GRADE ST.

FRANCIS HIGH SCHOOL,

POBLACION, VALLEHERMOSO NEGROS ORIENTAL
12
LEARNING MODULE

(SY: 2020-2021 1ST SEMESTER)

First week and Second week

A PILGRIMAGE TO THE SACRED SPACE:

AN INTRODUCTION TO WORLD RELIGIONS AND BELIFE SYSTEMS

PREPARED BY:

GEORGIAN MAYAGMA CUIZON

TEACHER/ADVISER GRADE 10 ST. CHARLES BORROMEO

(CONTACT # 09150534412)
About this Course

Course Description: This course revolves around two central questions: how has the world
shaped religion(s), and how have religions shaped the world? As we move through an
introductory survey of some of the world’s major religious, including indigenous religious
traditions, Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and selected new religious
movement, we will pay special attention to the ways in which these traditions have been
shaped by historical, political, and geographical changes in the world—and will also consider
how these traditions and their communities have influenced these changes. Over the course of
the semester, we will seek both to understand the significance and relevance of religion in
world history and to begin to grapple with some of the important philosophical questions
addressed within religious communities as well as by those who study them.

This course is designed to acquaint student with the major religious traditions of the world,
and to the academic discipline of religious studies.

The religious studied are Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, and
Taoism. They are examined through a study of their history, doctrinal concerns and
development, literature, and ritual practices.

Learning Objectives:
Upon successfully completing this course, students will able to:

 Define basic concept of the discipline of religious studies.

 Describe and compare the discourse, practices, communities, and institutions of
selected religious traditions.
 Provide example of both diversity and continuity within religious communities and
traditions.
 Analyze historical and contemporary political issues around the world in terms of their
connection to religious discourse, practice, communities, or institutions.

These course-specific learning outcomes contribute to the departmental learning outcomes of

the Philosophy Program by enabling students better to:

 Discuss the views of at least three major historical figures of philosophy; and
 Demonstrate knowledge of the fundamental concepts of a discipline examining the
social world.
Contents

CHAPTER 1 PREPARING FOR THE PILGRIMAGE

Lesson 1 Defining Religion

Lesson 2 Religion: Blessing or Curse?

CHAPTER 2 INDIAN RELIGIONS

Lesson 3 Hindu Dharma

Lesson 4 Buddhism

Indian Religions: A Comparison

CHAPTER 3 EAST ASIAN RELIGIONS

Lesson 5 Daoism

Lesson 6 Confucianism

Lesson 7 Shinto

East Asian Religions: A Comparison

CHAPTER 4 MIDDLE EASTERN RELIGIONS

Lesson 8 Judaism

Lesson 9 Christianity

Lesson 10 Islam

Middle Eastern Religions: A Comparison

 CHAPTER 1

PREPARING FOR THE PILGRIMAGE

A PILGRIMAGE TO SACRED SPACES: OVERVIEW

What could be more thrilling than entering a world that is totally different from yours?

Going in a pilgrimage to sacred spaces is a special kin2d of journey. It is not simply traveling for
sightseeing, but entering into a religious belief system and encountering its unique elements.
It includes tracing its origins, interpreting some key verses from its sacred texts, identifying
issues related to it, listening to its core teaching, and justifying its influence on the world
today. It seems a lot of work, right? Hopefully, it would also be fun and exciting.

Remember that we are doing this in order to increase our capacity to respect our differences
and practice mutual tolerance. We also desire to correct erroneous perceptions and to
develop appreciation of our own faith tradition and that of others. Hence, this pilgrimage will
also require us to learn by humbly opening our minds and hearts to one another.

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS
 Is being religious enough for a
person to sustain a healthy spiritual
life?
 Is religion a blessing or a curse?

To prepare for this journey, therefore, entails examining and building up our understanding of
religion and key concepts and issues that are related to it.

