Module 1 – INTRODUCTION TO WORLD RELIGIONS AND BELIEF SYSTEMS 0

Module 1 – INTRODUCTION TO WORLD RELIGIONS AND BELIEF SYSTEMS 1

MODULE 1
INTRODUCTION TO WORLD RELIGIONS AND BELIEF SYSTEMS

This module is designed for the continuity of teaching and learning amidst the
pandemic around the world. It will be your friend in your learning process in the comforts of
your homes. This module covers the most essential competencies formulated by the
Department of Education. The language used in this is the language that could be
understandable to all types of learners.

The module is divided into three lessons, namely:

 Lesson 1 – Belief System or World view
 Lesson 2 – How World Religions Began
 Lesson 3 – Positive and Negative Effect of Religions

 The learner demonstrates understanding of belief system or worldview*, Religion,

Spirituality, Philosophy of Religion, and Theology.
 The learner demonstrates understanding of historical and geographical contexts of the
different religions.
 The learner demonstrates understanding of effects of Religions: positive and negative.

 The learner prepares character sketches of a person who is spiritual but not religious
and a person who is religious but not spiritual.
 The learner conducts a group activity that demonstrates the influence of a religion in a
certain culture.
 The learner gathers print or web-based articles, photos, editorial, etc. showing the
positive or negative effects of religion.

 Differentiate the concept, elements and characteristics of belief system, world view,
religion, and spirituality.
 Analyze the interconnectedness of geography, culture and religions.
 Analyze the influences of religion to culture and society.
Module 1 – INTRODUCTION TO WORLD RELIGIONS AND BELIEF SYSTEMS 2

LESSON 1
BELIEF SYSTEM OR WORLDVIEW

In this lesson, the students should be able to:

1. Give an example of a belief system or a worldview.

2. Differentiate religion from:
i. Spirituality
ii. Theology
iii. Philosophy of Religion.
3. Infer that:
i. a belief system or worldview is a particular way of ordering the realities of
one’s world.
ii. Religion is the pursuit of transformation guided by a sacred belief system.
iii. Spirituality is one’s integrative view of life. It involves a quest for the
meaning and ultimate value of life as opposed to an instrumentalist or
materialistic attitude to life.
4. Recognize the worldview of each of the world’s major religions is critical in
appreciating their rituals and practices.
5. Prepare character sketches of a person who is spiritual but not religious and a
person who is religious but not spiritual.

Let’s find out how you much already know the lesson. Click on the letter that you
think best answers the question. Please answer all items by writing the letter on the
space provided before the number. After taking this short test, you will see your score.
Take note of the items that you were not able to correctly answer and look for the right
answer as you go through this module.

1. Deals with understanding the nature of the Soul and one’s journey back to identifying
with the Soul and experiencing it as one’s true nature.
a. Theology b. Spirituality c. Region

2. It is applicable as a science in all religions and that is therefore neutral is difficult to

distill and determine.
a. Theology b. Spirituality c. Religion

3. Is the philosophical examination of the themes and concepts involved in religious

traditions as well as the broader philosophical task of reflecting on matters of religious
Module 1 – INTRODUCTION TO WORLD RELIGIONS AND BELIEF SYSTEMS 3

significance including the nature of religion itself, alternative concepts of God or ultimate
reality, and the religious significance of general features of the cosmos and of historical
events.
a. Religion b. Theological concept c. Philosophy of religion

4. Religion defines the following, EXCEPT.

a. values, belief, and ideas b. the heritage and the lifestyle of people
c. norms and traditions

5. Religious Study is a discipline that examines the following, EXCEPT.

a. The heritage and the lifestyle of people b. Origin and evolution,
c. Diversity and characteristics of religion.

6. Religion can be defined as a system of beliefs and worships which include the
following, EXCEPT.
a. code of ethics b. tradition c. philosophy of life

7. An organized collection of beliefs, cultural systems, and world views that relate
humanity to an order of existence.
a. Religion b. Theological concept c. Philosophy of religion

8. Some religions are essentially nothing more than list of rules, dos and do not, which a
person must observe in order to be considered a faithful adherent of that religion, and
thereby, right with the God of that religion.
a. True b. False c. Maybe

9. It is the branch of philosophy that is concerned with the philosophical study of religion,
including arguments over the nature and existence of God, religious language, miracles,
prayer, the problem of evil, and the relationship between religion and other value-
systems such as science and ethics.
a. Theology of religion b. Philosophy of theology c. Philosophy of religion

10. Is the set of beliefs about fundamental aspects of Reality that ground and influences
all one perceives thinking, knowing, and doing; it is also referred to as one's philosophy,
philosophy of life, mind-set, and outlook on life, formula for life, ideology, faith, or even
religion.
a. worldview b. theology c. religion
Module 1 – INTRODUCTION TO WORLD RELIGIONS AND BELIEF SYSTEMS 4

Theology
Philosoph
Spirituality y of
Religion
Belief
System or
World
View

The maps shows that the worldview is the set of beliefs about fundamental aspects of Reality
that ground and influences all one perceives thinking, knowing, and doing. One's worldview is
also referred to as one's philosophy, philosophy of life, mind-set, and outlook on life, formula
for life, ideology, faith, or even religion.

Photo Analysis
Module 1 – INTRODUCTION TO WORLD RELIGIONS AND BELIEF SYSTEMS 5

Photo credit: http://thestudyaide.blogspot.com/2017/11/introduction-to-world-religions-belief.html

Upon observing the photo above, what have you noticed? Write your observations
below.

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Name all the religions/belief systems that you know.

Module 1 – INTRODUCTION TO WORLD RELIGIONS AND BELIEF SYSTEMS 6

Do you have a religion or belief?

What do you know about it? What do you want to know?

MY DISCOVERY
Instruction: Read the texts and contexts presented below.

Religion

Religion, human beings’ relation to that which they regard as holy, sacred, absolute,
spiritual, divine, or worthy of special reverence. It is also commonly regarded as consisting of
the way people deal with ultimate concerns about their lives and their fate after death. In many
traditions, this relation and these concerns are expressed in terms of one’s relationship with or
attitude toward gods or spirits; in more humanistic or naturalistic forms of religion, they are
expressed in terms of one’s relationship with or attitudes toward the broader human community
or the natural world. In many religions, texts are deemed to have scriptural status, and people
Module 1 – INTRODUCTION TO WORLD RELIGIONS AND BELIEF SYSTEMS 7

are esteemed to be invested with spiritual or moral authority. Believers and worshippers
participate in and are often enjoined to perform devotional or contemplative practices such as
prayer, meditation, or particular rituals. Worship, moral conduct, right belief, and participation in
religious institutions are among the constituent elements of the religious life.

Religion is an organized collection of beliefs, cultural systems, and world views that
relate humanity to an order of existence. Many religions have narratives, symbols, and sacred
histories that are intended to explain the meaning of life and/or to explain the origin of life or the
Universe. From their beliefs about the cosmos and human nature, people derive morality,
ethics, religious laws or a preferred lifestyle.

According to some estimates, there are roughly 4,200 religions in the world. Many
religions may have organized behaviors, clergy, a definition of what constitutes adherence or
membership, holy places, and scriptures. The practice of a religion may also include rituals,
sermons, commemoration or veneration of a deity, gods or goddesses, sacrifices, festivals,
feasts, trance, initiations, funerary services, matrimonial services, meditation, prayer, music, art,
dance, public service or other aspects of human culture.

Religions may also contain mythology. The word religion is sometimes used
interchangeably with faith, belief system or sometimes set of duties; however, in the words of
Émile Durkheim, religion differs from private belief in that it is "something eminently social."

A global 2012 poll reports that 59% of the world's population is religious, and 36% are
not religious, including 13% who are atheists, with a 9-percent decrease in religious belief from
2005. On average, women are more religious than men. Some people follow multiple religions
or multiple religious principles at the same time, regardless of whether or not the religious
principles they follow traditionally allow for syncretism.

The World Views or Belief Systems

Judaism

Judaism, monotheistic religion developed among

the ancient Hebrews. Judaism is characterized by a belief
in one transcendent God who revealed himself to Abraham,
Moses, and the Hebrew prophets and by a religious life in
accordance with Scriptures and rabbinic traditions. Judaism
is the complex phenomenon of a total way of life for the
Jewish people, comprising theology, law, and innumerable
cultural traditions.
Image & content credit: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Judaism
Module 1 – INTRODUCTION TO WORLD RELIGIONS AND BELIEF SYSTEMS 8

Christianity

Christianity, major religion stemming from the life,

teachings, and death of Jesus of Nazareth (the Christ,
or the Anointed One of God) in the 1st century CE. It
has become the largest of the world’s religions and,
geographically, the most widely diffused of all faiths. It
has a constituency of more than two billion believers.
Its largest groups are the Roman Catholic Church, the
Eastern Orthodox churches, and the Protestant churches. The Oriental Orthodox churches
constitute one of the oldest branches of the tradition but had been out of contact with Western
Christianity and Eastern Orthodoxy from the middle of the 5th century until the late 20th century
because of a dispute over Christology (the doctrine of Jesus Christ’s nature and significance).
Significant movements within the broader Christian world and sometimes transcending
denominational boundaries are Pentecostalism, Charismatic Christianity, Evangelicalism, and
fundamentalism. In addition, there are numerous independent churches throughout the world.
Content credit: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Christianity

Islam

Islam, major world religion promulgated by the

Prophet Muhammad in Arabia in the 7th century CE.
The Arabic term islām, literally “surrender,” illuminates
the fundamental religious idea of Islam—that the
believer (called a Muslim, from the active particle of
islām) accepts surrender to the will of Allah (in Arabic,
Allāh: God). Allah is viewed as the sole God—creator,
sustainer, and restorer of the world. The will of Allah, to which human beings must submit, is
made known through the sacred scriptures, the Qurʾān (often spelled Koran in English), which
Allah revealed to his messenger, Muhammad. In Islam Muhammad is considered the last of a
series of prophets (including Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Solomon, and Jesus), and his
message simultaneously consummates and completes the “revelations” attributed to earlier
prophets.
Image & content credit: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Islam
Module 1 – INTRODUCTION TO WORLD RELIGIONS AND BELIEF SYSTEMS 9

Hinduism

Hinduism, major world religion originating on the

Indian subcontinent and comprising several and
varied systems of philosophy, belief, and ritual.
Although the name Hinduism is relatively new,
having been coined by British writers in the first
decades of the 19th century, it refers to a rich
cumulative tradition of texts and practices, some of
which date to the 2nd millennium BCE or possibly earlier. If the Indus valley civilization (3rd–2nd
millennium BCE) was the earliest source of these traditions, as some scholars hold, then
Hinduism is the oldest living religion on Earth. Its many sacred texts in Sanskrit and vernacular
languages served as a vehicle for spreading the religion to other parts of the world, though ritual
and the visual and performing arts also played a significant role in its transmission. From about
the 4th century CE, Hinduism had a dominant presence in Southeast Asia, one that would last
for more than 1,000 years.
Image & content credit: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Hinduism

