Worldview

There are many definitions of worldview since the term is so broad in its scope. We can define
worldview as culture’s orientation toward God, nature, the universe, life, death, sickness, and
other philosophical issues concerning existence. Not only worldviews deal with significant
philosophical questions, but they also govern life in smaller ways by providing direction for the
more practical features of living. The pervasive impact of worldview is so extensive that a
culture’s worldview can impact the social, economic, and political life of a nation.
Worldview and Culture
Worldview, culture, and the study of intercultural communication are tightly related since
culture most of the person’s worldview as Dana explains the significance of worldview to the
study of intercultural communication.
Manifestation of Worldview
We can know a culture’s communicative and perceptual components through understanding its
worldview such as:
-The Islamic worldview provides insight into Islam’s perception of women as subordinate to
men.
-Two different worldviews emerge when discussing how environmentalists hold that nature
should be cared for by “man” while many Christians think that God wants them to be masters
over the earth.
- Shintoism is another worldview that produces a unique attitude toward nature. The Shinto
religion encourages an aesthetic appreciation of nature in which the focus is on reality and not
heaven—a reality that makes nature supreme.

- A very different worldview emerges on examination of American Indians’ perceptions who

begin with an apprehension of the whole (general) and move to specifics.

Another link between worldview and behaviour can be understood in the way culture views the
business arena. Bartels reaffirms these bonds when he writes, “The foundation of a nation’s
culture and the most important determinant of social and business conduct are the religious and
philosophical beliefs of a people. From these beliefs spring role perceptions, behaviour patterns,
codes of ethics and the institutionalized manner in which economic activities are performed.”
If a culture values “out-of-awareness” processes and intuitive problem solving, it might reach
conclusions through processes much different from a culture that values the scientific method.
worldview, perception, and communication are associated. This association can be manifested
as worldview determines how people see their place in the world.
Constructs of Worldviews
your worldview originates in your culture, is transmitted via a multitude of channels, consists
of many elements, and can take a variety of forms that can be categorized into: traditional
religions, secular humanism, and spirituality.

Religion as a Worldview
Religion provides a worldview in its core there is a belief in the existence of a reality greater
than humans. This divinity has established a set of instructions and a moral classification that
people follow. Thanks to religious worldview human conduct has a long-term significance.

Secularism as a Worldview
People who adopt secularism share a worldview that claims a denial of the existence of God.
More specifically, Secular humanism is philosophically naturalistic, it holds that nature (the
world of everyday physical experience) is all there is, and that reliable knowledge is best
obtained when we adopt the scientific method in querying nature. Secularism has many
definitions, and various words are used to describe this worldview. However, there are some
beliefs that can explain this worldview.

Rejection of “miracles” and Supernatural Beings. In secularism, religion and the various
deities associated with it are viewed as a projection of humankind’s own aspirations and
yearnings; therefore, the religious stories cannot be believed.

A Set of Ethical Standards. Secularism holds a set of ethical standards that are universal and
can also be found in religion traditions. However, these values are grounded in earthly concerns
rather than in anticipation of heavenly reward or fear of infernal punishment.

The Finality of Death. For secularists, death is the end of this life and there is no other life
after this one: “At death, the individual ceases to exist in any cohesive or conscious form.”
Therefore, death is not a spiritual matter, but rather an undeniable truth about our existence.

Spirituality as a Worldview
Many people now use the word to describe their belief system. It is generally regarded as a
system that stresses the idea that a person does not need formal religion to live a life of faith.
Spirituality is often individual rather than collective and does not need a traditional organization
as in religion. It the idea of having a personalized worldview that appeals to the American value
of individualism. The followers of this approach suggest following some guidelines in order to
experience the world personally. Spirituality has many of the same goals found in organized
religions. The major difference is that spirituality uses some atypical methods of achieving
those goals and places emphasis on the individual being part of the “discovery process.”

Religion
religion, perception, and behaviour are tightly intertwined. “For the vast majority of people
worldwide, their religious tradition—like family, tribe, or nation—anchors them in the world.
Religious traditions provide structure, discipline, and social participation in a community.”
Religion and the Sacred
Religion tries to explain how the world works and the next world as well. “Religion provides a
cosmology, or set of principles or beliefs about the nature of life and death, the creation of the
universe, the origin of society and groups within the society, the relationship of individuals and
groups to one another, and the relation of humankind to nature. People rely on religion to
understand the world. Therefore, religion is significant to the psychological welfare of most
people.

