(WRB) Lesson 3 Positive and Negative effects

• Social Harmony


  A process of valuing, expressing, and promoting love, trust, admiration, peace, harmony, respect, generosity and equity upon other people in any particular society regardless of their national origin, weight, marital status, ethnicity, colour, gender, race, age and occupation etc.
• Religion


  • Believes in supernatural beings and powers
  • Practices a set of rituals and ceremonious rites of passage and rites of intensitification
  • Regards religious leaders such as priests, priestesses and shamans in high esteem
• Religion


  Provides divine authority to ethical and moral principles which promotes unity
• Religion


  Helps lessen the feeling of helplessness among people who believe that they are not alone in this world
• Whenever people are afflicted with crisis, they tend to think that a greater force or high being is there to help them
• Ancient Philippines society


  • Spiritual leaders called babaylanes or catalones, whose functions were to intercede between the deities and people; to continue the rituals, to play as healers, and to act as cultural leaders of the community
• Babaylan


  Healers, most are women. If men wanted to become one, they had to give up their sexuality to perform the prestigious roles
• Performance of common rituals and practices

  Helps bind people together and reinforce their identification with a particular group. The elated feelings of people may experience serve as a positive reinforcement because they feel good as a result
• Sufi Dervishes


  • Practice of whirling and spinning. Goal - abandon one's ego or personal desires through listening to music, focusing on God, and spinning one's body in repetitive circles. Creates positive feeling by doing it together
• Xiao / Filial Piety


  Significant aspect of Confucianism. Refers to the attitude of obedience, devotion and care on one's parents and elder family members. Basis of moral conduct that leads to social harmony
• Xiao / Filial Piety


  Maintains order in society. Children are expected not only to obey but defer to parent's judgements, as well as to perform the proper rituals for them. Social harmony is achieved since conflicts are avoided
• Ahimsa


  Concept of non-violence. Worldview and way of life. Killing and consumption of animals are prohibited. Treating other people with respect. They must minimize their violent impact on environment
• Religion


  Provides moral values, distinguish right from wrong, good from evil
• Ancient societies


  • People acted according to what they thought would please and displease the gods and goddesses. Rituals are very important
• Rituals performed by farmers

  • Before planting, they would perform a kind of ritual, led by their spiritual leaders, to ask for blessings from the deities so that their harvest would be bountiful
  • When calamity destroyed their crops, they would interpret it as a sign that they must have done something which displeased the deities, and would again perform a ritual to appease them
  • When they had a productive harvest, they would again perform a ritual to extend their gratitude to the deities whom they believed to be responsible for their good fortune
• Religion


  Provides social change by providing divine authority to ethical and morals principles which also help promote unity among people
• The Church in the US


  • Has been active in the campaign for civil liberties as well as the antislavery movement
• The Philippines


  • Much credit has been given to the Catholic Church for the success of the People Power Revolution in 1986 when Archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin urged the people to join the protest rally to oust the dictator, former president Ferdinand Marcos
• Religion


  Was developed from man's need to have a sense of origin and destination; to discover where they came from and where they are bound to go to when they die
• Religion


  Has provided assurances as to where spirits will go when people die, reducing people's fear of death as something undesirable
• Belief in the afterlife


  Has become very important in most religions because it has become the basis for their daily conduct or how they live their lives
• Hinduism


  • How they follow their dharma (moral and social obligation) determines what will happen to them in the afterlife: as long as they follow their dharma, they will reap good karma (karma refers to moral consequences of one's act) which will eventually liberate their souls from bad karma, leading them to attain moksha, or the reunion of Brahman or universal soul and atman or individual soul
• Christianity


  • Obeying the Ten Commandments and being good to others will earn a reward of eternal life in heaven; doing the opposite will lead to eternal damnation in hell
• Islam


  • There are certain circumstances which will guarantee them a place in heaven, like dying in jihad (a struggle against unbelievers) or performing the hajj (Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca)
• Religion has provided people with answers to the unknown such as the origin of life and the concept of afterlife. Explanations provided by religions have reduced fears and anxieties among individuals and some religions have even made death a better alternative to living in uncertainty
• Religion


  Inspires people with the stories of different prophets from their own religious affiliations, like that of Moses, Siddharta Gautama, and Muhammad. These people showed how ordinary people like them were given important missions in life, and how they struggled to carry out their respective missions
• Religion


  May give people a sense of meaning in life; that they are not placed in this world without a purpose; that each and everyone has a mission to fulfill and it is up to them to fathom what their missions in life are
• Moses, Mohammed, Siddharta Gautama

  • Moses was ordered to liberate the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt and lead them back to the promised land; Mohammed was chosen to challenge the supremacy of the ruling class in the desert by preaching equality and founding the Islamic religion; while Siddharta Gautama gave up his wealth and power to find the solution for sickness, poverty, old age, and death
• Religion


  Provides people with personal identity as part of a group with similar worldviews, beliefs, values, practices, and lifestyle. It provides communities with prospects to recognize and offer vital action and service to provide the needs of the larger community
• Belonging to a particular religion

  Whose members share the same beliefs, practice the same rituals, and worship the same god, gives individuals a sense of being in the right place with the right people. It also provides them with a sense of security because other people who belong to the same religious group will tend to support and help each other in times of crisis
• Religious group or community


  Can provide counsel, help the sick and underprivileged, and give other services on a more personal level than the government. Members of a religious community can have the assurance that they can rely on other people's help in times of need. They can also expect to have other people rejoice with them in times of success. Religion can provide a sense of personal identity and belonging
• Belonginess


  A sense of security and personal identity provided by being part of a religious group or community
• Religion gives people a sense of belonginess
• Sense of belonginess from religion

  • Religious group/community can provide counsel, help the sick and underprivileged, and give other services on a more personal level than the government
  • Members of a religious community can have the assurance that they can rely on other people's help in times of need
  • Religion can provide a sense of personal identity and belonging
• Sikh principle of Seva (Sewa)


  • Sikhs are expected to perform work or service without expecting anything in return
  • Sikhs are encouraged to perform selfless service to promote good community relations and the moral uplifting of a person, thus strengthening their sense of belonging to the community
  • