ICT-ED INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY LIPA

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SHS DEPARTMENT
Learning Module
in
UNDERSTANDING CULTURE SOCIETY AND
POLITICS
(SY. 2020-2021)

Prepared by:
Ms. Leslie F. Fabellon

Checked and Approved by:

Judith M. Garcia Jojie R. De Ramos

Instructional Development Committee

Noted by:
Vina N. Mendoza
Directress for Academic Affairs

Understanding Culture, Society and Politics

 ICT-ED INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY LIPA
2/F Mercedes Bldg., P. Torres St., Lipa City, Batangas
4217 (043) 757-4445 / (043) 757-5944

WEEK 3
LESSON 3: Religion and the Search for Ultimate Meaning

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

At the end of this lesson, the students are expected to:

1. discuss the significant role of religion in society;

2. distinguish religion from other social institutions;
3. define and explain the meaning of religion;
4. explain the various religious groups; and
5. connect contemporary religious movements with globalization.

The Nature of Religion and Its Meaning

The English word religion is from the Latin verb religare, which means "to tie" or
"to bind fast. Religion is a powerful institution that connects human beings, both as
individuals and collectively, to a transcendent reality. A scholar studying the importance
of religion in world history and in the evolution of humanity observes, "The evidence
proves that since the remote past religion has been a part of our mental and emotional
make-up. Even non- believers usually agree that the term homo religious (religious
man) aptly describes the human experience.

As people rely more and more on scientific reason and method to explain natural
events and so-called miracles, supernatural occurrences, and mysteries, many critics of
religion such as Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, and Karl Marx, the
father of scientific socialism, believed that religion will gradually disappear. This view
is called secularization (from the Latin word saeculum, which means "worldly").
Surprisingly, in the 21st century religion seems to have grown stronger, with no sign of
abetting.

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A contemporary scholar defines religion as "a system of beliefs, rituals, and
practices, usually institutionalized in one manner or another, which connects this
world with the beyond.

It provides the bridge that allows humans to approach the divine, the universal
life force that both encompasses and transcends the world" This substantive definition
of religion limits religion to the belief in supernatural or divine force Edward Tylor, the
founder of British social anthropology, presented the earliest substantive definition
of religion as "a belief in spiritual beings." Tylor's (1903) theory is that human beings
develop religious beliefs in order to explain dreams, visions, unconsciousness, and
death.

Some social scientists prefer a functional definition of religion that does not
necessarily refer to the belief in a supernatural being (god or force). In the functional
definition, religion is anything that provides an individual with the ultimate meaning that
organizes his/her entire life and worldview.

A classic statement of this definition is given by the American scholar of religion,

Milton Yinger, who defines religion as "a system of beliefs and practices by means
of which a group of people struggles with the ultimate problems of human life". In
this definition, religion may also include humanism, individualism, nationalism, and even
socialism.

Peter L. Berger (1973), a pioneer in sociology of religion in the United States,

singles out the problem of legitimation as a primary function of religion

In this view, religion provides the ultimate basis for social order. The separation
between the sacred and the profane or the unholy, for instance, is a reflection of the
order of the cosmos. Religious myths designate and consecrate certain spaces as
sacred. Hence holy places are considered as places for worship and for connecting with
the divine such as churches and burial grounds.

Berger further adds that religion provides an all-encompassing explanation for

the negative experiences in this world. For Berger (1973), religion "maintains the

Understanding Culture, Society and Politics

 ICT-ED INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY LIPA
2/F Mercedes Bldg., P. Torres St., Lipa City, Batangas
4217 (043) 757-4445 / (043) 757-5944
socially defined reality by legitimating marginal situations [i.e, sufferings, pains,
and miseries] in terms of an all-encompassing sacred reality”. This permits the
individual who goes through these situations to continue to exist in the world of his
society-not 'as if nothing had happened.

Whether one adopts a substantive or functional definition of religion will depend

on what one wants to study under the rubrics of religion.

Types of Religious Organization

Religion is necessarily social. Beliefs and rituals are usually shared by people
belonging to a definite religious community. While an individual may opt not to belong to
or affiliate with an established religion or religious tradition, that person is still religious
and belongs to an individualistic or spiritualistic interpretation of religion. In the age of
global capitalism, more and more people tend to retreat into their own private world and
create their own individualized religion. But they do not create it from scratch. They also
borrow and pick from various religious traditions in the market of religion.

Even the practicing New Age believers who have their own distinctive personal
beliefs are influenced by non-Western religious traditions such as Buddhism, Hinduism,
and other beliefs. These people are called un-churched believers. Those who belong to
organized religious groups may belong to any of the following:

CHURCH

The church is a religious organization that claims to possess the truth about
salvation exclusively. A classic example is the Roman Catholic Church. The church

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includes everybody or virtually everybody in a society. Membership is by childbirth: new
generations are born into the church and are formally inducted through baptism. The
church adapts to some extent to the fact that it must embrace everyone.

In the Philippines, the National Statistics Office estimates the Roman Catholics at
at about 74, 211,896 in 2014. Being the largest religious organization in the country, it is
a very powerful institution as attested by the recent controversy regarding the
reproductive health bill

EL SHADDAI

The El Shaddai, a Philippines-based Catholic Charismatic religious group, was

founded by Mariano "Mike" Zuniega Velarde (born August 20, 1939), better known as
Bro. Mike Velarde. El Shaddai has grown rapidly in the last decade and, as of 2005, had
a reported 8 million members worldwide.

SECT

The sect also perceives itself as a unique owner of the truth. However, it
constitutes a minority in a given society. Recruitment takes place through conscious
individual choice. A good example is the resurgence of "born again Christianity that
recruits members by asking them to accept Jesus Christ in their lives. Once an
individual has joined, the sect requires a high level of commitment and activity.
Members are expected to support the teachings of the sect and to comply with its
lifestyle, which may be strict and ascetic. Life as a sect member constitutes a major
contrast to the lives of people in society.

