INTRODUCTION TO

WOLRD RELIGION
AND BELIEF SYSTEMS
 at the end of this lesson, the
students will be able to:
a. understand the dynamics of the different elements and
characteristics of the belief systems, world view and
religion;
b. distinguish the characteristics of religions, spirituality and
theology and;
c. apply these belief in your interaction with your
 lesson 1:
UNDERSTANDING THE
NATURE of Worldviews,
Belief Systems and Religion
 lesson 1.1:
UNDERSTANDING THE
NATURE of Worldviews, and
Belief Systems
Direction: List down 10 things that you believe in
by completing the following statements.
What have you observed in your own set of belief
system.
1. I believe that__________________________________________________.
2. I believe that__________________________________________________.
3. I believe that__________________________________________________.
4. I believe that__________________________________________________.
5. I believe that__________________________________________________.
6. I believe that__________________________________________________.
7. I believe that__________________________________________________.
8. I believe that__________________________________________________.
9. I believe that__________________________________________________.
10. I believe that__________________________________________________.
 Since childbirth there are rules or traditions that are
imposed to you by your parents and society where
you belong. “Do this because this is right.” “Be
good to others!” “Huwag kang gumawa ng masama
kung ayaw mong
ma-karma“. These are simple reminders of our
parents. When you are brought to the school for your
education, same
values or beliefs are being strengthened.
 In some period in your life you became a member of a religious
organization or perhaps by tradition. The beliefs and values
that you learned from your parents and school are reinforced
by the teachings of that specific religion. All that you have
learned from your parents, school, religious affiliation and
other influences became your belief system and your world. Often
times you are not conscious of your own worldview unless it is
challenged or dared by other belief system.
WHAT IS
WORLD
VIEW?
 MATT SLICK
worldview is a set of beliefs used to understand the world.
Everyone has a set of principles by which to judge right and
wrong and which guides them in everyday living. The basic
way of interpreting things and events that pervades a culture so
thoroughly that it becomes a culture’s concept of reality-what is
good, what is important, what is sacred, what is real.
Belief systems are the stories we tell ourselves to define our
personal sense of ‘reality’ (the way things actually exist).
Every human being has a belief system that he/she utilizes
and it is through this mechanism that we individually “make
sense” of the world around us.” It could be a set of beliefs
or a philosophy of life
Belief system shapes your worldview about the world, your
existence, and relationships with your fellowmen. In other
words, “ a worldview whether religious or nonreligious, is a
personal insight about reality and meaning, often termed a
“life understanding” which I may call a product of belief
systems. Most often worldviews are shaped by religions.
KINDS OF BELIEF
SYSTEM
 THEISM
(e.g. Judaism, Christianity, Islam). It
means that God or gods
created the Universe and continued
to actively participate of the world’s
activities and in human history.
MONOTHEIS
M
The view that only
one God exist
 POLYTHEIS
M
This is the belief in many gods
or deities. The culture of
Ancient
Greeks and Romans depict this
 PANTHEISM
(e.g. Hinduism, Taoism, Buddhism;
much New Age Consciousness. )
They believe that only the spiritual
dimension exists. All else is illusion.
Man is spiritual and eternal.
 ANIMISM
The belief that souls inhabit all or most
objects wether they be animals,
vegetables or minerals.
 ATHEISM

Disbelief in or denial of
the existence of a personal
god
 AGNOSTICIS
M
they Believe that the
nature and existence of
God is unknown or cannot
ever be known or proven
Worldviews are not all about God, but these
are also about our views about reality, man,
truth and values.
There are also economic, political and social
worldviews.
Worldviews and belief systems are necessary
for religions in order to protect and spread
their own particular belief as a way of
“keeping the faith” through generations.
• Catholic Christians keep in their hearts the “Apostles’
Creed”
• The Muslims practice “the five pillars of Islam”,
• The Shinto reveres the dead ancestors or “Kami”,
• the Confucians hold dearly the necessity of past
traditions, and
• The Taoists embrace the importance of being close to
nature
 Your beliefs shape your worldviews
but your beliefs and worldviews are
oftentimes shaped by religion. There is
a complex interplay between religion,
belief and worldview. Religions have
different elements and characteristics
which are non-negotiable. Members
The elements or characteristics of
religions mentioned above are
necessary for a particular religion
to perpetuate
their worldviews and belief
Le s so n
1 . 2 :
un d e r s t a n d i n
g t h e n a t u r e
 DO YOU
BELEIVE IN
GOD AS OUR
SAVIOR?
 DO YOU THINK
THAT MAN IS A
INHERINTLY GOOD
OR BAD?
WHEN THERE IS A
RALLY, ARE YOU A
LEFTIST OR A
RIGHTIST
 RELIOGION
AND
SPIRITUALIT
 When you become a member of a
religious organization, you normally
sacrificed your personal worldview in
favor of the religious world view or set of
beliefs offered by that organization.
Religion invites a person into a spiritual
relationship with some divine entity.
 This spiritual relationship stemmed
from the belief that there is a life
after this world which is more
important than physical life. Hence it
is the role of religion to invite all
persons to believe in God for them to
be saved from this world.
 This spiritual relationship stemmed
from the belief that there is a life
after this world which is more
important than physical life. Hence it
is the role of religion to invite all
persons to believe in God for them to
be saved from this world.
 WHAT IS
RELIGION?
• What can you see in this picture?
• What does the picture tell us?
• how can you relate the picture in
our daily life?
Religion is defined as an organized
system of beliefs, ceremonies, and
rules used to worship a god or a
group of god. It came from a Latin
word “religio”
 which means to something done
with overanxious or scrupulous
attention to detail. It refers to an
expression of proper piety, which
is,binding to God. It was then used
to designate formal belief systems
and tenets.
Quite later, religion was used to designate
formal belief systems and tenets. The term
was eventually applied to what we now call as
religion because of the manner in which
people performed rituals during those days.
While religion may be universal in all stages
of human history, it does not follow that all
individuals are religious or even religious to
some degree.
CONCEPT OF
RELIGIONS
1.BELIEF IN SUPERNATURAL
POWERS

The power which is beyond

human powers. The human
sufferings enable human being
to seek God’s help for their
 2. BELIEF IN THE HOLY OR
SACRED
This is the heart of every religion. Every religion has sacred
books or texts. For example, Scriptures and the Bible are
sacred for the Jews and so with the Christians, Qur’an for
Muslims and Tripitaka for Buddhists and Vedas for Hindus.
But something sacred is not just books but also places,
symbols, animals, rocks and many more. Hindus for
example believes that cows are sacred because of their
beliefs in reincarnation.
 3. SYSTEMS OF RITUALS
These are the different ways each religions
expresses their faith. Catholic Christians have the
seven sacraments which include ceremonies and
rituals. For example, Baptism. A child must be
baptized at an early age in the church with the
presence of parents, God parents, priest as
celebrator and the community that supports the
child. The most important symbol of baptism is
 4. SINFUL ACTS
Usually a violation of the laws
established by God which each member
has to follow. For example the Ten
Commandments for Judaism and
Christians and the Five Pillars of Islam
 5. METHODS OF
SALVATION
The belief in the afterlife or the idea of
heaven and hell. If you are a good
believer you will go to heaven but if
not, you will go to hell. Islam went
further by believing that if one’s life is
 8.PLACE OF
WORSHIP
Each religion has holy places
which they believe God is present
such as churches, temples,
mosques and
 8.PLACE OF
WORSHIP
Each religion has holy places
which they believe God is present
such as churches, temples,
mosques and
 Popular view holds that you should become a member
of a religious organization to cultivate your spiritual
life. Their views lead to the misunderstanding between
Religion and Spirituality. The question is: Is religion the
same as spirituality? Can you become a spiritual person
without being a member of a religious organization?
The table below shows the difference between religious
and being spiritual?
ELEMENTS OF
RELIGIONS
1. BELIEF SYSTEM or WORLDVIEW:
• Many beliefs that fit together in a
system
to make sense of the universe and our
place in it.

2. COMMUNITY:
3. CENTRAL STORIES/MYTHS:
• Stories that help explain the beliefs
of a group; these are told over and
over again and sometimes
performed by members of the
• Zeus-group. They
God of the Sky •may orGoddess
Athena- may ofnot be
Strategy
• Poseidon- God of the • Apollo- God of the Sun,
Sea
factual.
Music and Poetry
• Ares- God of War • Artemis- Goddess of the Hunt
• Aphrodite- Goddess of • Hephaestus- God of Fire
Love • Hermes- the Messenger God
 4. RITUALS:
Beliefs are explained,
taught, and made real
through ceremonies.
 5. ETHICS: Rules about how to behave;
• these rules are often thought to have come
from a deity or supernatural place, but
they might also be seen as guidelines
created by the group over time.

6. CHARACTERISTIC EMOTIONAL
EXPERIENCES:
• Most religions share emotions such as awe,
mystery, guilt, joy, devotion, conversion,
inner peace, etc.
7. MATERIAL EXPRESSION:
• Religions use things to
perform rituals or to
express or represent
beliefs, such as: statues,
paintings, music, flowers,
incense, clothes, architecture,
 8. SACREDNESS:
• Religions see some things
as sacred and some not
sacred (or profane). Some
objects, actions, people,
and places may share in
 8. SACREDNESS:
• Religions see some things
as sacred and some not
sacred (or profane). Some
objects, actions, people,
and places may share in
 CONCEPT OF
RELIGION AND
SPIRITUALITY
 Religion and
Theology
Most often theology and relig io n b ro ug h t c o nfu s ion
in term s of m ea nin g a n d p rac tise s.
Theology also belie ve s ab ou t G od just li ke re lig io n
but it utilizes m ore the in te llect to u n d e rsta n d
everything about G o d ra th er tha n fa ith alo n e .
 Theology
Theology is a systemati c stu dy o f G o d ju s t like
other disciplines such as p hilo s o ph y, p s y c h o lo gy ,
sociology and other scie n c e s. T h e p rie s ts , p a sto rs,
ministers or even lay p eo p le m u st u n d erg o
theological trainings be fo re th ey a re o rd a in e d to
become a pri e st or p a sto r o r m in is te r.
 Theology
Theology is no rm a lly tak en in th e S e m in ari es o r
theological schools as a n a c ad em ic su b je c t. A p rie st w h o
is a major in theology sh ou ldu n d e rt ak e a fo u r- y e ar
course to get an AB Theolo g y de g re e . T h en h e p ro ce ed s
his masters and docto ra l d e gre e in th e o lo g y to b e c o m e
full pledge theologia n . T h ere is sa y in g th at m o st
theologians lost their faith in G o d b e c a u se th e y u se o n ly
their mind in kn o w in g G o d m o re th a n fa ith .
thank you
ACTIVITIES