TOPIC
Lesson 1: Defining Religion
 What is Religion?
 Common Characteristics of
Religious Worldviews
 Religion and Spirituality
 The Major World Religions
SKILLS
 Giving an example of a belief
system or a worldview
 Differentiating religion from
spirituality, and theology
 Pointing out the relationship
between the elements of
religion and spirituality

TOPIC SKILLS
Lesson 2: Religion: Blessing or
Curse?
 Light and Shadows
 When Religion Becomes a
Curse
 When Religion is a Blessing
 Providing evidence that
religion brought about an
event in history
 Justifying that religion can
have positive or negative
effects on society
 Identifying positive and
negative effects of religions

KEY CONCEPTS

Religion Creed Polytheism

Theology Code Monotheism

Spirituality Cult Nontheism

A POST IN YOUR TIMELINE

Have you come across online posts that dared to challenge or question a religious belief? Did
you notice the emotions that were stirred and the manner by which people reacted to each
other’s comments? That is how powerful religion is, don’t you think so?

At the end of this chapter, you will have to post in your facebook account and tag your teacher
about religion. These post will show the following:

1. Character sketches of a person who is religious but devoid of spirituality, and a

person who is faithful both to the religious tradition and its spirituality
2. A video clip or cartoon that demonstrates the influence of religion in a certain
culture
3. A collage of photos or link of web-based articles/ editorial showing the positive or
negative effects of religion

Your work must have accuracy of concepts/ information and clarity of presentation
so that your friends/ viewers would have a better grasp of the influence of religion
on individuals and human communities.
ASSESSMENT OF PRIOR KNOWLEDGE

Go back to the previous page and browse through the topics included in the two
lesson of this chapter. In the first box below, write what you know about any of these
topics. Then write in the second box what you are interested to know or learn about
them. Leave the last box empty for you to fill out the end of the chapter.

What I Know

What I Want to Know

 What I Learned

Below is a doodle art bearing popular symbols used in a various fields.

How easily can you spot those which represent world religions?
 LESSON 1

DEFINING RELIGION

“We human can tolerate suffering but we cannot

tolerate meaninglessness.”

-Desmond Mpilo Tutu

WHAT IS RELIGION?
Religion has always been and remains a powerful dimension of human experience. “ Being
human,” according to the Holocaust survivor and existentialist psychotherapist Viktor Frankl,
“always point, and is directed, to something, or someone, other than oneself be it a meaning
to fulfill or another human being to encounter. The more one forget himself by giving himself
to a cause to serve or another person to love the more human he is and the more he
actualizes himself.”

Homo religiosus is one way of describing the human being. It is in the nature of human beings
to be religious, to go beyond oneself in the service of something or someone usually perceived
as greater than oneself and as a source of meaning and wellbeing. “Humans are religious by
nature. They seek patterns of meaning and action that are ultimately transformative. As such,
religion is a model of and a model for reality, as experienced by individuals in the context of
social, nature, and cosmic existence.”

Religious beliefs, expressions, and worldviews have inspired and influenced humanity’s artistic,
philosophical, ethical, political, scientific, and economic endeavors. Much of history and
culture cannot be appreciated without understanding the beliefs, symbols, literature, and
practices of the world’s religious traditions intimately embedded in them. Consequently,
ignorance about religion itself and the world’s religious traditions promotes misunderstanding
that weakens respect for diversity.

And since religion appears to be such a basic human concern Article 18 of the United Nations’
Universal Declaration of Human Rights states:

“Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes
freedom to change one’s religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with
others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship
and observance.”

If the practice of religion characterizes being human, what then is religion? Being a complex
phenomenon, no single definition of religion can accommodate all its varied manifestations.
The term itself originates from the Latin religi “conscientiousness” or “reverence”, referring to
the awe or fear felt in the presence of a spirit or deity, and may be related to the Latin religare,
“to bind fast”. For one, religion may be understood as an institutionalized system of beliefs
and practices from which an individual or community derives meaning and significance and
the struggles of everyday life in the light of transcendent reality.