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Therefore, the sect and the larger society may harbor mutual suspicions toward
each other. Sects tend to depict society as a place full of dangers and moral and
religious decay. Sects often are breakaway groups from the mainstream churches.

The 7,000 seaters INC

Central temple in Quezon
City, Philippines.

An example of sect in the Philippines is the lglesia ni Cristo (INC, or Church of

Christ) that has 2,251,941 members in 2014. The INC was established in 1914 by Felix
Manalo, who served as the first executive minister. As a sect, the lglesia ni Cristo
believes itself to.be the one true universal church. It preaches that all other Christian
churches, including the Roman Catholic Church, are apostates.

On July 2, 2014, the Philippine government declared the year 2014 through
Proclamation No. 815 as lglesia ni Cristo Centennial Year. The proclamation was issued
to "enhance public awareness" on the contributions of INC to national development.

DENOMINATION

In contrast to the church and sect, the denomination is oriented toward

cooperation, at least as it relates to other similar denominations. People join through
individual and voluntary choice, although the most important form of recruitment in

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established denominations takes place through childbirth. The demands for activity and
compliance are moderate, and there is a relatively harmonious mutual relationship
between the denomination and the larger society. The liberal branches of Protestant
groups belong to this category.

In the Philippines, the religious groups affiliated with the National Council of
Churches in the Philippines (NCCP) are usually tolerant of other forms of religious
organizations. The NCCP, founded in 1963, Is composed of ten mainline Protestant and
non-Catholic denominations, and ten service-oriented organizations in the Philippines. It
is a member of the World Council of Churches and the Christian Conference of Asia.
These groups usually maintain dialogues and cooperative programs with other religious
groups.

CULT

The concept of another form of religious organization, the cult, was introduced in
1932 by sociologist Howard Becker. After reviewing the literature on cults, Gerry Lanuza
(1999) provides a comprehensive definition of a cult: "a non-traditional form of religion,
Religion and Women
the doctrine of which is taken from diverse sources, either from non-traditional sources
or local narratives or an amalgamation of both, whose members constitute either a
loosely knit group or an exclusive group, which emphasizes the belief in the divine
element within the individual, and whose teachings are derived from either a real or
legendary figure, the purpose of which is to aid the individual in the full realization of his
or her spiritual powers and/or union with the Divine" (p. 494). The label cult is often
attached to a religious group that society considers as deviant or non-traditional. Hence,
the term cult is often used in a negative way.

Traditionally, women have been equated with religion and with the role of
transmitting religious beliefs and practices to the children. Men are considered as the

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2/F Mercedes Bldg., P. Torres St., Lipa City, Batangas
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leaders of the religious organization. In short, religious leadership and power have
always been dominated by men, while women tend to become its major transmitters.
However, it must be born in mind that some feminist scholars of religion argue that
before the birth of the "male god" there was matriarchy. Under matriarchy or the rule
and dominance of women in political and social life, religion was also dominated by
women. Hence, many feminist scholars argue for recovering the "goddess religion.

Feminist writers such as Mary Daly and Carol Christ pointed out the
discriminatory biases of male-identified religions, specifically Judeo-Christianity, for
women. They advocated a woman-identified spirituality that emphasizes the principle of
the hidden Sacred Feminine or "the Goddess."

Among Catholic feminists, they advocate for the ordination of women as priests.
Among Protestant groups, however, women have already gained a strong presence as
many women have already been ordained as ministers. The first woman to become a
bishop in the Anglican Communion was Barbara Harris, who was ordained on February
11, 1989. The majority of Anglican provinces now permit the ordination of women as
bishops who serve in various countries.

Religion in the Age of Globalization

Today, Philippine society is als0 undergoing secularization. According to the

latest Social Weather Station survey conducted on February 15-17, 2013, only 9.29% of
Filipino Catholics, or about one in every 11, said they strongly or else somewhat agreed
with the statement: "Sometimes I think I might leave the Catholic Church." However,
SWS also noted that weekly church attendance among Catholic adults in the Philippines

Understanding Culture, Society and Politics

 ICT-ED INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY LIPA
2/F Mercedes Bldg., P. Torres St., Lipa City, Batangas
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has been declining, from 64% in July 1991 to only 37% in February 2013. In the same
survey, however, majority still claim to belong to the Roman Catholic Church. The
survey said about 81 percent of Filipino adults identified themselves as belonging to the
Catholic faith, compared to only 6 percent who are Protestants, 6 percent who are
Muslims, 3 percent who are lglesia ni Cristo, percent who belong to other Christian
religions and 0.1 percent who belong to the other religions.

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People considered now as lock of communication, carry their communicative

orientations and habits, their particularity, with them, but to a different social context.

Summary
Religion as a social institution has a very powerful impact on society and the world.
Basically, religion provides the ultimate meaning to human being's quest for life meaning,
the search for origin of the world, and the justification for death and suffering. Today,
religions, instead of dying because of scientific and technological advancement, are very
much alive. The revival of religion is facilitated by the growing interconnection of different
regions through globalization. Globalization is allowing religions to travel faster from one
area to another. Indeed, religion contributes in the globalization process since its creation.

WEEK 3
LESSON 3: Religion and the Search for Ultimate Meaning

NAME: _________________________________ SCORE:

SECTION: ______________________________

DIRECTION: Answer the following question:

1. Do you have friends and classmates who have different religion from your own?

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____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________

2. Does religion influence your choice of friends?

____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________

3. Does religion affect the way you interact with your classmates?

____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________

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