Religion and Personal Conduct

Religion serves as a mechanism of social control by establishing notions of right and wrong,
transferring part of the burden of decision making from individuals to supernatural powers, and
reducing stress and frustration that often lead to social conflict. Therefore, the religious
individual, theology and everyday experiences cannot be separated.

The Study of Religion in the Twenty-First Century

Religion is related to many dimensions of culture as it is part of a larger system. Religion is
undergoing a kind of modern-day reassessment due to globalization.

Globalization and Religion

Globalization is affecting religion combined with the forces of modern technology which made
human contact inevitable. In the past, religions have usually consisted of the beliefs, values,
and practices of a particular religious community. However, now those religious communities
are faced with content and messages being sent via new technologies, as well as the challenges
created by major shifts in international migration patterns. Because of these two forces,
religious institutions have had to adapt to a series of novel and often troubling sets of images
and ideas as one of the most troubling new concepts faced by religion today is secularism.

Conflict and Religion

religion has always had to explain the dichotomy between preaching about peace while
engaging in bloody and brutal wars. We are still witnessing violence among people of various
religious convictions. Therefore, there is a connection between religion, globalization, and
violence.

Selecting Worldviews for Study

In short, with thousands of religions, cults, movements, philosophies, and worldviews to choose
from, it is difficult to decide which orientations to examine. Drawing on the research of
religious scholars, we have decided to examine Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism,
Buddhism, and Confucianism. while all the other religions and religious traditions, our decision
was based on three widely accepted criteria—numbers, diffusion, and relevance.

The Elements of Religion

Similar elements characterize all of the world’s religions:

Speculation
People throughout their lives face many of the same challenges concerning the uncertainties of
life. Religion helps us explain the unexplainable and assists us in understanding where people
came from, why they are here, what happens when we die, and why there is suffering therefore,
religion is psychologically comforting.

Sacred Writings
At the core of each religion lies a body of sacred wisdom that must be transmitted from
generation to generation. These sacred writings become a repository for a religion’s essential
principles and teachings. There are many forms that these scriptures can take:

-Scriptures that are found in Islam Judaism, and Christianity which often employ historical
narratives that are usually associated with individuals.
- “Messages” of faith that we can find in the “books” of each religion.
- “Scriptural books which have philosophy about the nature of reality or moral philosophy.
- The Pali Canon in Buddhism which is based on oral tradition and contains the teachings of
Buddha.
- Scriptures that can take the form of poetry, myth, legends, prophecy, and the like.

Religious Rituals
The significance of ritual is stressed in Confucius. In their strictest form, rituals are actions that
are repetitive, prescribed, and ceremonial. By engaging in rituals, members not only recall and
reaffirm important beliefs; they also feel spiritually connected to their religion, develop a sense
of identity by increasing social bonds with those who share their views, and sense that their life
has meaning and structure. Rites of passage are the most common of all rituals that mark key
stages in the human cycle of life. Rituals can be direct as well as indirect.

Ethics
Religion plays an significant role in the regulation of human behaviour as in every religious
tradition there is a discrimination between acceptable and unacceptable conduct. The message
of ethics conveys a cross-cultural story. By the formation of ethical principles, religion enables
its adherents to achieve the ultimate goal of the tradition. Religion
is only one kind of worldview among other forms which sought answers to the large questions
concerning the nature of truth, how the world operates, death, and ethical relationships.
Additionally, it is often difficult to draw a line between secularism and a subtle manifestation
of religion. Therefore, labelling is not as important as the notion that a culture’s heritage
includes methods to deal with timeless and fundamental questions.

Christianity
Today with over two billion adherents, Christianity is the largest of all traditions spread all over
the world. The diversity of people who are Christians produces a multiplicity of denominations.
However, Christianity has historically consisted of three main branches: the Roman Catholic
Church, the Eastern Orthodox Churches, and Protestantism each of them and their multiple
subsets have unique features while sharing many of the same rituals, beliefs, traditions, and
basic characteristics. One of strengths of Christianity is its ability to adapt throughout centuries
while maintaining the its basic core.

Core Assumptions
Christianity has a basic core of beliefs that offers its followers a guideline for understanding
life and death as follows:
-The existence of a single God who created this universe who sacrificed his only son for this
world.
-Sin is the gravest problem is human life.
-Christianity is a total worldview which involves both the religious and secular aspects of life.
-Man and women are created in God’s image.
-God is personal and Trinitarian.

