spiritual world is
the concept of spirituality, while related to sacredness is the concept of the divine
absolute. Concerning spirituality, we shall examine how it relates to and differs
from religiousness (or “religiosity”). Concerning the divine absolute, we shall look
into the nature of its existence and how it relates to the natural or secular world.

I. SPIRITUALITY AND RELIGIOUSNESS

In two large-scale studies examined by Zinnbauer and Pargament (2005, 28) (see
also Saucier and Skrzypiska 2006) about how people perceive the relationship
between spirituality and religiousness, the respondents classified themselves into
three categories:

1. those who considered themselves as both religious and spiritual (around 69%);

2. those who considered themselves as spiritual but not religious (around 21%);
and

3. those who considered themselves as religious but not spiritual (4%).

 These findings, among others, point to a difference between the concepts of
spirituality and religiousness. Some of the questions that arise, in this
consideration are: Is spirituality opposed to religiousness? Is it possible to be
religious without being spiritual? Is spirituality not an essential component of
religion such that we can have a religion without spirituality? How do we make
sense of the expressions “spiritual but not religious” and “religious but not
spiritual”? What is the role of spirituality in religion?

Zinnbauer and Pargament (2005) identify two general perspectives on the

relationship between spirituality and religiousness. Both perspectives assume that
religiousness and spirituality are not identical concepts; but while the first
perspective regards the two concepts as incompatible opposites (or mutually
exclusive, that is, they cannot go hand in hand), the second one does not. For the
first perspective, it is not possible to be religious and spiritual at the same time. A
religious person, in this regard, is not a spiritual person, and a spiritual person is
not a religious person. On the other hand, the second perspective maintains that it
is possible to be religious and spiritual at the same time. A religious person can be
a spiritual person, and a spiritual person can be a religious person. What makes
them different or not identical is simply that one is a form or version of the other.
That is, either religiousness is a form of spirituality or spirituality is a form of
religiousness.

A. On the Incompatibility of Spirituality and Religiousness

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. These views result from
separating (or polarizing) certain features of religion into two opposing features.
Let us then analyze the following two main views (see Zinnbauer and Pargament
2005):

Separating the Substantive and Functional Aspects of Religion

First is the view that religiousness is substantive (or substance-oriented) while

spirituality is functional (or function-oriented). Substance here refers to beliefs
(doctrines) and practices (such as rituals), while functionality refers to the goals of
uniting with the sacred, living a meaningful life, and having harmonious social
relationships. Actually, substance and functionality are both features of religion.
Through its beliefs and practices, one hopes to attain unity with the sacred, live a
meaningful life, and have a harmonious relationship with other people. But some
people have divided these two features, and they have thought that religiousness
was solely about the substance of religion while spirituality was solely about the
functionality of religion.

Separating the institutional and Subjective Aspects of Religion

Second is the view that religiousness is institutional and objective, while

spirituality is personal and subjective.That is to say, religious persons express
their faith in the context of a community or an organized group, while spiritual
persons express their faith as individuals. Again, like the first view, religion
actually has both communal worship and individual worship, but some people
have separated these two kinds of worship into two incompatible opposites.
Consequently, they have associated religiousness with communal worship while
spirituality with individual worship.

Analysis

The question with these two views is, are they right in separating the
substantive and the functional features of religion, as well as its institutional and
personal features? The answer, of course, is no. 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. On
the other hand, limiting spirituality to functionality alone without any basis on
substance will not explain what makes spirituality different from other ways of
attaining unity with the divine or living a meaningful life. There are different ways
to address the existential questions of humans (questions concerning the
meaning and purpose of human existence), and what makes a spiritual response
to these questions different from nonspiritual ones must be based on some beliefs
and doctrines. The substance and functionality of religion, in short, cannot be
separated from one another.
Second, inasmuch as religiousness involves communal or organizational
activities, the end goal is still a personal relationship with the divine. The
communal activities, in certain respects, are ways by which the believers
strengthen or enhance one another’s personal relationship with the divine. On the
other hand, inasmuch as some forms of spirituality are antireligious institutions,
spirituality cannot occur in a vacuum. Spirituality exists in the context of a tradition
or culture; and so while it can be practiced individually, it is still
community-dependent. Moreover, there are also spiritual organizations where
those practicing spirituality of some form organize themselves into groups. This
implies that there is nothing contradictory in being individually spiritual and being
part of an organized group of fellow spiritual persons. In short, we cannot
separate the communal and the personal features of religion.

