SHS

Introduction to World Religions

and Belief Systems
Quarter 1: Week 1 – Module 1
Introduction to World Religions and Belief Systems
Grade 11/12 Quarter 1: Week 1 – Module 1
First Edition, 2020

Copyright © 2020
La Union Schools Division
Region I

All rights reserved. No part of this module maybe reproduced in any form without
written permission from the copyright owners.

Development Team of the Module

Author: Macdonald P. Venida, TIII

Editor: SDO La Union, Learning Resource Quality Assurance Team

Illustrator: Ernesto F. Ramos Jr., P II

Management Team:

ATTY. Donato D. Balderas, Jr.

Schools Division Superintendent

Vivian Luz S. Pagatpatan, Ph.D

AssistantSchools Division Superintendent

German E. Flora, Ph.D, CID Chief

Virgilio C. Boado, Ph.D,EPS in Charge of LRMS

Mario B. Paneda, Ed.D, EPS in Charge of AralingPanlipunan

Michael Jason D. Morales, PDO II

 Introduction to World
Religions and Belief Systems
Quarter 1: Week 1 – Module 1
 Target

Before starting the module, please read the instructions below.

 Follow carefully all the contents and instructions indicated in very

page of this module.
 Answer all activities provided in this module.
 Read patiently the discussions for you to be able to answer the
different activities.
 Analyze conceptually the post test and apply what you have learned.
 Good Luck and enjoy!

In this module 1, you are expected to differentiate the concept, elements and
characteristics of belief system, world view, religion and spirituality.
Specifically, this module will help you to:

 understand the dynamics of the different elements and characteristics

of the belief systems, world view, religion, and spirituality.
 appreciate the importance of one’s own beliefs and views as a believer
of God and;
 apply these beliefs in your interaction with your fellowmen, the world,
nature, and God.

Let us start your journey to the different belief system, world views, religion
and spirituality. I guess you are very excited to answer the Pretest.

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PRETEST: Modified Matching Type

Directions: Arrange the jumbled letters on column B, write your answer on

the space provided before the letter. Then match the arrange word to
column A, write the letter of the correct answer on the space provided before
the number. Use a separate sheet of paper for your answer.

Column A Column B
_________________1.A believed in one supreme god _____a.OEIMPYLHTS

_________________2. An organized system of beliefs, _____b.RTLSIUA

ceremonies, and rules used to worship a god or a
group of gods
_________________3. Refers to a set of beliefs that is _____c.RLGNEIIO
both coherent and comprehensive
_________________4. The belief and worship of many _____d.MNTHSMOOEI
gods
_________________5. include ceremonies that re-enact _____e.WRLDVMOIE
sacred stories, and various activities, such as songs
and dances that express praise or thanksgiving to
God, gods, or a revered teacher or prophet

Great Job! You finished answering the modified matching type...

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 Jumpstart

Before you proceed to the discussion let’s have some educational activities
that gives you background on the discussions.

Activity 1:What I know?

Direction: Answer the following questions on a separate sheet of paper.

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?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

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Activity 2: I believe!!

Direction: Write 5 things that you believe in the context of religion. Put your
answer on a separate sheet of paper.

Activity 3: Song Analysis

Direction: Listen or read the song “ Who Am I by Casting Crowns” then

answer the following questions on a separate sheet of paper.
1.How do you feel during the singing of the song who am i?
2.What does the song imply about religion?
3.What kind of god can be pictured base from the lyrics?

Congratulations...you made it again...

Discover
DEFINITION AND NATURE OF RELIGION

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

and rules used to worship a god or a group of gods” Merriam-Webster
Dictionary 2014). The Latin word religio refers to “ something done
withoveranxious or scrupulous attention to detail” (Bowker 1997). This term
may have probably been derived from the latin verb religarewhich means “ to
tie together, to bind fast.”
According to Grassie (2010), the word religion refers to expression of
proper piety, that is, binding to god. Quite later, religion was used to
designate formal belief systems and tenets. The term was eventually applied
to what we now call as religion because of the manner in which people
performed rituals during those days. While religion may be universal in all
stages of human history, it does not follow that all individuals are religious
or even religious to some degree ( Parrinder 1971).