Cultural Expressions of Christianity

Christianity and Community: community is an essential component of Christianity since the
link between them is traced back to the inception of the religion. Jesus gathered others to share
his message from the beginning of his practice that came to be known as “communion” and
“fellowship”. The
church is a key element in how community is revealed in which people gather in groups to share
a common identity. It is the social dimension of Christianity that offers insight into the
communication aspects of this tradition. The church has a theological function as well as a
social function; therefore, a sense of community and organized worship has contributed to the
social dimension found in Western cultures.

Christianity and Individualism: Christianity also stresses the importance and uniqueness of each
individual as it emphasizes the autonomy and responsibility of the self. Before the arrival of
Christianity and Judaism, people were members of tribes or communities and behaved
according to the collective nature of their existence. Christianity highlighted the importance of
each person by discovering individuality in the sense that stresses personal conversion. In a
culture that values individualism, Christianity is an appealing religion.

Christianity and “Doing”: Western culture encourages activity and action which can be traced
to Christianity. Beginning with sending emissaries to the furthest reaches of the Roman world
to bring the news about Jesus to all who would listen. Additionally, Christians took sick people
to take them in and nurse them. Christianity also emphasized hard work as “material success”
was considered a clue of being favoured by God. Thus, “doing” can be linked to Christianity.
Christianity and the Future: Americans are highly concerned with the future. One of the reasons
of this behaviour might have its roots in Christianity since it holds that the individual is destined
to move on and even the notion of heaven accents the future. The Christian ideology is
optimistic and positive toward the future.

Christianity and Courage: Jesus was courageous in the how he lived and how he died; therefore,
one of the most enduring legacies of the Jesus story is the message of courage in the face of
adversity. Without fear, Jesus preached against what was established doctrine during his entire
adult life which is behind powerful values in American culture.

Christian Notions about Death

regardless of the explanation advanced, religious and secular traditions attempt to enlighten
their members about death by examining six questions: “What is the purpose of death? Does
existence end at death? If not, what happens after death? Are we reembodied in a similar form
or in a different form? Is there a final judgment? And how are we to prepare for our own
dying?”. Due to the variety of Christian denominations and the different interpretations of the
Old and New Testaments, Christian answers to these six questions are not simple. However,
there is a theme about death that can link them all that is there is eternal life, and salvation is
possible through the caring and loving creator and the notion of heaven and hell. Regardless of
how heaven and are defined in various Christian traditions, we can conclude that Christian
doctrine maintains that there is an afterlife.

Judaism
Despite the small number of Jews worldwide, they are considered an important and influential
group. Judaism was the prototype and forerunner to both Christianity and Islam. It is difficult
to be specific concerning the roots of Judaism as a religion. The role of Abraham is One of the
most important events in the forming of this religion. Abraham was chosen by God to function
as the father of Jewish people who designed them as his chosen people who into a sacred
covenant with God. This distinctive consideration increased their responsibilities and signs of
the covenant abound in Jewish culture and religion. Judaism has exhibited a penchant for
continuity and adaptability.

Core Assumptions
-The believe in one universal and eternal God and creator.
- Each person must be obedient to God-given commandments in the Torah.
-Humans are given free will, but they have to bear the consequences.

These core assumptions compose a belief system stressing secular notion which emphasizes
this life rather than an afterlife.
Branches of Judaism
Judaism has experienced a variety of divisions since its inception but its core remained the
same. Judaism has now three branches: Orthodox, Reform, and Conservative Judaism which
differ on ritual and ethics. Orthodox is the oldest of the three branches and the only branch that
is acknowledged in Israel which retains from the ancient writings.
Reform Judaism was an attempt to modernize Jewish practices so that Jews worldwide could
assimilate into non-Jewish communities without losing their Jewish identity.
Conservative Judaism seeks a middle ground between the Orthodox and the Reform movement.
Judaism is unique in that it is both culture and a religion as it penetrates every aspect of human
existence of the Jews and offers a means of living with both the secular and religious worlds.

Cultural Expressions of Judaism

How does Judaism become reflected in the manner in which Jews perceive the world and
interact with other people within that world?

Oppression and Persecution: Countless examples of oppression, genocide, and persecution

are one of the most enduring and horrific manifestations of Jewish history for thousands of
years. The Holocaust is still making Jews troubled by two aspects. First, the silence of the
world leading up to the Holocaust and the lack of response once what was taking place was
known by outher countries. Second, they still observe outbursts of this hostility in this
century. Therefore, many Jews do not trust non-Jews; however, they keep the same three core
assumptions of their belief.

Learning: The love of learning has been a hallmark of the Jewish religion and culture as it is
one of the three principles of faith. Therefore, Jews have stressed education throughout their
history. Today Jewish population is one of the most well-educated groups in the United
States.

Justice: An individual’s responsibility to God and to other people is detailed in Jewish

religious writings as the idea of justice is deeply rooted in the Jews traditions. It is believed
that much of Western civilization established notion of justice is related to the early Jewish
prophets for setting up justice as a main principle for the maintenance of “social order”.

Family and Community: For Jews family is the locus of worship and devotion which
contains of two interrelated families: the larger community of Jews and the person’s
immediate family. Jews share a sense of community with and responsibility for Jews all over
the world. The family is an active participant in Jewish life. Additionally, life is linked to the
larger community by a host of religious traditions and rituals.

Jewish Notions about Death

There are few references to death or an afterlife in traditional Jewish writings; Thus, the main
concern of the Jew is this life and death is seen as a natural process. The role of family and
community is a significant aspect of Jewish notions of death which serves reinforcing identity
with the community of believers.
Islam
Islamic faith is often misperceived through generalizations and oversimplifications due to
media and the difficulty to explain and simplify this religion. Islamic religion is no more prone
to violence than any other religion. It is necessary to learn about Islam due to its statistical and
demographic impact throughout the world that is the second most practiced religion; thus,
contact with a Muslim has become inevitable.

Origins:
History is essential to the study of Islam. The prophet Muhammad received a revelation from
Allah in order to be the messenger of Islam. His religious messages revealed “words from God”
and also established the social order that became Islam. According to Muhammad, community
and religion were one and the same which remains one of the characteristics of Islam today.
The power of Muhammad’s message led to the continuity and growth of Islam in the world.

Core Assumptions
The basic six “core assumptions” that help explain some of the perceptions and actions of
Muslims:

One God: The existence of one God is at the central pronouncement of Islam. Giving even the
smallest share of Allah’s exclusive and unique sovereignty to someone else or another body is
considered the greatest of all sins.

Belief in Angels: In the theology of Islam, angels have a significant role in demonstrating the
power of Allah since they worship and obey only one God.

The Koran: For Muslims, Koran is the most sacred of all texts. It is the infallible Word of God
expressing God’s will for all humankind. Koran has very little narrative as opposed to the
Hebrew Bible and the Christian New Testament. It represents a manual on how to live and
offers counsel concerning spiritual and political topics which makes Islam not only a religion
but a way of life. Koran is the most memorized book in the world and is so venerated by
Muslims.

Submission: Islam is based on the notion of submission in which true Muslims are those who
submitted themselves to Allah and his will.
Predestination: In Islam, everything that happens in life is predestined by the will of Allah. This
conception of “divine Creed” or Al-Qadar is based on four important Islamic principles and is
expressed in the phrase “in sha’a Allah” and the word inshalle. The devout Muslim accepts that
God’s well controls everything.

Judgment: In Islam, present life is only preparation for the afterlife; therefore, it is a kind of
“impending judgment”. The Koran states this crucial core concept in many different places
and in a variety of ways. Heaven awaits people who have followed God’s wishes and were
not hypocrites during their lives.
Five Pillars of Islam
The five pillars of Islam are one of the important core assumptions for Muslims that contain
significant beliefs, values, and perceptions concerning the way Muslims perceive this world
and the next as they specify patterns of worship and prescribe social conduct in detail. The
five pillars of Islam are:

Statement of Beliefs (Shahadah): Or the Profession of Faith which has two elements. The
first element expresses the primary principle of monotheism while the second part strengthens
the Muslim trust in Muhammad; thus, validating the Koran. The next four pillars demand a
series of specific conducts; thus, they are considered as the “action” aspect of Shahadah.
• Although worldview is communicated in a variety of ways (such as secularism and
spirituality), religion is the predominant element of culture from which one’s
worldview is derived.
• Although all religions have some unique features, they share many similarities.
These include, among other things, speculation about the meaning of life, sacred
writings, rituals, and ethics.
• The six most prominent religious traditions are Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism,
Buddhism, and Confucianism. These traditions present their members with
advice on how to live life, and they offer explanations about death