B. On the Compatibility of Spirituality and Religiousness

Let us now examine the second perspective which claims that religiousness
and spirituality are compatible. That is, though being spiritual is not the same as
being religious, one can still be spiritual and religious at the same time. As earlier
noted, this is because their difference lies only in the fact that one is a broader
concept than the other. There are two competing views here. One claims that it is
spirituality which is the broader concept, while the other claims that it is
religiousness.

Religiousness as a Form of Spirituality

The view that claims that spirituality is the broader concept is based on the
observation that it is possible to distinguish between a kind of spirituality that
occurs within the context of a religious tradition (by “religious tradition” we simply
mean the tradition of a particular religion such as Christianity, Islam, and others)
and a kind of spirituality that does not (such as the spirituality of the so-called
“spiritual mystics”). We may call the former kind religious spirituality, and the latter
kind nonreligious spirituality. Because spirituality can be religious or not, then
spirituality is a broader concept than religiousness.

Spirituality as Part of Religiousness

On the other hand, the view that claims that religiousness is the broader
concept is based on the consideration that while spirituality is an essential part of
religion whose goal is unity with the divine, religion has other important goals too.
For instance, “social connection, community service, education, healthy lifestyle
promotion, or financial assistance may also be pursued by religious organizations,
families, and cultures in order to support the spiritual development of its
members” (Zinnbauer and Pargament 2005,36). Because religiousness involves
things other than spirituality, then religiousness is a broader concept than
spirituality.

Analysis
 These views show that regardless of which concept is regarded as broader,
spirituality or religiousness, spirituality and religiousness can ramain compatible
with one another.The possibility that one can be spiritual without
being religious and the fact that being religious involves more than being spiritual
do not prevent one from being spiritual while being religious at the same time.
More importantly, however, even given the same conditions, one can still maintain
the idea that spirituality is an essential component of (not just compatible with)
religiousness such that one cannot be religious without being spiritual in some
way. For while there can be nonreligious spirituality and religiousness involves
more than spirituality, it can be maintained that spirituality in the context of
religious spirituality is essential to religiousness. We just have to qualify that the
kind of spirituality that is essentially involved in religiousness is the religious kind.

II. FORMS OF DIVINE ABSOLUTES

We noted earlier that a key element in religion is sacredness. We further

noted that what is sacred can be a lot of things. It can be a spiritual being, a rock,
a place, or a scroll. One way to understand this is to distinguish between the
inherently sacred (those that are sacred by themselves) and the derivatively
sacred (those that are sacred by association with other sacred things, usually the
inherently sacred). The inherently sacred is described in different ways, one of
which is its being the divine absolute, the source (or sources if the divine absolute
is thought to be more than one) of all positive values. In religion, humans achieve
ultimate happiness through their unity with the primary source or sources of all
positive values. Thus to achieve that unity is the very goal of religious spirituality.
The divine absolutes, however, take various forms in different religions. And so to
have a deeper understanding of the different religions, we need to have an
overview of the various forms that divine absolutes may take.

God-Centered and Nongod-Centered Forms of Sacredness

In most religions, the divine absolute usually takes the form of a God or gods.
We shall refer to this form of the divine absolute as god-centered sacredness.
There are, however, some religions where the divine absolute does not take the
form of a God or gods. Instead, sacredness is centered on either the soul, certain
principles, or the teachings of a revered teacher, among others. And we shall refer
to this form of the divine absolute simply as nongod-centered sacredness.
God-centered sacredness, however, takes different forms depending on the
following considerations: (a) reality, that is, whether there really is a God or gods;
(b) quantity, that is, whether there is just one God or there are many gods; and (c)
relation with nature, that is, whether God or the gods exist outside or within the
natural world.

Views on the Existence of God/s

With regard to the reality of God or gods, there are three basic views or
positions. First is theism, which asserts the reality of God or gods. Consequently,
theism subscribes to god-centered sacredness. Second is atheism, which rejects
the reality of God or gods. Consequently, atheism does not subscribe to
god-centered sacredness. It may either subscribe to a non-god-centered type of
sacredness or altogether reject any form of sacredness. Sometimes an atheistic
belief system, while categorically rejecting belief in God (or the necessity of this
belief), would attribute godlike qualities to certain personalities. Third is
agnosticism, which claims that there is no certainty whether or not God or gods
exist. Agnosticism is thus opposed to the certainty assumed in the positions of
theism and atheism— theism assumes certainty with regard to the existence of
God or gods, while atheism assumes certainty with regard to the nonexistence of
God or gods. And fourth is nontheism, which simply makes no position about the
existence of God or gods. The best way to describe the view of nontheism is its
attitude of indifference to the very question of the existence of a divine being.

