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Introduction to
World Religions
and Belief
Systems
Quarter 1 – Module 1:
UNDERSTANDING THE NATURE
OF RELIGION

ALLISON J. MANANTAN
SHS Teacher II
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Introduction to
World Religions
and Belief
Systems
Quarter 1 – Module 1:
Understanding the Nature of
Religion

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Table of Contents

LESSON 1 : UNDERSTANDING THE NATURE OF RELIGION

Introduction ………………………………………………………. 5
Pre-Test ………………………………………………………. 5-6
Discussion ………………………………………………………. 6-9
Summary ………………………………………………………. 9
Developmental Activity ………………………………………………………. 9
Assessment ………………………………………………………. 10
Developmental Activity ………………………………………………………. 11
Answer Key ………………………………………………………. 12-13
References ………………………………………………………. 13

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 Lesson
Understanding the Nature of
1 Religion

Objectives: After going through this module, you are expected to:
1. Explain the concept of religion;
2. Identify the different kinds of belief systems;
3. Explain the origin of religion;
4. Give an example of a belief system or a worldview;
5. Differentiate religion from spirituality, theology and philosophy of religion;
6. Analyze the elements of religion; and
7. Prepare character sketches of a person who is spiritual but not religious and
a person who is religious but not spiritual.

Introduction
What does it mean to be religious and spiritual? Why is religion linked into
humankind’s quest to search for the real meaning of life and death? As well known,
when one prays, he or she seeks actively an affinity to divine beings or
supernatural entities that are beyond the purely natural world. The picture below
is a clear depiction of an act of prayer. Majority of world religions follow a set of
prayers in the form of chants, mantras, or creed. Weather you pray or not, you may
have witnessed the influential roles being played by religions all over the world.
Understanding the nature of religion enlightens leaners about the common
grounds that binds believers into examining the questions of life and death and
why or how persons yearn for spiritual inspiration. Recognizing the inherent
characteristics of religion provide the opportunity to deeply grasp the many beliefs
and practices that mold humankind’s spiritual needs.

Pre-Test
Directions: Search up, down, forward, backward and on the diagonal to find the
hidden words. Hidden words to find:
Polytheism Origin Spirituality Belief
Philosophy Worldview Theology Life
Monotheism Supernatural

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Discussion
UNDERSTANDING BELIEFS AND WORLDVIEWS
Every individual sees and interprets the world quite differently from one
another. This overall perspective is also termed worldview which is a collection of
beliefs about life and the universe being held by people (The Free Dictionary 2014).
For a certain individual, social environment and upbringing are critical in
development of religious life. All these factors have an effect on how people
organized their belief and ideas while eventually creating a comprehensive narrative
through which they look at the world and interrelate with it.
Belief in God or Gods is found in almost all religion. There is a good reason
to presuppose that religion had existed during prehistoric time and this has
continued to the modern day. Human life may have produced hundreds of religions
and belief systems. There could be more unknown than known religions in the
world since recorded history covers only several thousand years of human
existence.
Likewise, many may have lived and died within just a short period of time.
Table 1.1 enumerates the different kinds of belief systems or worldviews.
Kinds Description
Monism There is no real distinction between
god and universe
Polytheism The belief and worship of many gods
Monotheism The doctrine of belief in one Supreme
God
Atheism Disbelief in/or denial of the existence
of a personal god
Agnosticism God cannot be known