Buddhism

Buddhism, religion and philosophy that developed

from the teachings of the Buddha (Sanskrit: “Awakened
One”), a teacher who lived in northern India between the
mid-6th and mid-4th centuries BCE (before the Common
Era). Spreading from India to Central and Southeast Asia,
China, Korea, and Japan, Buddhism has played a central
role in the spiritual, cultural, and social life of Asia, and,
beginning in the 20th century, it spread to the West.
Image & content credit: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Buddhism

Confucianism

Confucianism, the way of life propagated by Confucius in

the 6th–5th century BCE and followed by the Chinese
people for more than two millennia. Although transformed
over time, it is still the substance of learning, the source
of values, and the social code of the Chinese. Its
influence has also extended to other countries,
particularly Korea, Japan, and Vietnam.
Image & content credit: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Confucianism
Module 1 – INTRODUCTION TO WORLD RELIGIONS AND BELIEF SYSTEMS 10

Taoism

Daoism, also spelled Taoism,

indigenous religio-philosophical tradition that
has shaped Chinese life for more than 2,000
years. In the broadest sense, a Daoist attitude
toward life can be seen in the accepting and
yielding, the joyful and carefree sides of the
Chinese character, an attitude that offsets and
complements the moral and duty-conscious,
austere and purposeful character ascribed to
Confucianism. Daoism is also characterized
by a positive, active attitude toward the occult and the metaphysical (theories on the nature of
reality), whereas the agnostic, pragmatic Confucian tradition considers these issues of only
marginal importance, although the reality of such issues is, by most Confucians, not denied.
Image & content credit: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Daoism

Shintoism
Shintō, indigenous religious beliefs and practices of Japan. The
word Shintō, which literally means “the way of kami” (generally
sacred or divine power, specifically the various gods or deities),
came into use in order to distinguish indigenous Japanese
beliefs from Buddhism, which had been introduced into Japan
in the 6th century CE. Shintō has no founder, no official sacred
scriptures in the strict sense, and no fixed dogmas, but it has
preserved its guiding beliefs throughout the ages.
Image & content credit: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Shinto

Spirituality
In Sanskrit, Spirituality is known as Adhyātma. It is derived from two
words Adhi and Ātman (Ātmanahā). Adhi means pertaining to the topic and Ātmā means the
Soul. The Soul is the God principle within each of us and is our true nature. It is the main
component of the subtle body, which is a fractional part of the Supreme God Principle. Its
characteristics are Absolute Truth (Sat), Absolute Consciousness (Chit) and Bliss (Ānand). The
Soul is unaffected by the ups and downs (and the happiness and unhappiness) one
experiences in life as it is perpetually in a blissful state.

Our natural state is to be blissful (which is the nature of the Soul within us) and we all
inherently yearn to be in this state. This is also the reason why we all search for happiness in
Module 1 – INTRODUCTION TO WORLD RELIGIONS AND BELIEF SYSTEMS 11

life and run after various things we think will make us happy. However, as we all know with the
stresses and strains of modern-day living, ‘happiness’ is elusive and fleeting.

Spirituality, thus, deals with understanding the nature of the Soul and one’s journey back
to identifying with the Soul and experiencing it as one’s true nature. Spirituality is the expansive
science about how to be blissful.

The scope of the science of Spirituality is vast and also includes answers to profound
questions such as, ‘who am I’, ‘where did I come from’, ‘what is the purpose of life’, ‘where will I
go after death’, etc.

In Sanskrit, Spirituality or Spiritual science it is called Paravidya (Supreme science),

while all other sciences are called Aparāvidyā meaning inferior science. By ‘science’, we mean
modern science. Rationalists and most people think that science and Spirituality are two
separate disciplines. However, Spirituality is the knowledge of infinity, that is, knowledge of all
subjects. It covers the whole physical world and the subtle unseen world, all the physical and
spiritual regions, all physical and subtle frequencies, energies and vibrations, all positive and
negative entities and all living beings and non-living beings in the whole Universe. Spirituality
contains all the knowledge and memory of the past, present and future, from the beginning to
the end of the Universe.

Theology

The concept of theology that is applicable as a science in all religions and that is
therefore neutral is difficult to distill and determine. The problem lies in the fact that, whereas
theology as a concept had its origins in the tradition of the ancient Greeks, it obtained its content
and method only within Christianity. Thus, theology, because of its peculiarly Christian profile, is
not readily transferable in its narrow sense to any other religion. In its broader thematic
concerns, however, theology as a subject matter is germane to other religions.

The vastness of theological interests and aspects implies that theology can master the
material with which it is confronted only within a broad spectrum of partial disciplines. Since
theology is based on authority (revelation), and since this authority is documented in the
scriptures (especially in Christianity), it is constrained to engage in philological and historical
studies of these sources and, related to these studies, also with hermeneutical (critical
interpretive) questions. This historical task broadens into a concern with the history and tradition
of the religion that a particular theology represents. In this concern many difficult and
controversial questions arise, including whether and to what extent the canon (scriptural
standard) of the sources of revelation is glossed over and modified by tradition and what
normative value the modifying tradition has or should have. These problems play an important
part in the relationship between Protestantism and Catholicism, even though the problems are
also treated independently by each confession
Module 1 – INTRODUCTION TO WORLD RELIGIONS AND BELIEF SYSTEMS 12

Philosophy of Religion

Philosophy of religion is the philosophical examination of the themes and concepts

involved in religious traditions as well as the broader philosophical task of reflecting on matters
of religious significance including the nature of religion itself, alternative concepts of God or
ultimate reality, and the religious significance of general features of the cosmos (e.g., the laws
of nature, the emergence of consciousness) and of historical events (e.g., the 1755 Lisbon
Earthquake, the Holocaust). Philosophy of religion also includes the investigation and
assessment of worldviews (such as secular naturalism) that are alternatives to religious
worldviews. Philosophy of religion involves all the main areas of philosophy: metaphysics,
epistemology, value theory (including moral theory and applied ethics), philosophy of language,
science, history, politics, art, and so on.

Ideally, a guide to the nature and history of philosophy of religion would begin with an
analysis or definition of religion. Unfortunately, there is no current consensus on a precise
identification of the necessary and sufficient conditions of what counts as a religion. We
therefore currently lack a decisive criterion that would enable clear rulings whether some
movements should count as religions (e.g., Scientology or Cargo cults of the Pacific islands).
But while consensus in precise details is elusive, the following general depiction of what counts
as a religion may be helpful:

A religion involves a communal, transmittable body of teachings and prescribed

practices about an ultimate, sacred reality or state of being that calls for reverence or
awe, a body which guides its practitioners into what it describes as a saving, illuminating
or emancipatory relationship to this reality through a personally transformative life of
prayer, ritualized meditation, and/or moral practices like repentance and personal
regeneration. [This is a slightly modified definition of the one for “Religion” in
the Dictionary of Philosophy of Religion, Taliaferro & Marty 2010: 196–197; 2018, 240.]

This definition does not involve some obvious shortcomings such as only counting a
tradition as religious if it involves belief in God or gods, as some recognized religions such as
Buddhism (in its main forms) does not involve a belief in God or gods. Although controversial,
the definition provides some reason for thinking Scientology and the Cargo cults are proto-
religious insofar as these movements do not have a robust communal, transmittable body of
teachings and meet the other conditions for being a religion. (So, while both examples are not
decisively ruled out as religions, it is perhaps understandable that in Germany, Scientology is
labeled a “sect”, whereas in France it is classified as “a cult”.) For a discussion of other
definitions of religion, see Taliaferro 2009, chapter one, and for a recent, different analysis, see
Graham Oppy 2018, chapter three. But rather than devoting more space to definitions at the
outset, a pragmatic policy will be adopted: for the purpose of this entry, it will be assumed that
those traditions that are widely recognized today as religions are, indeed, religions. It will be
Module 1 – INTRODUCTION TO WORLD RELIGIONS AND BELIEF SYSTEMS 13

assumed, then, that religions include (at least) Hinduism, Buddhism, Daoism, Confucianism,
Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and those traditions that are like them. This way of delimiting a
domain is sometimes described as employing a definition by examples (an ostensive definition)
or making an appeal to a family resemblance between things. It will also be assumed that
Greco-Roman views of gods, rituals, the afterlife, the soul, are broadly “religious” or “religiously
significant”. Given the pragmatic, open-ended use of the term “religion” the hope is to avoid
beginning our inquiry with a procrustean bed.

Given the above, broad perspective of what counts as religion, the roots of what we
call philosophy of religion stretch back to the earliest forms of philosophy. From the outset,
philosophers in Asia, the Near and Middle East, North Africa, and Europe reflected on the gods
or God, duties to the divine, the origin and nature of the cosmos, an afterlife, the nature of
happiness and obligations, whether there are sacred duties to family or rulers, and so on. As
with each of what would come to be considered sub-fields of philosophy today (like philosophy
of science, philosophy of art), philosophers in the Ancient world addressed religiously significant
themes (just as they took up reflections on what we call science and art) in the course of their
overall practice of philosophy. While from time to time in the Medieval era, some Jewish,
Christian, and Islamic philosophers sought to demarcate philosophy from theology or religion,
the evident role of philosophy of religion as a distinct field of philosophy does not seem apparent
until the mid-twentieth century. A case can be made, however, that there is some hint of the
emergence of philosophy of religion in the seventeenth century philosophical movement
Cambridge Platonism. Ralph Cudworth (1617–1688), Henry More (1614–1687), and other
members of this movement were the first philosophers to practice philosophy in English; they
introduced in English many of the terms that are frequently employed in philosophy of religion
today, including the term “philosophy of religion”, as well as “theism”, “consciousness”, and
“materialism”. The Cambridge Platonists provided the first English versions of the cosmological,
ontological, and teleological arguments, reflections on the relationship of faith and reason, and
the case for tolerating different religions. While the Cambridge Platonists might have been the
first explicit philosophers of religion, for the most part, their contemporaries and successors
addressed religion as part of their overall work. There is reason, therefore, to believe that
philosophy of religion only gradually emerged as a distinct sub-field of philosophy in the mid-
twentieth century. (For an earlier date, see James Collins’ stress on Hume, Kant and Hegel
in The Emergence of Philosophy of Religion, 1967.)