Among the questions which human being ask and which religion attempts to answer are: Does
life have any purpose or meaning? Where did life come from? How are human beings
supposed to live and treat other beings? How does one live well? Is there a form of existence
beyond this earthly life? Do gods or other spiritual beings exist? If so, how do human being
related with them?

Religion is therefore one among a significant variety of ways through which human beings
seek meaning and fulfillment. Each particular religion is a worldview, a lens through which
human beings see themselves and their ultimate purpose and engage with their fellow beings
(human and nonhuman). Each religious worldview, rooted in and shaped by a specific
historico-cultural and sociological context, manifests itself concretely through its creed, code,
and cult.

Creed [Latin credo “I believe”] consist of fundamental religious beliefs and assumptions. Code
refers to the norms of behavior that every adherent of a religion seeking wellbeing and
fulfillment is expected to observe. Cult [Latin cultus “worship”] comprises practices which
nourish believers’ interiority/ spirituality and their union with ultimate realities, whether
solitary or communal.

COMMON CHARACTERISTICS OF RELIGIOUS WORLDVIEWS

What do these varied religious worldviews in common? Identifying their

common characteristics, religious worldviews usually [though out always] express:
1. Ways of dealing with people’s relationship to an unseen and transcendent of existence,
usually inhabited by spirits, deities, demons, and ancestor.
2. A set of myths or stories about this unseen world and rituals to commune with it or
appease it.
3. A system of organized rituals celebrated in holy places by consecrated persons and
embodied in sacred texts.
4. Statements about life beyond death, either as survival in some shadowy world of the
dead, in some version of heaven and hell, or through reincarnation.
5. A code of ethical behavior or moral order.
6. Large followings, either currently or at some time in the past.

STUDENT ACTIVITY 1.1

In your home find a religious item or a picture that shows a part of a religious
activity/ritual. Describe the item or activity/ritual guided by the questions below.
Put the item and you answer in a long/short band paper.

For a religious item:

a. How do you call this item?
b. How do you use it?
c. What is it used for? What is its meaning or importance?
d. How does it connect you to God/the gods?
e. What does it say about God/ the gods?
f. What are its effects on the believer?

For a activity or ritual:

a. How do you call this activity / ritual?
b. How often and where is it performed?
 c. Are you required to participate in this? Why or why not?
d. How does it connect you to God/the gods?
e. What does it say about God /the gods?
f. What are its effects on the believer?

THE STUDY OF RELIGION

Since it is such a fascinating aspect of human existence, religion and its content are often
made the object of study and reflection. There are a variety of ways of studying the human
phenomenon of religion.

Theology is one way of engaging in a formal study of a particular religious tradition. The term
theology is one way of a particular religious tradition. The term theology originated from the
Christian tradition and is rooted in two Greek words, theos “god” and logos “word”-the verbal
experience of transcendent reality.

Theology is the formal, systematic attempt to give a rational explanation of the of the beliefs
and practices of the beliefs and practices of a religious institution and of the religious
experiences of its adherents.

Religious studies are another way of engaging in an academic study of religion and differ
from theology in a number of ways.

Philosophy of religion, as the philosophical study of the nature and meaning of religion,
consists in analyzing religious concepts, beliefs, and practices of religious adherents.

Psychology of religion describes and interprets religious phenomena by applying

contemporary psychological theories and methods.

Sociology of religion describes religious behavior in relation to theories about the social
needs and functions of human societies.

Religious anthropology studies the cultural significance of religious experiences, ideas, and
institutions.

STUDENT ACTIVITY 1.2

 Find two adult believers in your community. These can be your parents,
relative, godparents, or neighbor. Interview them separalely using the guide
questions below.

Interviewee 1
1. What is one basic belief in your religion? What is its relevance to your daily life?
2. What is the highest form of worship in your religion? Why is it considered so?

