Introduction to

World Religions
and Belief Systems
11
Quarter 1
Week 1
1Module1
Module 2
Definition and Nature of
Religion
Introduction to World Religions and Belief Systems
Quarter 1 – Week 1- Module 2: Definition and Nature of Religion
First Edition, 2020

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Introductory Message
For the facilitator:

Welcome to the Introduction to World Religions and Belief Systems Module on

Definition and Nature of Religion!

This module was collaboratively designed, developed, and reviewed by educators

from Schools Division Office of Pasig City headed by its Officer-In-Charge Schools
Division Superintendent, Ma. Evalou Concepcion A. Agustin in partnership with the
Local Government of Pasig through its mayor, Honorable Vico Sotto.

The writers utilized the standards set by the K to 12 Curriculum using the Most
Essential Learning Competencies (MELC) while overcoming their personal, social,
and economic constraints in schooling.

This learning material hopes to engage the learners into guided and independent
learning activities at their own pace and time. Further, this also aims to help learners
acquire the needed 21st century skills especially the 5 Cs namely: Communication,
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consideration their needs and circumstances.

In addition to the material in the main text, you will also see this box in the body of
the module:

Notes to the Teacher

This contains helpful tips or strategies that
will help you in guiding the learners.

As a facilitator you are expected to orient the learners on how to use this module.
You also need to keep track of the learners' progress while allowing them to manage
their own learning. Moreover, you are expected to encourage and assist the learners
as they do the tasks included in the module.
For the learner:

Welcome to the Introduction to World Religions and Belief Systems Module on

Definition and Nature of Religion!

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depict skill, action and purpose. Through our hands we may learn, create and
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This module was designed to provide you with fun and meaningful opportunities for
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This module has the following parts and corresponding icons:

Expectation - These are what you will be able to know after

completing the lessons in the module

Pre-test - This will measure your prior knowledge and the

concepts to be mastered throughout the lesson.

Recap - This section will measure what learnings and skills

that you understand from the previous lesson.

Lesson- This section will discuss the topic for this module.

Activities - This is a set of activities you will perform.

Wrap Up- This section summarizes the concepts and

applications of the lessons.
Valuing-this part will check the integration of values in the
learning competency.

Post-test - This will measure how much you have learned from
the entire module.
 EXPECTATION

In this lesson, the students are expected to:

a. describe the different worldviews or belief systems,
b. differentiate religion from spirituality
c. value socio-cultural phenomenon that defines the term “religion”

PRE – TEST

Directions: Read the questions and encircle the letter of the correct answer.

1. Which of the ideas below is concerned with the existence of a divine

being and of the sacred text?
a. Philosophy of Religion c. Spirituality
b. Religion d. Theology

2. What is the Latin word for religion?

a. Religare c. Religio
b. Religere d. Religion

3. Who among the authors given below, believed in religion as a unified

system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things?
a. Bronislaw Kasper Malinowski
b. David Emile Durkheim
c. Edward Burnett Taylor
d. James George Frazer

4. Which among the teachings is a systematic study of the existence and

nature of the divine?
a. Philosophy of Religion c. Spirituality
b. Religion d. Theology

5. Which of the following is not an element of religion?

a. a framework of transcendent beliefs
b. reflects an effort to elevate their whole self to a higher
dimension of existence
c. suggests a self-reflective existence
d. text or scriptures
 RECAP

Directions. World Views or Belief Systems: Each number represents

the letter of the alphabet. Check the code and decipher each series of numbers
to complete the statements. Write your answers on the blanks.

1.) 23-15-18-12-4-22-9-5-23 is a collection of beliefs about life and

the universe being held by the people. _______________
2.) 20-8-5-9-19-13 is a belief in the existence of one god viewed as
the creative source of human race and the world who transcends
yet is immanent in the world. ____________
3.) 13-15-14-9-19-13 asserts that there is no genuine distinction
between God and the universe. _________________
4.) 1-7-14-15-19-20-9-3-19 deny the possibility for man to acquire
knowledge to the existence of God. __________________
5.) 1-20-8-5-9-19-13 is a disbelief in or denial of the existence of
personal god. ______________.