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 Theism, often used as a synonym of monotheism, is defined as “a belief in
existence of one god viewed as the creative source of human race and the world
who transcends yet is immanent in the world” (Merriam-Webster Dictionary 2014).
Monotheistic religions claim that there is only one god who could have designed and
created the universe or may have directed all events that led to the creation of
everything. There is one supreme god who is both personal and moral and who
seeks a total or unqualified response from humans (Hick 1990). Modern-day
examples of monotheistic religions include Judaism, Christianity and Islam. On the
other hand, Polytheistic Religion that are common among early people recognize
many principal gods among whom no one is supreme. These include the ancient
religion of Egypt, Greece and Rome wherein people has a multitude of personal
gods.
Meanwhile, Monism asserts that there is no genuine distinction between god
and the universe. Two implications arise from this belief. First, it contends that god
is dwelling in the universe as part of it. Second, the universe does not exist at all as
a reality but only a manifestation of God.
Furthermore, while atheists deny the existence of God, the agnostics deny
the possibility for man to acquire knowledge of the existence of God.
DEFINITION AND NATURE OF RELIGION
Religion may be defined as “an organized system of beliefs, and rules used to
worship a god or a group of gods” (Merriam-Webster Dictionary 2014). The Latin
word religio refers to “something done with overanxious or scrupulous attention to
detail”. This term may have probably been derived from the Latin verb religare
which means “to tie together, to bind fast”.
In its original sense, the word refers to expression of proper piety, that is,
binding to god (Grassie 2010).Later, religion was used to designate formal belief
system and tenets. The term was eventually applied to what we now call as religion
because of the manner in which people performed ritual during those days. While
religion maybe universal in all stages of human history, it does not follow that all
individuals are religious or even religious to some degree (Parrinder 1971).
ORIGIN OF RELIGION
Since the nineteenth century, people began to show great interest in
explaining the origin of religion. In fact, numerous theories have been postulated to
explain the origin of religion while looking at primitive societies for ideas concerning
the development of belief system (Hendry 1999).
Archaeologist believed that they have discovered elements of religious belief
practiced by Homo sapiens almost 60,000 years ago. Apart from burying the dead,
various items such as foods, tools, and other objects were placed inside the site. All
these rituals implies reverence to their love ones and perhaps the thought that the
dead will utilize these materials in the afterlife. While they believe in the presence of
supernatural entities, they also tried to communicate with them (Ember and Ember
1996).
Various explanations have surfaced that somehow tend to simplify or even
denigrate primitive religions. Others maintain that since early humans are weak
and ignorant to different forces of nature, they had to invent religion to explain the
seemingly unexplainable mystery and fury of nature. In the process, they have to
create a scheme of deities and spirits. Still others contend that religion was
conceived by the few to stifle and repress the ideas of the masses (Hopfe 1983).

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 The nineteenth century witnessed the development of the fields of the social
sciences that enabled scholars to apply a more scientific way of explaining
phenomena rather that speculate on the matters concerning the origin of religion.
Through field research, observations, and analysis of historical documents,
scholars formulated a number of theories that have endured well into the present
time.
EXPLORING SPIRITUALITY
A comparative analysis of major religions reveals that an important
characteristic of their belief system focuses on the longing for value in life
(Parrinder 1971). For thousands of years, people have been searching and yearning
to understand the mystery of life and the universe. There may come a point in time
when an individual realizes that life is not entirely accidental and meaningless
(Parrider 1971). This is where the concept of spirituality comes in with the term
“spiritual” being defined as “relating or affecting the human spirit or soul as oppose
to material or physical things” (Oxford Dictionaries 2014). One author points out
that it is quite common for people to say that they are “spiritual” no “religious”
(Grassie 2010). Spirituality may be manifested in quite a number of ways. For
example, a person may believe in the presence of an overwhelming power greater
than oneself or perhaps a person can be fully mindful of one’s purpose in life. That
person can also have a feeling of oneness or a bond with other living beings.
While spirituality is derived from a latin word spiritus, its verb root is spirare
which means “to breathe” literally. There is an impression that people are
surrounded by a “divine reality as pervasive, intimate, necessary and invisible as
the air we breathe which is similar to the Hindu prana and Chinese chi. (Grassie
2010).
While religions are frequently viewed as set of ideas practiced and followed
by organized groups, “spirituality is something an individual can have without
being implicated in the ambivalent complexity of human societies and institutions”
(Grassie 2010). Although traditional spirituality is frequently associated with
religiosity, many people assert that personal spirituality can grow separately from
religion. One may find inner peace, satisfaction and contentment in life that are
truly independent of religious dogmas and tenets.
In the study of religion, there are basic concepts that need to be understood
such as theology, philosophy of religion and spirituality. While religion refers to any
set of attitudes, beliefs and practices concerning a supernatural power-theology
involves the systematic study of the existence and nature of the divine. It deals with
the study of the nature and purpose of god that may be undertaken using a
particular perspective. Theology is a study, not a formulation of a religious beliefs.
On the other hand, philosophy of religion deals primarily with issues
concerning religion, which includes analysis on the existence of a divine being or
on sacred texts. It may involve the studying of the “concepts of belief systems of the
religions as well as the prior phenomena of religious experience and the activities of
worship and meditation on which these belief systems rest and out of which they
have arisen. It seeks to analyze various concepts such as god, spirit, karma,
creation, immortality, heaven, hell and purgatory among others. Philosophy of
religion is not a branch of theology but a branch of philosophy. It is said that this
particular study need not be undertaken from a religious perspective at all because
atheist, agnostics and the person of faith can and do philosophize religion (Hick
1990).