DEFINITION 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

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 Name of Scholar Year View on Religion
Friedrich 1768- The essence of religion consists in the
Schleiermacher 1834 feeling of absolute dependence
James Martineau 1805- Religion is the belief in ... a Divine mind
1900 and will ruling the universe and holding
moral relations with mankind
C. P. Tiele 1830- Religion is . . . that pure and reverential
1902 disposition or frame of mind which we
call piety
F. H. Bradley 1846- Religion is ... the attempt to express the
1924 complete reality of goodness through
every aspect of our being

James Frazier 1854- Religion is . . . a propitiation or

1941 conciliation of powers superior to man
Emile Durkheim 1858- Religion is... a unified system of beliefs
1917 and practices relative to sacred
things . . . which unite into one single
moral community
Rudolf Otto 1869- Religion is that which grows out of, and
1937 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
J. Milton Yinger 1916- Religion is a system of beliefs and
2011 practices by means of which a group of
people struggle with the ultimate
problem of human life
John Hick 1922- Religion constitutes our varied human
2012 response to transcendent reality
Ninian Smart 1927- The six characteristics or dimensions of
2001 religion are: “the ritual, the mythological,
the doctrinal, the ethical, the social, and
the experiential
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
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

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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.
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

KEY ELEMENTS OF RELIGION

A.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

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 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.

B. Spiritual World

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

transcendent reality in addition to the physical, natural world that we
live in.
 By spiritual, we simply mean nonphysical or nonnatural. 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.

C. Sacredness

 Religion regards certain things as sacred. 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 the ordinary
thing depends on human interests (it is “mind-dependent”), while the
value of a sacred thing does not (it is “mind-independent”).

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  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.

D. Ethical Codes

 Religions have ethical or moral codes 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.

E. 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

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 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

F. 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 over come 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.

G. 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.

H. Rituals

 Religions have rituals which include ceremonies that re-enact sacred

stories, and various activities, such as songs and dances that express
praise or thanksgiving to God, gods, or a revered teacher or prophet.

I. Artistic Expression

 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.

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 UNDERSTANDING BELIEFS AND WORLDVIEWS

Every individual sees and interprets the world quite differently from
one another. This overall perspective is also termed “worldview” which
is a collection of beliefs about life and the universe being held by
people ( The Free Dictionary 2014).

Different kinds of belief systems or worldviews

1.Monism- There is no real distinction between god and the universe.
2.Polytheism- The belief and worship of many gods.
3.Monotheism-The doctrine or belief in one supreme god.
4.Atheism-Disbelief in or denial of the existence of a personal god.
5.Agnosticism- God cannot be known.

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.

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 Explore

Here are some enrichment activities for you to work on to master and
strengthen the basic concepts you have learned from this lesson.

Enrichment Activity 1: Explain Me....

Direction: Discuss the following questions based from what you have read.
Use a separate sheet of paper for your answer.
1. Which among the definitions given by some scholars, what do you
think is the best meaning of religion?
2. What are the most important element and least important element of
religion? Explain your answer.
3. What does the word religion means to you?
4. Do you agree that god created the universe?
5. Do you consider yourself as religious or spiritual?

Enrichment Activity 2: Define Me........

Direction: Give the meaning of the following terms in religion.

Terminologies Definition
Worldview
Spirituality
Sacred Writings
Sacredness
Community
Ethical Codes
Rituals
Artistic
Expression
Central Stories

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Enrichment Activity 3: What I have learned?

Direction: List 5 things that you have learned in the discussion about the
etymology of religion.
1. I have learned that religion is.........
2. I have learned that religion is ........
3. I have learned that religion is........
4. I have learned that religion is........
5. I have learned that religion is.........

Enrichment Activity 4: Draw Me......

Direction: illustrate one thing that religion has brought in to your life? Use a
separate sheet of paper for this activity.

Rubric for Drawing

Criteria 10 8 5 3
Content Appropriate Most details Few details No details
details support the support the support the
support the topic topic topic
topic
Focus All Most Few Illustrations
illustrations illustrations illustrations do not
complement complement complement complement
purpose of purpose of purpose of purpose of
drawing drawing drawing drawing
Visual Appeal Outstanding Adequate use Inappropriate Little
use of color, of color, use of color, attempt to
design, and design, and design, and use color,
space space space design, and
space

Deepen

A. Critical Thinking Questions

Direction: Explain the following questions. Write your answer on a separate

sheet of paper.
1.In what way/s being religious different from being spiritual?
2.Can someone be religious and spiritual at the time? Yes or No? If yes,
give possible situation to explain your point. If no state why?
3.Why is it important to respect the worldviews of others?
4.How does religion help explain man’s existence and role in the world?