LESSON

Definition and Nature of Religion

Religion may be defined as “an organized system of beliefs, ceremonies,

and rules used to worship a god or a group of gods”. The Latin word religio
refers to “something done with overanxious or scrupulous attention to detail”.
This term may have probably been derived from the Latin word religare which
means “to tie together, to bind fast”.

Graphic 1: The Major Religions of the

World
Table 1.2 Below is the summary of the various definitions forwarded by
several social scientists on the nature of religion.

Name of Social Scientist Background View on Religion

Edward Burnett Taylor English Anthropologist; he is He believes in spiritual being.

(1832-1917) founding figure of the Science
of Social Anthropology

James George Frazer Scottish Social Anthropologist; He believes in a propitiation or

(1854-1941) he one of the founding figures
of modern anthropology
Bronislaw Kasper Malinowski He is an eminent 20th-century
(1884-1942) Polish anthropologist.
David Emile Durkheim French Sociologist; he is the
(1858-1917) father of sociology.
conciliation of the powers
superior to man which are
believed to control and direct
the course of nature and of
human life
He believes in a body of self-
contained acts being
themselves the fulfillment of
their purpose; an affair of all,
in which one takes an active
and equivalent part
He believes that religion is a
unified system of beliefs and
practices relative to sacred
things.

Figure 1. Characteristics of Religion

 For thousands of years, people have been searching and yearning to
understand the mystery of life and of the universe. There may come a point
in time when an individual realizes that life is not entirely accidental and
meaningless. This is where the concept of spirituality comes in with the term
spiritual being defined as “relating or affecting the human spirit or soul as
opposed to material or physical things”. One author points out the it is quite
common for people to say that they are “spiritual not religious”.

Spirituality is derived from the Latin words spiritus, its verb root is
spirare which means “to breathe literally”. There is an impression that people
are surrounded by a “divine reality as pervasive, intimate, necessary, invisible
as the air we breathe”.

While religions are frequently viewed as set of ideals practiced and

followed by organized groups, “spirituality is something an individual can
have without being implicated in the ambivalent complexity of human
societies and institutions”. Although traditional spirituality is frequently
associated with religiousity, many people assert that personal spirituality can
grow separately from religion.

ACTIVITY

Directions: Give two concrete examples for each of the characteristics of

religion. Write your answers on the space provided. (10 points)
 WRAP – UP

It is very important to us to fully understand the meaning of religion.

One must not be confused between religion and spirituality as religions are
frequently viewed as sets of ideals practiced by certain group while spirituality
involves one’s integrative view of life that affects a human soul.

VALUING

Journal Writing:
By reflecting to yourselves, do you consider yourself as a religious person or
a spiritual person? Why?

POST TEST

Direction: Match Column A with Column B. Write the letter of the correct
answer on the space provided.

Column A Column B
___1. He viewed religion as a A. Religion
unified system of beliefs and B. Spirituality
practices relative to sacred C. Theology
things. D. Philosophy of Religion
___2. It means “to tie together, E. Edward Burnett Taylor
to bind fast” F. Spirare
___3. It means “to breathe G. Religio
literally” H. Religare
___4. It is defined as “an I. James George Frazer
organized system of beliefs, J. Spiritual
ceremonies, and rules used to K. David Emile Durkheim
worship a god or a group of L. Karl Marx
gods” M. Theism
___5. It deals with primary
issues concerning religion
which includes analysis on the
existence of a divine being or on
sacred text
1. Belief in a deity’s relationship with the world
a. Creator
b. Savior
2. Belief in a deity
a. Monotheism
b. Deism
3. Ways to worship a deity
a. Praying
b. Rituals
4. Places and people believed to be holy and sacred
a. Jerusalem
b. Pope
5. Rules followed as a result of belief
a. Ten Commandments
b. Canon Law
6.
KEY TO CORRECTION
 REFERENCES
Book

Ong, Jerome & Mary Dorothy. 2016. Introduction to World Religion and Belief
Systems. Quezon City: VIBAL Group, Inc.
Graph, Table & Figures

Hendry, Joy. 1999. Other People's Worlds: An Introduction to Cultural and

Social Anthropology. NY: New York University Press.
“World Religion.” Accessed May 14, 2020 retrieved from
https://sites.google.com/site/worldreligionsjm/world-religion-pie-
chart