World Religions

LESSON 1

Religion-is a complex and often deeply personal belief system that involves a
set of practices.

-it provides a framework for understanding the meaning of life.

-different religions have distinct doctrines.

SPIRITUALITY- Refers to a broad and subjective sense of connection to

semething greater than oneself.

Religion vs. Theology

RELIGION- refers to the broader belief system

THEOLOGY- is the academic and intellectual study of the nature of the divine.

Elements of Religion:

1. Belief in Supernatural powers

2. Belief in the Holy or Sacred

3. System of Rituals

4. Sinful acts

5. The Method of Salvation

6. Mode of Worship

7. Liturgy and Ideology

8. Place of Worship

UNDERSTANDING THE WORLDVIEWS OF THE WORLD'S MAJOR RELIGIONS IS

CRITICAL IN APPRECIATING THEIR RITUALS AND PRACTICES:

1. Naturalism

2. Pantheism

3. Theism

4. Spiritism and Polytheism

5. Postmodernism

A. Monistic- refers to the belief in a single, unified divine principle or ultimately

reality that underlies all existence.

B. Polytheistic- refers to a religious beliefs system that worship or acknowledges

the existence of multiple deities or gods.

C. Monotheistic- refers to a religious belief system that centers around the

worship or belief in a single, all- powerful deity or god.

D. Atheistic- refers to the absence or denial of belief in deities or gods.

Elements of Spirituality;

1. Holistic- full integrated view to life

2. Quest for meaning- including the purpose of life

3. Quest for the sacred- belief about God

4. Suggest a self- reflective existence

Going Beyond the Physical World

1. The Materialistic Approach- relies primarily on empirical evidence provided
by the five senses. 2. The Spiritual Approach- to see beyond mere outer
appearances and the five senses to an intuitive perception of the causes behind
outer conditions.

Three Etymology:

-Latin word meaning 'To tie or bind"

-"re" and "lig" religion reconnects humanity and the divine, restoring unity lost
in the human world.

-derived from the Latin word "relegare," implies respect and careler both natural
and supernatural worlds,

Rudolf Otto- Religion is that which grows out.

Milton Yinger- Religion is a system of beliefs and practices.

Ninian Smart- The six characteristics of religions are:

A worldview- is a set of beliefs that are coherent and comprehensive,

A comprehensive worldview- is a set of beliefs that account for a wide range of

phenomena or human concerns, such as life meaning,

Sacredness- Religion regards certain things as sacred, which are distinct from
ordinary secular, or profane objects.

Ethical codes- Referring to guidelines concerning how humans ought to relate to

a divine.

Community- A religious belief system is shared and practiced by a community

of believers.
Sacred Writings- Religions have sacred writings, which contain their main
teachings or doctrines, central stories, ethical codes, and prophecies.

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,

Rituals- 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 Expression- engage in various artistic expressions for their beliefs.

Spirituality and Divine Absolutes

Religion is a complex concept involving the belief in spiritual reality and the
sacredness of certain things.

Spirituality, related to spirituality, differs from religiousness, while

Sacredness is related to the divine absolute, which is analyzed in relation to the

natural world

•69% Those who considered themselves both religious and spiritual

•21% Those who considered themselves as spiritual but not religious

•4% And those who considered themselves as religious but not spiritual

Zinnbauer and Pargament- reveals a difference between the concepts of

spirituality and religiousness.

Religiousness and spirituality are often viewed as substance and function

respectively.

Substance refers to beliefs and practices.

Religiousness is institutional, while spirituality is personal.

Spiritual individuals express their faith as Nodividuals.

Religious individuals express their faith within a community.

•In most religions, the divine absolute is usually represented by a god or gods,
known as god-centered sacredness.

•Some religions focus on the soul, certain principles, or the teachings of a

revered teacher, referred to as nongod-centered sacredness.

•Understanding god-centered sacredness involves examining different views on

God's reality, existence, number, and relationship with the natural world.

Views on the existence of God

Theism- asserts the existence of God or gods, promoting god-centered

sacredness.

Atheism- rejects God or gods, either by embracing a nongod-centered

sacredness or rejecting an form of sacredness

Agnosticism- on the other hand/claims there is no certainty about God or gods'

existence, contradicting the certainty assumed in theism and atheism

Nontheism- on the other hand, makes no position on the existence of God or

gods.