Interviewee 2
1. Name one important law observed by a follower of your religion. What does it bring
about in the individual and community?
2. Identify one story or myth that the community of believers readfrom your religion’s
sacred writings. What truth does it convey about life oe relationships?

RELIGION AND SPIRITUALITY

Spirituality is a phenomenon related to religion. Religion and spirituality were

formerly linked, as can be seen in one dictionary definition of the term spirituality as “the
quality or state of being concerned with religion or religious matters”.

Spirituality is about a person’s beliefs, values, and behavior, while religiousness is

about the person’s involvement with a religious tradition and institution.

But what happens when spirituality is lacking in a person’s practice of religion? What is the
danger of insisting on religion and spirituality as being distinct and separate from each other?
Here are some thoughts to consider:

Can someone be religious without being spiritual? It’s completely plausible. He/she can
observe rituals and participate in community and recite prayers, all without considering
himself or herself spiritual.

Can someone be spiritual without being religious? Of course! In fact, it seems like that’s one of
the benefits of spirituality for many people. It’s a convenient concept for people who would
like to maintain some religious credibility outside of religious institutions: “I don’t go to
church, but I’m very spiritual.”

-Kate Fridkis
[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kate-fridkis/spirituality-definition_b_597062.html]
When the heart is far from God, worship and religious rituals clearly become an empty and
ridiculous human gesture incapable of nurturing a loving relationship with God. When the
interior disposition is lacking, our liturgies and sacraments can become routines that we go
through mechanically, repetitively, and, hence meaninglessly. These liturgies cease to become
real celebrations of the love and mercy of God in our lives. This scenario of an empty religion is
what Jesus is most wary about.

-Fr. Joey R. Rapadas

[http://prizedpearl.blogspot.com/2009/08/invitation-to-greater-interiority-22 nd.html]

I was hungry and you formed a humanities club and discussed my hunger.

I was imprisoned and you crept off quietly to you chapel and prayed for my release.

I was naked and in your mind you debated the morality of my appearance.

I was sick and you knelt and thanked God for your health.

I was homeless, and you preached to me of the spiritual shelter of the love of God.

I was lonely and you left me alone to pray for me.

You seem so holy, so close to God

but I am hungry-and lonely-and cold

[Cited in John R.W. Stott, Issues Facing Christians Today:4 th Edition. (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan,
2011), p. 31-32.]

How then does one define spirituality? Like religion, spirituality is a complex human
experience, and no single definition can accommodate all its diverse expressions. An
understanding of what is meant by spirit is implied in spirituality. The Scottish theologian John
Macquarrie describes that dynamic mode of being called spirit as “a capacity for going out of
oneself and beyond oneself…. The more man goes out from himself or goes beyond himself,
the more the spiritual dimension of his life is deepened, the more he becomes truly [hu]man…
On the other hand, the more he turn inward and encloses himself in self-interest, the less
human does he become. This is the strange paradox of spiritual being- that precisely by going
out and spending itself, it realizes itself.” For Macquarrie, “fundamentally spirituality has to do
with becoming a person in the fullest sense”.

Spirituality can thus be understood as the human being’s “capacity for self-transcendence in
relation to the Absolute”, which involves a search for the meaning and ultimate value of one’s
life. It is a way of life that is shaped by the believer’s encounter with the Sacred /
Transcendent. The English psychiatrist Larry Culliford suggests that spirituality can be thought
of as “the active ingredient’ of major world religions” and even of some humanistic ideologies.
As such, faithful followers of Buddhism practice Buddhist spirituality; believers of Jesus Christ
live out Christian spirituality.

Ronald Rolheiser, a Canadian theologian and popular author on spirituality, identifies “four
nonnegotiable pillars of the spiritual life”. These four essential elements of spirituality needed
for a healthy life of the spirit are: (1) proper interiority [prayer] and personal moral
integrity; (2) social justice; (3) active participation in a community of fellow
adherents, and; (4) mellowness of heart and spirit-which can be described as an “attitude
of grstitude”.