Views on the Number of God/s

With regard to whether there is just one God or there are many gods, the
opposing views are called monotheism, the belief that there is only one God, and
polytheism, the belief that there are many gods. How many gods does a
polytheistic religion believe in? There can be thousands or millions of them.There
usually is hierarchy of gods in a polytheistic religion. Sometimes there is one
supreme god among the gods. Sometimes there is a set of supreme gods, often
numbering in three (a trinity). Sometimes there is one highest god and then next
to him is a set of supreme gods (again usually a trinity), and below them are the
rest of the gods. The gods can be abstract entities (entities with super powers but
which cannot be identified with anything in this world). They can also represent
forces of nature (including biological ones such as fertility) or ideal values or traits
(such as wisdom, compassion, and mercy), or they can be historical figures
(including emperors, venerable teachers, and ancestors) who have somehow
achieved immortality.
 Polytheism takes the form of henotheism when it serves and worships a
single god while recognizing the existence of other gods that can equally be
served and worshipped. It can also take the form of kathenotheism when it
worships a single god at a time, or when it worships different gods at different
times, depending on the person’s needs and/or which god becomes supreme
over another at a certain time. As henotheism is a specific form of polytheism,
kathenotheism is a specific form of henotheism.

Views on God’s/Gods’ Relation with Nature

Lastly, with regard to the relation of God or gods with the natural world, there
are three basic views. First is traditional theism, which views God or gods as
transcendent beings as they exist outside the natural world. Second is pantheism,
which views God or gods as immanent beings as they exist within the natural
world. Pantheism further claims that God or gods have no identity outside the
natural world, or that the natural world is God Himself or the gods themselves. A
person who says “I am God” or that “Everything is God” is usually a pantheist; and
what the person means by his/her utterance is that since everything that exists is
part of God (for God is nothing but the totality of everything that exists), everything
bears the qualities of God, and thus, in a certain sense, is God. Third is
panentheism, which sees God or gods as both transcendent and immanent.
Meaning, while God or gods exist within the natural world, their identity is
independent of the natural world. While God or gods are not the totality of
everything that exists, they are nonetheless present in everything that exists.

Discussion Questions:

1. Does a person need to be religious in order to have spirituality in his/ her life?
Explain your answer.
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________

2. Is the belief in God necessary in a religion? Is it possible to have a religion even

without the belief in God? Explain your answer.
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
Activity:

Concept Mapping. Put the following in their proper places in the concept map.

Worldview relegare Rituals to tie or bind

Sacred Writings Spirituality Monotheism Religiousness
Pantheism Theism Sacredness Religion
Review Questions:

Directions: Write the letter of your answer on the space provided.

_____1. Based on the etymology of the word, “religion” means:

a. to tie or bind d. all of the above
b. to join again or to reconnect e. none of the above
c. to tread carefully

_____2. Religion contains___________________, which refers to a set of beliefs

that is both coherent and comprehensive.
a. a worldview b. an ideology c. a philosophy

_____3. For believing in a spiritual or nonphysical world, religion is therefore

opposed to:
a. idealism b. materialism c. spiritualism

_____4. Religion regards certain things as_______________, which are

contrasted with ordinary or secular things.
a. practical b. sacred c. useful

_____5. If something has value on its own, its sacredness is said to be___
a. derived b. figurative c. inherent

_____6. This is usually understood as referring to the functional and subjective

aspects of religion.
a. spirituality b. religiousness c. faithfulness

_____7. This refers to the belief that rejects the reality or existence of God or
gods.
a. atheism c. theism
b. agnosticism d. nontheism

_____8. This views God or gods as transcendent in that they exist outside the
natural world.
a. traditional theism b. pantheism c. panentheism

_____9. This claims that there is only one God.

a. monotheism b. dualism c. polytheism
_____10. This view is accepted by someone who serves and worships a single
God while recognizing that there are other gods that can equally be served and
worshipped.
a. nontheism b. pantheism c. henotheism

Synthesis: KWL Chart

Direction: Fill in the K and W columns before the lesson. Fill in the L column after
the lesson.

K W
What 1 know about the meaning of What 1 want to know about the meaning
religion of religion

L
What 1 have learned about the meaning of religion (Write at least the five most
important ones.)
>>> END OF LESSON 1 <<<