Views on the number of Gods

Monotheism- believes in one God

Polytheism- believes in many gods.

Polytheistic- religions often have a hierarchy of gods.

Polytheism- can be categorized into henotheism, where a single god is
worshiped while acknowledging other gods, and

Kathenotheism- where a single god is worshiped at specific times.

Relation with nature

Traditional theism- which sees God or gods as transcendent beings outside the
natural world

Pantheism- which views God or gods as immanent beings within the natural
world,

Panentheism- which sees God or gods as both transcendent and immanent.

LESSON 2

STUDYING RELIGIONS

Theories of religion- referring to accounts or explanations of the origins and

functions of religion.

TWO TYPES OF THEORY OF RELIGION

➤Internal Theory- a particular religion's account of its own origins and

functions.

➤External Theory- an account of the origins and functions of particular religion.

External Theories of Religion

•Theology

•Philosophy

•Psychology

•Sociology

•Anthropology

Theology -is "study of God." Is not just limitred to study the nature of God

Theologians- systematically explain tre doctrines of their own respective

religions.

Comparative Religion- branch of religious studies that is concerned with the

systematic comparison of the doctrines and practices of two or more particular
religions.

Philosophy- Deals with philosophical issues in religion.

Philosophy of religion tries to settle issues in religion solely by means of the

human power of reasoning.

•Two famous and highly influential Christian philosophers/theologians who

engaged in philosophy of religion were St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas.

•One contribution of St. Augustine was his theory that evil is the absence of
good.

•Aquinas is the famous for his five proofs of the existence of God:

-causation

-motion

-necessity

-design

-degrees of perfection.
Physiology- is defined as the study of "psychological and biological processes
and behavior in humans and other animals."

Three famous psychologist:

-William James- focused on the psychological process that occurs in a religious

conversion.

-Sigmund Freud- was the founder of psychoanalysis.

-Carl Jung- the founder of analytic psychology.

Sociology- Studies religious beliefs, practices, and organization using the

theories and methods of the discipline of sociology.

Calvanists- believe in predestination,

Anthropology- means science of human beings or humanity.

Two major fields of Anthropology:

Physical Anthropology - studies the gin, evolution, and diversity of people.

Cultural Anthropology - studies culture in all its aspects and uses the methods.

Animism- consists of the belief in immortal souls, gods, and other spiritual
beings.

The Value of Studying Religions:

Ninian Smart- identifies three reasons why it is important to understand the

world's religions.

Three Reasons For Studying World Religions:

First, "they are a vital"

Secord, "is the fact"

Third, "we may as individuals"

THE THEORETICAL, PRACTICAL AND ARTISRIC VALUES

Theoretically- provides us with a better picture of human civilization as religions

are an integral component of the development of human civilization.

Practically- provide understanding religions.

Has two levels:

-Interpersonal level, studying religions enable us to better deal or interact with

people of different cultures.

-Personal level, studying world religions enable us to deeply understand the

kind of spirituality that we would personally want to pursue.

LESSON 3

JUDAISM AND JEWS

Judaism -derived from the word "Judah", which is the name of the fourth of the
12 sons of Jacob.

Judah- which means "praise/praised"

Jews- to refer to the members of the tribe of Judah.

Hebrews- because they are descendants of Abraham, who was called a Hebrew.

Israelites- because they are descendants of Jacob, who was also called Israel.

Founder of Judaism

•First Patriarch/father-source among the three patriarchs of the Jewish people.

•Second Patriarch-Isaac (Abraham's son)

•Third Patriarch Jacob (Isaac's son)

Moses was an Israelite/Hebrew who was born in Egypt and raised there as a
prince.

These commandments were given to Moses by God on top of Mount Sinai.

THE HEBREW BIBLE AND OTHER WRITINGS

PRIMARY/FOUNDATIONAL- known in Hebrew as the Tanakh/Tanak.

SUPPLEMENTARY- called Talmud and Midrash

TANAKH/TANAK- The Hebrew Bible is the collection of particular books which

were once separate scrolls.

BIBLE- derived from the Greek word 'biblia', which means 'books'.

The Hebrew Bible is classified into three groups:

Torah- -means "teachings and instructions". It is a set of laws that God gave to
Moses on Mount Sinal
Torah is believed to have two forms:

1 Written Torah -Written form

2 Oral Torah -Oral form

Nevi'im- contains 22 books and each of them is named after its respective
prophet.