Today, philosophy of religion is one of the most vibrant areas of philosophy. Articles in
philosophy of religion appear in virtually all the main philosophical journals, while some journals
(such as the International Journal for Philosophy of Religion, Religious Studies, Sophia, Faith
and Philosophy, and others) are dedicated especially to philosophy of religion. Philosophy of
religion is in evidence at institutional meetings of philosophers (such as the meetings of the
American Philosophical Association and of the Royal Society of Philosophy). There are
societies dedicated to the field such as the Society for Philosophy of Religion (USA) and the
British Society for Philosophy of Religion and the field is supported by multiple centers such as
Module 1 – INTRODUCTION TO WORLD RELIGIONS AND BELIEF SYSTEMS 14

the Center for Philosophy of Religion at the University of Notre Dame, the Rutgers Center for
Philosophy of Religion, the Centre for the Philosophy of Religion at Glasgow University, The
John Hick Centre for Philosophy of Religion at the University of Birmingham, and other sites
(such as the University of Roehampton and Nottingham University). Oxford University Press
published in 2009 The History of Western Philosophy of Religion in five volumes involving over
100 contributors (Oppy & Trakakis 2009), and the Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of Philosophy
of Religion in five volumes, with over 350 contributors from around the world, is scheduled for
publication by 2021. What accounts for this vibrancy? Consider four possible reasons.

First: The religious nature of the world population. Most social research on religion
supports the view that the majority of the world’s population is either part of a religion or
influenced by religion (see the Pew Research Center online). To engage in philosophy of
religion is therefore to engage in a subject that affects actual people, rather than only
tangentially touching on matters of present social concern. Perhaps one of the reasons why
philosophy of religion is often the first topic in textbook introductions to philosophy is that this is
one way to propose to readers that philosophical study can impact what large numbers of
people actually think about life and value. The role of philosophy of religion in engaging real life
beliefs (and doubts) about religion is perhaps also evidenced by the current popularity of books
for and against theism in the UK and USA.
One other aspect of religious populations that may motivate philosophy of religion is that
philosophy is a tool that may be used when persons compare different religious traditions.
Philosophy of religion can play an important role in helping persons understand and evaluate
different religious traditions and their alternatives.

Second: Philosophy of religion as a field may be popular because of the overlapping

interests found in both religious and philosophical traditions. Both religious and philosophical
thinking raise many of the same, fascinating questions and possibilities about the nature of
reality, the limits of reason, the meaning of life, and so on. Are there good reasons for believing
in God? What is good and evil? What is the nature and scope of human knowledge?
In Hinduism; A Contemporary Philosophical Investigation (2018), Shyam Ranganathan argues
that in Asian thought philosophy and religion are almost inseparable such that interest in the
one supports an interest in the other.

Third, studying the history of philosophy provides ample reasons to have some expertise
in philosophy of religion. In the West, the majority of ancient, medieval, and modern
philosophers philosophically reflected on matters of religious significance. Among these modern
philosophers, it would be impossible to comprehensively engage their work without looking at
their philosophical work on religious beliefs: René Descartes (1596–1650), Thomas Hobbes
(1588–1679), Anne Conway (1631–1679), Baruch Spinoza (1632–1677), Margaret Cavendish
(1623–1673), Gottfried Leibniz (1646–1716), John Locke (1632–1704), George Berkeley (1685–
1753), David Hume (1711–1776), Immanuel Kant (1724–1804), and G.W.F. Hegel (1770–1831)
(the list is partial). And in the twentieth century, one should make note of the important
Module 1 – INTRODUCTION TO WORLD RELIGIONS AND BELIEF SYSTEMS 15

philosophical work by Continental philosophers on matters of religious significance: Martin

Heidegger (1889–1976), Jean-Paul Sartre (1905–1980), Simone de Beauvoir (1908–1986),
Albert Camus (1913–1960), Gabriel Marcel (1889–1973), Franz Rosenzweig (1886–1929),
Martin Buber (1878–1956), Emmanuel Levinas (1906–1995), Simone Weil (1909–1943) and,
more recently Jacques Derrida (1930–2004), Michel Foucault (1926–1984), and Luce Irigary
(1930–). Evidence of philosophers taking religious matters seriously can also be found in cases
of when thinkers who would not (normally) be classified as philosophers of religion have
addressed religion, including A.N. Whitehead (1861–1947), Bertrand Russell (1872–1970), G.E.
Moore (1873–1958), John Rawls (1921–2002), Bernard Williams (1929–2003), Hilary Putnam
(1926–2016), Derek Parfit (1942–2017), Thomas Nagel (1937–), Jürgen Habermas (1929–),
and others.

In Chinese and Indian philosophy there is an even greater challenge than in the West to
distinguish important philosophical and religious sources of philosophy of religion. It would be
difficult to classify Nagarjuna (150–250 CE) or Adi Shankara (788–820 CE) as exclusively
philosophical or religious thinkers. Their work seems as equally important philosophically as it is
religiously (see Ranganathan 2018).

Fourth, a comprehensive study of theology or religious studies also provides good

reasons to have expertise in philosophy of religion. As just observed, Asian philosophy and
religious thought are intertwined and so the questions engaged in philosophy of religion seem
relevant: what is space and time? Are there many things or one reality? Might our empirically
observable world be an illusion? Could the world be governed by Karma? Is reincarnation
possible? In terms of the West, there is reason to think that even the sacred texts of the
Abrahamic faith involve strong philosophical elements: In Judaism, Job is perhaps the most
explicitly philosophical text in the Hebrew Bible. The wisdom tradition of each Abrahamic faith
may reflect broader philosophical ways of thinking; the Christian New Testament seems to
include or address Platonic themes (the Logos, the soul and body relationship). Much of Islamic
thought includes critical reflection on Plato, Aristotle, Plotinus, as well as independent
philosophical work.

Let us now turn to the way philosophers have approached the meaning of religious
beliefs.