Base on the discussion in the preceding sections, formulate some brief descriptions of
a person who is religious but devoid of spirituality [left column]. Do the same for a person who
is both faithful to the religious tradition and its spirituality [right column].

STUDENT ACTIVITY 1.3

Religious Devoid of Spirituality Faithful to Religious Tradition and its Spirituality

THE MAJOR WORLD RELIGIONS

There are manifold varieties of religions existing in the world today. However , we will limit
ourselves only to the following, classified according to their geographical roots: religions from
India (Hindu Dharma and Buddhism), from East Asia (Confucianism, Daoism, and Shinto), and
from the Middle East (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam).

Hindu Dharma – the oldest of the known religions – and Buddhism originated in the South Asia
subcontinent of India. India remains the home of Hindu Dharma, while Buddhism spread in
other Asian nations like Cambodia, China, Japan, Korea, Myanmar, Thailand, and Viet Nam.

Daoism and Confucianism emerged in China, while Shinto comes from Japan. While there is
some dispute whether Daoism and Confucianism may be considered religions, they are usually
counted as such because they have at times developed certain religious aspects.

Judaism was the first to evolve among the religions that began in the Middle East. Along with
Christianity and Islam, it prides itself with a view of God who has revealed himself so that
humanity can come to know him. Adherent of these religions believe that God has spoken and
his words are contained in their sacred texts.
Religion usually emerges as a human response to a felt need within one’s context that is
perceived as efficacious and adopted by a group of people. However, to better understand
them, the particular geographic and historico-cultural origins of these religious traditions will
be discussed in more detail in their respective lessons.

It should also be noted that one way of describing religions is through their respective
understanding of deity. There are monotheistic religions, that is, believing in the existence of
only one supreme God. Other religions, acknowledging the existence of a multiplicity of
deities, are polytheistic. Still others are nontheistic in that they do not make explicit mention
of any personal deity.

Ultimately, religion and spirituality and rich human experiences that cannot be adequately
described and can leave one at a loss for words. Consequently, one must strive to enter these
sacred spaces with open minds and hearts in order to better appreciate the encounter with
the other.

Let us conclude this first lesson with a few lines from the book Where Does God Live? written
together by a Jewish rabbi and a Roman Catholic priest.

Remember that we are all climbing this mountain together. So when you meet other climbers
on a different path, do this: Stop, and then talk to them. Tell them what you have learned on
your path. Ask them what they have learned climbing on their path. Don’t forget to offer to
share some of your food, and teach them some of your climbing songs.

When you must leave them, tell them this: “I am going now to continue my climb up the
mountain on the path my fathers and mothers marked out for me. I wish you a good climb on
your path. I will pray for you. Thank you for sharing with me the things you have seen. I know
we will see more things on the way up. I know the way is steep, but I also know that we will
things on the way up. I know the way is steep, but I also know that we will meet someday at
the top of this mountain. There we will not be tired. There we will see far as any person can
see. … God bless you, and good luck in your climb to the top.”

STUDY QUESTIONS

1. What does it mean for a human being to be “religious”?

2. Identify and briefly describe the common concrete expressions or manifestations of
religious worldviews.
3. What are the common characteristics of religious worldviews?
 4. Why should there be a study of religion?
5. Distinguish between religion, theology, and spirituality.
6. Identify the four essential elements of spirituality and explain how these, when
practiced together, help sustain a healthy spiritual life.

LESSON 2

RELIGION: BLESSING OR CURSE?

“God’s voice is the call of transcendence that challenges us to go further,

to do more, to try harder, to change our lives, to venture out into new
areas and into the unknown. . . God is out there calling us to move beyond
the system, beyond suffering, beyond our narrow and limited ideas of
what is possible.”

-Albert Nolan

STUDENT ACTIVITY 2.1

Present a print or web-based article, preferably with photographs, that provides evidence or
proof that religion brought about or inspired an event in history.
What religion was referred to in this material?

In what way/s did the religion brought about or inspire this event to take place?