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 Meanwhile, spirituality is something an individual can have without being
implicated in the ambivalent complexity of human societies and institutions
(Grassie 2010). Thus, spirituality can be described as one’s integrative view of life
and involves a quest for the meaning and ultimate value of life as opposed to an
instrumentalist or materialistic attitude to life. Hence, one can be spiritual without
being religious.

Summary
 Religion may refer to any set of attitudes, beliefs and practices aimed at
communicating or propitiating with supernatural being controlling power
(such as god or spirits) that seeks worship and obedience from them.
 Various theories have been formulated that try to explain the origins of the
religions. Religion may have originated in response to human’s need to
explain their dreams and experience as well as the need to understand the
different forces of nature, especially so that human may have faced pain and
ignorance in their daily struggle for existence in early times.
 While religions are frequently viewed as sets of ideas practiced and followed
by organized groups, spiritually involves one’s integrative view of life that is
more personal while affecting the human soul.

Developmental Activity
Directions: Write an essay on the topic “RELIGION: Its Meaning for Me” guided by
the following questions:
a. What values have your religion instilled in you?
b. What principles in life which may have been influenced by your religion do
you adhere in your life?
Criteria Description Points Points obtained
Content The content was well-thought of; 8
guide questions were thoroughly
answered
Organization The paper was well-written with 6
ideas easily conveyed to readers.
Development Points are thoroughly developed 6
TOTAL: 20

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Assessment
I. Directions: Challenge yourself by arranging the jumbled letter words.
Write your answer on the space provided before each number.

________________ 1. PIULYTIASRTI ________________ 7. ODDEESSSG

________________ 2. RSEACITCP ________________8.PEISMTHYLO
________________ 3. ELNOGIIR ________________ 9. DETIY
________________ 4. BIFELE ________________ 10. HEOOGYLT
________________ 5. WRDWEIVLO ________________ 11. HILSOYHPOP
________________ 6. ODG ________________ 12. MNOSMTEIHO

II. Directions: Identify what is being described. Choose your answer on the
box below and write your answer on the space provided before each
number.

Monism Religion Theism Atheism

Worldview Spirituality Polytheism Agnosticism

__________________ 1.It is an organized system of beliefs, ceremonies and rules

used to worship a god or a group of gods.
__________________ 2. It refers to a disbelief in or denial of the existence of a
personal god.
__________________ 3. It is derived from the Latin word ‘spiritus’, its verb root is
spirare which means to breathe literally.
.
__________________ 4.It asserts that there is no genuine distinction between God
and the universe.
__________________ 5. It is often used as a synonym to monotheism.
__________________ 6. It is a kind of belief which regards that god cannot be
known.
__________________ 7. It is a collection of beliefs about life and the universe being
held by people.

__________________ 8. It refers to the belief and worship of many gods.

III. Directions: Write a short essay that answers the following questions. (5
points)

1. How does religion help explain man’s existence and role in the world?
2. How does your conception of a divine or supreme being compare with the
supernatural beings found in other religious beliefs?

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Additional Activity
CHARACTER SKETCH

Directions: Prepare character sketches of a person who is spiritual but not

religious and a person who is religious but not spiritual. See the example character
sketch below as a guide.

Person who is spiritual but not religious Person who is religious but not spiritual
(10 points) (10 points)

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Answer Key

Pre-Test

Assessment
Part I.
1. Spirituality 7. Goddesses
2. Practices 8. Polytheism
3. Religion 9. Deity
4. Belief 10. Theology
5. Worldview 11. Philosophy
6. God 12. Monotheism
Part II.
1. Religion 5. Theism
2. Atheism 6. Agnosticism
3. Spirituality 7. Worldview
4. Monism 8. Polytheism
Rubric for Part III
Criteria Description Points Points obtained
Content The content was well-thought 2
of; guide questions were
thoroughly answered
Organization The paper was well-written 2
with ideas easily conveyed to
readers.
Development Points are thoroughly 1
developed
TOTAL: 5

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Additional Activity
Criteria Points Points obtained
Relevance/Content 5
Uniqueness of Idea 3
Cleanliness/Neatness of sketch 2
TOTAL: 10

References
Introduction to World Religions and Belief Systems, Jerome A. Ong, Mary Dorothy dL.
Jose, 2016

https://images.app.goo.gl/oQ16rWE4RRZrnved8

https://images.app.goo.gl/xuMkqQYPv9tp74VG

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