Forms of Religious Belief

Theism:
The belief in the existence of one or more divinities or deities, which exist within the
universe and yet transcend it. These gods also in some way interact with the universe (unlike
Deism), and are often considered to be omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent. The word
"theism" was first coined in the 17th Century to contrast with Atheism. Christianity, Hinduism,
Islam, Judaism, Sikhism, Baha'i and Zoroastrianism are all theistic religions.
Module 1 – INTRODUCTION TO WORLD RELIGIONS AND BELIEF SYSTEMS 16

Monotheism:
The view that only one God exists. The Abrahamic faiths (Judaism, Christianity and
Islam), as well as Plato's concept of God, all affirm monotheism, and this is the usual
conception debated within Western Philosophy. Jews, Christians and Muslims would probably
all agree that God is an eternally existent being that exists apart from space and time, who is
the creator of the universe, and is omnipotent (all-powerful), omniscient (all-knowing),
omnibenevolent (all-good or all-loving) and possibly omnipresent (all-present). The religions,
however, differ in the details: Christians, for example, would further affirm that there are three
aspects to God (the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit).

o Exclusive Monotheism: The belief that there is only one deity, and that all other
claimed deities are distinct from it and false. The Abrahamic religions, and the
Hindu denomination of Vaishnavism (which regards the worship of anyone other
than Vishnu as incorrect) are examples of Exclusive Monotheism.

o Inclusive monotheism: The belief that there is only one deity, and that all other
claimed deities are just different names for it. The Hindu denomination of
Smartism is an example of Inclusive Monotheism.

o Substance Monotheism: The belief (found in some indigenous African religions)

that the many gods are just different forms of a single underlying substance.

Pantheism:
The belief that God is equivalent to Nature or the physical universe, or that everything is
of an all-encompassing immanent abstract God. The concept has been discussed as far back
as the time of the philosophers of Ancient Greece, including Thales, Parmenides and Heraclitus.
Baruch Spinoza also believed in a kind of naturalistic pantheism in which the universe, although
unconscious and non-sentient as a whole, is a meaningful focus for mystical fulfillment.

Panentheism:
The belief (also known as Monistic Monotheism), similar to Pantheism, that the physical
universe is joined to God, but stressing that God is greater than (rather than equivalent to) the
universe. Thus, the one God interpenetrates every part of nature, and timelessly extends
beyond as well. The universe is part of God, but not all of God. The word (which can be
translated as "all in God") was coined by the German philosopher Karl Christian Friedrich
Krause (1781–1832) in 1828 in an attempt to reconcile Monotheism and Pantheism.

Deism:
A form of monotheism in which it is believed that one God exists, but that this God does
not intervene in the world, or interfere with human life and the laws of the universe. It posits a
Module 1 – INTRODUCTION TO WORLD RELIGIONS AND BELIEF SYSTEMS 17

non-interventionist creator who permits the universe to run itself according to natural laws.
Deism derives the existence and nature of God from reason and personal experience, rather
than relying on revelation in sacred scriptures or the testimony of others, and can maybe best
be described as a basic belief rather than as a religion in itself. The roots of Deism lie with
Heraclitus and Plato, but it was also popular with the natural theologists of 17th Century France
and, particularly, Britain, who rejected any special or supposedly supernatural revelation of God.

o Pandeism: The belief that God preceded the universe and created it, but is now
equivalent to it - a composite of Deism and Pantheism.

o Panendeism is a composite of Deism and Panentheism. It holds that, while the

universe is part of God, it operates according to natural mechanisms without the
need for the intervention of a traditional God, somewhat similar to the Native
American concept of the all- pervading Great Spirit.

o Polydeism: The belief that multiple gods exist, but do not intervene with the
universe - a composite of Deism and Polytheism.

Misotheism:
The belief that a God or gods exist, but that they are actually evil. The English word was
coined by Thomas de Quincey in 1846. Strictly speaking, the term connotes an attitude of
hatred towards the god or gods, rather than making a statement about their nature.

Dystheism:
The belief that a God or gods exist, but that they are not wholly good, or possibly even
evil (as opposed to eutheism, the belief that God exists and is wholly good). Trickster gods
found in polytheistic belief systems often have a dystheistic nature, and there are various
examples of arguable dystheism in the Bible.

Ditheism (or Duotheism):

The belief in two equally powerful gods, often, but not always, with complementary
properties and in constant opposition, such as God and Goddess in Wicca, or Good and Evil in
Zoroastrianism and Manichaeism. The early mystical religion Gnosticism is another example of
a ditheistic belief of sorts, due to their claim that the thing worshipped as God in this world is
actually an evil impostor, but that a true benevolent deity worthy of being called "God" exists
beyond this world.

Polytheism:
The belief in, or worship of, multiple gods (usually assembled in a pantheon). These
gods are often seen as similar to humans (anthropomorphic) in their personality traits, but with
Module 1 – INTRODUCTION TO WORLD RELIGIONS AND BELIEF SYSTEMS 18

additional individual powers, abilities, knowledge or perceptions. Hard Polytheism views the
gods as being distinct and separate beings, such as in Ancient Greek Mythology. Soft
Polytheism views the gods as being subsumed into a greater whole, as in most forms of
Hinduism.

o Henotheism: The devotion to a single god while accepting the existence of other
gods, and without denying that others can with equal truth worship different gods.
It has been called "monotheism in principle and polytheism in fact".

o Monolatrism (or Monolatry): The belief in the existence of many gods, but with
the consistent worship of only one deity. Unlike Henotheism, Monolatrism asserts
that there is only one god who is worthy of worship, though other gods are known
to exist.

o Kathenotheism: The belief that there is more than one deity, but only one deity at
a time should be worshipped, each being supreme in turn.

Animism:
The belief that souls inhabit all or most objects (whether they be animals, vegetables or
minerals). Animistic religions generally do not accept a sharp distinction between spirit and
matter, and assume that this unification of matter and spirit plays a role in daily life. Early
Shintoism was animistic in nature, as are many indigenous African religions. Shamanism
(communication with the spirit world) and Ancestor Worship (worship of deceased family
members, who are believed to have a continued existence and influence) are similar categories.

Atheism (or Nontheism):

The belief that gods do not exist, or a complete rejection of Theism in any form. Some
atheists argue a lack of empirical evidence for the existence of deities, while others argue for
Atheism on philosophical, social or historical grounds. Many atheists tend toward secular
philosophies such as Humanism and Naturalism. Atheism may be implicit (someone who has
never thought about belief in gods) or explicit (someone who has made an assertion, either
weak or strong, regarding their lack of belief in gods). Confucianism, Taoism, Jainism and some
varieties of Buddhism, either do not include belief in a personal god as a tenet of the religion, or
actively teach nontheism.

Agnosticism:
The belief that the nature and existence of gods is unknown and cannot ever be known
or proven. Technically, this position is strong agnosticism: in popular usage, an agnostic may
just be someone who takes no position, pro or con, on the existence of gods, or who has not yet
been able to decide, or who suspends judgment due to lack of evidence one way or the other
(weak agnosticism). The earliest professed agnostic was Protagoras, although the term itself,
Module 1 – INTRODUCTION TO WORLD RELIGIONS AND BELIEF SYSTEMS 19

which literally means "without knowledge", was not coined until the 1880s by T. H. Huxley (1825
- 1895).

Humanism:
Humanism is more an ethical process, not a dogma about the existence or otherwise of
gods. But in general terms, it rejects the validity of transcendental justifications, such as a
dependence on belief without reason, the supernatural, or texts of allegedly divine origin. It is
therefore generally compatible with Atheism and Agnosticism, but does not require these, and
can be compatible with some religions. To some extent, it supplements or supplants the role of
religions, and can be considered in some ways as "equivalent" to a religion.

MY EXPLANATON
I-Short Essay. Below are personal questions, please provide a comprehensive answer
to the questions by writing your answers on the space provided after each question.

What is the right religion? What is true religion?

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Where do you find meaning?

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How do you feel connected?

Module 1 – INTRODUCTION TO WORLD RELIGIONS AND BELIEF SYSTEMS 20

______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
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How should you live?

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What practices or rituals should you follow?

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What is right and wrong?

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Module 1 – INTRODUCTION TO WORLD RELIGIONS AND BELIEF SYSTEMS 21

______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
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______________________________________________________________________

What is true and false?

______________________________________________________________________
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II- Give an example of a belief system or a worldview, and explain it in your own
words.
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III- Compare and Contrast. Make a simple diagram that compares and contrasts the
following below.

Differentiate religion in your own words from:

i. Spirituality
ii. Theology
iii. Philosophy of Religion.
Module 1 – INTRODUCTION TO WORLD RELIGIONS AND BELIEF SYSTEMS 22

MY CHARACTER SKETCH
Instruction: Prepare character sketches of a person who is spiritual but not religious
and a person who is religious but not spiritual. Present it in a creative way inside the box.
Module 1 – INTRODUCTION TO WORLD RELIGIONS AND BELIEF SYSTEMS 23

Criteria to be followed:
Content 20 points
Organization 10 points
Creativity 15 points
Mechanics 5 points

TOTAL 50 points

DEEPENING MY COGNITIVE ASPECT

Instruction: Write a comprehensive essay to the following questions below.

1. How belief system or world views organize your world?

Module 1 – INTRODUCTION TO WORLD RELIGIONS AND BELIEF SYSTEMS 24

2. How your sacred belief system creates your religion?

3. Does spirituality functions as integrative view of life? Why?

Module 1 – INTRODUCTION TO WORLD RELIGIONS AND BELIEF SYSTEMS 25

I- Recognize the worldview of each of the world’s major religions and list down their
rituals and practices

Religion Worldview Ritual and Practices

Judaism

Catholicism

Islam
Module 1 – INTRODUCTION TO WORLD RELIGIONS AND BELIEF SYSTEMS 26

Hinduism

Confucianism

Taoism

Shintoism

In this lesson, you have learned that:

 Religion can define culture, in that, it can affect a culture in many ways. Religion
defines the values, the belief, the ideas, the heritage and the lifestyle of a people; all
of which are components of culture.
 Religious Studies is a discipline which examines the origin, evolution, diversity and
characteristics of religion.
 Religion can be defined as a system of beliefs and worships which include a code of
ethics and philosophy of life.
Module 1 – INTRODUCTION TO WORLD RELIGIONS AND BELIEF SYSTEMS 27

 Some religions are essentially nothing more than list of rules, dos and do not, which
a person must observe in order to be considered a faithful adherent of that religion,
and thereby, right with the God of that religion.
 Philosophy of religion is the branch of philosophy that is concerned with the
philosophical study of religion, including arguments over the nature and existence of
God, religious language, miracles, prayer, the problem of evil, and the relationship
between religion and other value-systems such as science and ethics.

Instruction: Identify the following. Write your answers on the space provided after the number.

1. ____________ is characterized by a belief in one transcendent God who revealed

himself to Abraham, Moses, and the Hebrew prophets and by a religious life in
accordance with Scriptures and rabbinic traditions.
2. ____________ is major religion stemming from the life, teachings, and death of Jesus of
Nazareth (the Christ, or the Anointed One of God) in the 1st century CE.
3. ____________ is the way of life propagated by Confucius in the 6th–5th century BCE
and followed by the Chinese people for more than two millennia. Although transformed
over time, it is still the substance of learning, the source of values, and the social code of
the Chinese.
4. ____________ The belief in, or worship of, multiple gods (usually assembled in a
pantheon).
5. ____________ The belief that a God or gods exist, but that they are actually evil.
6. ____________ The belief that God is equivalent to Nature or the physical universe, or
that everything is of an all-encompassing immanent abstract God. le, is a meaningful
focus for mystical fulfillment.
7. ____________ The belief that God preceded the universe and created it, but is now
equivalent to it - a composite of Deism and Pantheism.
8. ____________ The belief that multiple gods exist, but do not intervene with the universe
- a composite of Deism and Polytheism.
9. ____________ The belief that souls inhabit all or most objects (whether they be animals,
vegetables or minerals).
10. ____________ The belief that the nature and existence of gods is unknown and cannot
ever be known or proven.
11. ____________ The belief that there is only one deity, and that all other claimed deities
are just different names for it.
12. ____________, indigenous religio-philosophical tradition that has shaped Chinese life
for more than 2,000 years.
13. ____________, indigenous religious beliefs and practices of Japan; which literally
means “the way of kami” (generally sacred or divine power, specifically the various gods
Module 1 – INTRODUCTION TO WORLD RELIGIONS AND BELIEF SYSTEMS 28

or deities), came into use in order to distinguish indigenous Japanese beliefs from
Buddhism, which had been introduced into Japan in the 6th century CE.
14. ____________, major world religion originating on the Indian subcontinent and
comprising several and varied systems of philosophy, belief, and ritual
15. ____________, major world religion promulgated by the Prophet Muhammad in Arabia
in the 7th century CE.
16. ____________, religion and philosophy that developed from the teachings of the
Buddha (Sanskrit: “Awakened One”), a teacher who lived in northern India between the
mid-6th and mid-4th centuries BCE (before the Common Era).
17. ____________, where human beings’ relation to that which they regard as holy, sacred,
absolute, spiritual, divine, or worthy of especial reverence.
18. ____________A form of monotheism in which it is believed that one God exists, but that
this God does not intervene in the world, or interfere with human life and the laws of the
universe.
19. ____________is a composite of Deism and Panentheism. It holds that, while the
universe is part of God, it operates according to natural mechanisms without the need
for the intervention of a traditional God, somewhat similar to the Native American
concept of the all- pervading Great Spirit.
20. ____________is an organized collection of beliefs, cultural systems, and world views
that relate humanity to an order of existence.
21. ____________is known as Adhyātma. It is derived from two
words Adhi and Ātman (Ātmanahā). Adhi means pertaining to the topic and Ātmā means
the Soul.
22. ____________is more an ethical process, not a dogma about the existence or otherwise
of gods. But in general terms, it rejects the validity of transcendental justifications, such
as a dependence on belief without reason, the supernatural, or texts of allegedly divine
origin.
23. ____________is the philosophical examination of the themes and concepts involved in
religious traditions as well as the broader philosophical task of reflecting on matters of
religious significance including the nature of religion itself, alternative concepts of God or
ultimate reality, and the religious significance of general features of the cosmos (e.g., the
laws of nature, the emergence of consciousness) and of historical events (e.g., the 1755
Lisbon Earthquake, the Holocaust
24. ____________may also contain mythology. It is sometimes used interchangeably with
faith, belief system or sometimes set of duties.
25. ____________The belief (also known as Monistic Monotheism), similar to Pantheism,
that the physical universe is joined to God, but stressing that God is greater than (rather
than equivalent to) the universe.
26. ____________The belief (found in some indigenous African religions) that the many
gods are just different forms of a single underlying substance.
Module 1 – INTRODUCTION TO WORLD RELIGIONS AND BELIEF SYSTEMS 29

27. ____________The belief in the existence of many gods, but with the consistent worship
of only one deity. Unlike Henotheism; this asserts that there is only one god who is
worthy of worship, though other gods are known to exist.
28. ____________The belief in the existence of one or more divinities or deities, which exist
within the universe and yet transcend it.
29. ____________The belief in two equally powerful gods, often, but not always, with
complementary properties and in constant opposition, such as God and Goddess in
Wicca, or Good and Evil in Zoroastrianism and Manichaeism.
30. ____________The belief that a God or gods exist, but that they are not wholly good, or
possibly even evil (as opposed to eutheism, the belief that God exists and is wholly
good).
31. ____________The belief that gods do not exist, or a complete rejection of Theism in any
form. Some atheists argue a lack of empirical evidence for the existence of deities, while
others argue for Atheism on philosophical, social or historical grounds.
32. ____________The belief that there is more than one deity, but only one deity at a time
should be worshipped, each being supreme in turn.
33. ____________The belief that there is only one deity, and that all other claimed deities
are distinct from it and false.
34. ____________The devotion to a single god while accepting the existence of other gods,
and without denying that others can with equal truth worship different gods. It has been
called "monotheism in principle and polytheism in fact".
35. ____________The view that only one God exists.

Book
3G Elearning FZ LLC. (2017). Introduction to World Relgions and Belief Systems. UAE: 3G
Elearning FZ LLC.

Weblinks

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Unknown. (2017, November 16). Introduction to world religions & belief Systems Cg.
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Module 1 – INTRODUCTION TO WORLD RELIGIONS AND BELIEF SYSTEMS 30

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