Religion is such a powerful influence on human beings, both on individuals and on

communities. It can be compared to basic elements such as water and fire. Water is an
ambiguous symbol because it is both life-giving and death- dealing. Likewise, fire, when
regulated, can be harnessed for beneficial human use, but can be deadly when out control.

Similarly, religion has inspired its adherents to do great and admirable things. But it has also
made people commit despicable acts of death and destruction. Can you identify some of these
things that make religion especially your own, both a blessing and a curse?

STUDENT ACTIVITY 2.2

Cite one element or characteristic of a religion (preferably your own) that can both cause
positive and negative effects on family or society.

Element or characteristic of a Positive Effect Negative Effect

religion
What about the event that you presented in Student Activity 2.1, did it cause joy and healing,
or pain and suffering?

LIGHTS AND SHADOWS

The Roman Catholic Church is one of the world’s largest enduring institutions which has
undoubtedly made a lasting global impact and will likely continue being so. It operates the
most extensive nongovernmental school system in the world, with many established
influential universities. It has also produced outstanding people such as Augustine of Hippo,
Benedict of Nursia, Francis and Clare of Assisi, Thomas Aquinas, Jeanne d’Arc, Johannes
Gutenberg, Isabella I of Castile, Nikolaus Kopernikus, Michelangelo Buonarroti, Sir Thomas
More, Galileo Galilei, Rene Descartes, Antoine-Laurent de Lavoisier. Ludwig van Beethoven,
Gregor Johann Mendel, Louis Pasteur, John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, Dorothy Day, Enrico Fermi,
Shusaku Endo, and Mother Teresa of Kolkata- just to name a few.

Part of irony of history is that world-renouncing Catholic monks would unwittingly preserve
knowledge of the classical learning antiquity and provide stability after western European
civilization suffered a collapse of literacy and organization following the fall of Rome to
invading Germanic tribes in 476 CE. These same monk would also develop the earliest forms of
musical notation, resulting in an enormous body of sacred compositions, which may have
influenced the emergence and development of European classical music and its many
derivatives. In addition, there is the tangible legacy of the Renaissance popes in their
patronage of the arts and architecture, as evidenced by the Papal Basilica of Saint Peter and
the Cappella Sistina in Vatican City.

At the same time, the Catholic Church has, to its embarrassment, alson inspired violent
movements such as the Crusades and the Inquisition. Its two millennia of history are marked
by worldly and corrupt officials, schisms, intolerance,and even the violation of human rights in
the attempt to proclaim its truth and to safeguard its adherents from error. The late and great
Pope John Paul II at the end of the second Christian millennium humbly acknowledged such
shortcomings and in behalf of the entire Catholic Church asked for forgiveness: “As the
successor of Peter, I ask that in this year of mercy, the Church … should kneel before God and
implore forgiveness for the past and present sins of her sons and daughters.”

WHEN RELIGION BECOMES CURSE

The psychiatrist James L. Griffith identifies three related purposes that religion serves:

1. Religion helps ensure group security.

2. Religion helps build and strengthen the individual sense of self as being worthy and
competent.
3. Religion helps reduce personal suffering, for self or others.

Following this framework, one can begin to see how the practice of religion can become either
a blessing or a curse.

How does religion become a curse instead of a blessing? Living in a world filled with threats to
wellbeing, social being will tend to seek safety within a strong intelligently organized group.
Throughout human history, religion has served as a strong cohesive. Its importance is
manifested in the readiness of people to sacrifice their individual lives out of loyalty to
religious group. However, one easily find many examples of religious adherents becoming
morally blind because of a misguided sense of religious group loyalty. Examples of this are the
phenomenon of people voting as a bloc for electoral candidates who are endorsed by their
religious leaders and the willingness of religious people to cover up for-and even defend the
crimes of their supposedly divinely-anointed officials.