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B. Interview

Direction: Interview one member of your family about religion. See to it that
during the interview you video yourself asking questions to your interviewee.
1.What does religion mean to you?
2.Give one symbol that you know about your religion.
3.Do you religiously go to the church every Sunday?
4.What are the things you do inside the church?
5. What do you observe in your community?
6. Give importance of religion.

C. Illustration

Direction: Sketch a person who is spiritual but not religious and sketch a
person who is religious but not spiritual. Use a separate sheet for your
answer.

Rubric for Drawing

Criteria 10 8 5 3
Content Appropriate Most details Few details No details
details support the support the support the
support the topic topic topic
topic
Focus All Most Few Illustrations
illustrations illustrations illustrations do not
complement complement complement complement
purpose of purpose of purpose of purpose of
drawing drawing drawing drawing
Visual Appeal Outstanding Adequate use Inappropriate Little
use of color, of color, use of color, attempt to
design, and design, and design, and use color,
space space space design, and
space

D. Reflection

Direction: Answer the following questions on a separate sheet of paper.

1.How did you feel after accomplishing the activities?
2.What important realization did you encounter while doing the activities>
3.After answering the module, are you religious or spiritual?

Rubric for Reflection

Excellent Very Good Good Poor
Reflective The reflection The reflection The reflection The
Thinking explains the explain the attempts to reflection
students own students demonstrate does not
thinking and thinking thinking about address the

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 learning about learning but is students
processes, as his/her own vague and thinking
well as learning unclear about and
implications for processes. the personal learning
future learning
learning. process.
Analysis The reflection The reflection The reflection The
is an in-depth is an analysis attempts to reflection
analysis of the of then analyze the does not
learning learning learning move
experience, the experience experience but beyond a
value of the and the value the value of description
derived of the derived the learning to of the
learning to self, learning to the student learning
and self. or others is experience.
enhancement unclear.
of the students
appreciation
for the
discipline.
Connectivity The reflection The reflection The reflection The
articulates articulates attempts to reflection
multiple connections articulates does not
connections between connections articulate
between learning between any
learning experience learning connections
experience and and content experience and to other
content from from other content from learning
other courses. courses. other courses experience.
but the
connection is
unclear.

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 Gauge

Direction: Multiple Choice. Encircle the letter of correct answer.

1.Which of the following is NOT a belief system?

A.I believe I can the sky
B.Do not do unto others what do you want others unto you (Confucius)
C. “Si malakas at siMaganda” the Filipino version of Creation story
D.The west Philippine sea belongs to Filipino as affirmed by an as
arbitrary tribunal in Hague, Netherlands.
2.The worldview similar to ________.
A.Belief System
B.Opinion
C.Understanding others
D.A and B
3. Which of the statement that describes a religious person?
A.A person who always goes to church on Sunday.
B.A person who sees God always in all things.
C.A person who experience enlightenment.
D.A person who feels the force of nature and become one with it.
4. Identify the statement that does NOT describe a spiritual person.
A.A person who always goes to church on Sunday.
B.A person who sees God always in all things.
C.A person who experience enlightenment.
D.A person who feels the force of nature and become one with it.
5.Which of the following worldviews describe the belief of many gods?
A. Monotheism
B.Monism
C.Atheism
D.Polytheism
6. These 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.What element of religion can be reflected from the
statement above?
A. Artistic Expression
B. Community
C. Rituals
D. Worldview

7.One of the statements reflects the beliefs of the Filipinos before

Christianity was introduced?
A.Animistic
B.Monotheistic
C,Polytheistic
D.All of the Above

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8. Religions have ceremonies that re-enact sacred stories, and various
activities, such as songs and dances that express praise or thanksgiving to
God, gods, or a revered teacher or prophet. What element of religion can be
reflected from the statement above?
A.Spiritual World
B.Sacredness
C.Rituals
D.Sacred Stories
9.It is defined as “an organized system of beliefs, ceremonies, and rules used
to worship a god or a group of gods” Merriam-Webster Dictionary 2014).
A.Religion
B.Rituals
C.Worldview
D.Belief System
10.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. Who give the statement above?
A. Peter Berger
B. F. H. Bradley
C. James Frazier
D. Emile Durkheim

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Answer Key

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References

Mabaquiao Jr., N. A., Pandayon Series, Introduction to World

Religions and Belief Systems (pp. 5-17). Phoenix Publishing House.

Ong, J, A., Jose, M. D. dl.(2016). Introduction to world religions

and belief systems.( pp. 2-9). Gregorio Araneta Avenue, Quezon
City: Vibal Group Inc.

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