1. Former Prophets

2. Latter Prophets

Kethuvim- materials that are generally based on human knowledge and

experiences

TALMUD- Set of books consisting of the Mishnah and Gemara, which are
Interpretative writings. commentative and MISHNAH-collection of writings that
we're originally oral instructions intended to supplement the laws of the Written
Torah.

GEMARA-collection of legal and ethical commentaries on the Mishnah.

2 versions of Talmud:

1. Babylonian Talmud -the more authoritative version and thus is what is

standardly reffered to when one speaks of Talmud.

2. Palestinian Talmud -considered incomplete and not clearly written.

MIDRASH- Examines the nonliteral meaning of the Tanakh.

THE BASIC DOCTRINES

613 Mitzvot -contains the Ten Commandments

Moses Maimonides- known in Hebrew world as Rambam.

RAMBAM- acronym of his title as Rabbi Moses

Ben Maimon

-considered to be the first person to write a systematic code of all Jewish Law
which he laid down in his book "Mishneh Torah"

10 Commandments

Jewish scholars- refer to as the 10 category commandments.

First Five Commandments- all concern love of God.

Last Five Commandments- all concern love of neighbor.

13 Principles of Faith- another extremely important contribution of Maimonides

to Judaism.

Monotheism- The Jews believe that there is only one God,

Afterlife- The Jewish belief in an afterlife is called Olam Ha-Ba (translated as

"The World to Come").

Messianic- Age The Jews believe in the coming of the Messiah and the
resurrection of the righteous dead.
Masiach-Hebrew word of Messian, which literally means "the annointed one"

Rituals and Major Festival

Minyan-consisting of 10 Jewish male adults, was traditionally required for a

public service or any public reading of the Torah.

Sabbath Day (Shabbat) -occurs every sunset on Friday until sunset on Saturday.

-Bar mitzvah- Boy. meaning "son of commandment"

-Bat mitzvah- Girl.

Major Jewish Fastivals

Classified into two kinds:

1. Pilgrim Festivals -Pesah (Passover)

-Shavuot (Pentecost)

-Sukkot (Booths)

2. Days of Awe -Ro'sh ha-Shanah

-Ten Days of Repentance

-Yom Kippur

Pesah (Passover) recalls the Lord's Uberation of the Hebrews, led by Moses,
from bondage in Egypt.
SEDER MEAL- Consists of Symbolic foods, foremost of which is the unleavened
bread/bread without yeast.

Shavu'ot/Shavuot (Pentecost) -celebration of the spring harvest season and

God's gift of the Torah.

Sukkot (Booths)- festival during which Jews build temporary booths where they
take their meals for one week.

Ro'sh ha-Shanah/Rosh Hashanah -celebrates the Jewish New Year and God's
creation of the world as described in the Torah.

Yom Kippur- considered the HOLIEST DAY among Jewish rituals.

General Forms of Judaism

3 Historical group forms of Judaism:

•Ancient Forms-

•Medieval Forms

•Modern Forms

Ancient Denominations:

Essenes -were ascetics, who engaged in mysticism and devoted themselves to

strict disciplines.

Sadducees -consists of priests and aristocrats of the Jewish society.

Pharisees -believed that both the Written Torah and Oral Torah came from God

Zealots -appeared after Rome conquered Judea.

Medieval Denominations:

Karaite Judaism -Karaites; revived the position of the Sadducees -they did not
accept the Oral Torah.

Rabbinical Judaism -practiced by the Rabbanites.

Hasidism -also called Chasidim.

Mitnagdism -meaning "opponents"

Modern Denominations:

Reform Judaism- also known as Liberal Judaism or Progressive Judaism.

Orthodox Judaism-- a reaction to Reform Judaism

Conservative Judaism- middle ground position between Reform Judaism and

Orthodox Judaism

Reconstructionist Judaism- sees Judaism as the evolving religious civilization of

Jewish people.

Some Major Challenges

Anti-Semitism -refers to a negative attitude toward the Jews.

Holocaust -killing of six million Jewish men, women,

Zionism -movement of the Israelites to go back to their promise land and

establish their own state.

Arab-Israeli Conflict -this resulted to a series of wars initiated by the Arabs.