Although one’s personal sense of competence is individually felt, it more often reflects the
status of one’s group in society and one’s status within that group. In daily life, religion is more
likely to be a refuge during unusually stressful times and can substantially uplift one’s morale.
Nevertheless, religious practices that foster hatred toward those outside one’s own group
appear to be more efficient at bolstering morale compared to more compassionate religious
practices. This is because moral contempt for non-believing outsiders generates in-group
camaraderie through a sense of purpose and power. This tendency to make scapegoats out of
deviants is clearly made manifest in “holy wars” such as the Crusades and the Spanish
Reconquista and subsequent Inquisition.

Each religion has recommended means for coping with life’s suffering. Unfortunately, many of
these recommendations propel religious behaviors with untoward consequences. When one
chooses to solve practical problems within one’s society can cease, which over time may
increase suffering for others. Violence, directed toward oneself by ascetics or toward others by
zealots, is often committed in the hope of gaining God’s favor through obedience and sacrifice.

WHEN RELIGION IS A BLESSING

How does religion become a blessing? The practice of authentic spirituality makes religion
work wonders. Common themes may be found in spiritualities associated with ancient
religious traditions.

1. Encounters with the Sacred/Transcendent as personal experiences that

stimulate reflection, creativity, and ethical behavior. The Sacred is considered the
realm of human encounters with supernatural beings or transcendental reality. In
authentic spirituality, such experiences lead to life-giving introspection rather than to
efforts to use sacred power to dominate or even harm others.

Does my encounter with the Sacred/ Transcendent make me humble to accept myself as I
truly am, with my weaknesses and my strengths?

2. Commitment to an ethic of compassion. Even the most inward-focused varieties of

spirituality are directed consistently toward an ethics of compassion for other beings,
human and nonhuman, as well as for oneself. Compassion means transcending
narcissistic indifference and responding to the suffering of another with understanding
and protective care. Compassionate self-care strives to contain one’s personal
woundedness, preventing vicious cycles of revenge and retaliation.

Does my encounter with the Sacred/ Transcendent make me fair and more sensitive to the
needs of others?

3. Emotional postures of resilience. Authentic spirituality bears fruit in a sense of

gratitude, joy, harmony, hope, and purpose, enabling one to be steadfast in the face of
uncertainty, suffering, and threat.

Does my encounter with the Sacred/ Transcendent make me look toward the future with
eagerness and trust in spite of risky and challenging situations?

4. Emphasis on prioritizing the wellbeing of individuals, whether oneself or others, over

the needs of a religious group.
Does my encounter with the Sacred/ Transcendent make me less self-righteous and
more accepting, open-minded, and inclusive?

How then does one judge whether the practice of religion is a blessing or a curse? The
practice of a religious faith should help make a person become someone who is secure,
grateful, welcoming, caring [of others and of oneself], and hopeful. Confusion,
helplessness, despair, detachment, isolation, and resentment due to religious practice
should be warning signs of an unhealthy and dysfunctional spirituality.
On, we can use the words of the Christian apostle Paul as a guide for discerning the fruit
of authentic spirituality: “ The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,
generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Letter to the Galatians 5:22-23,
New Revised Standard Version).

STUDENT ACTIVITY 1.3

 REFLECT!

1. What makes religion strongly influential to human beings and communities?

2. Religion has influenced humans to either heal or harm; it has been both a blessing
and a curse. How do you feel about this?
3. If religion is perceived as either blessing or curse, how are its adherents responsible
for this?

REVIEW OF THE CHAPTER

REVISITING MY PRIOR KNOWLEDGE

Go back to the K-W-L Assessment of Prior Knowledge which you accomplished at the
beginning of the chapter. Review your entries in the ‘What I Know’ box and check if any of
your prior knowledge was mistaken. You may include the corrected version of these items as
you fill out the ‘What I Learned’ box.

Then go the ‘What I Want to Know’ box and check if you have any question that was not
answered in the lessons. You may either raise a research and include what you discover in the
‘What I Learned’ box.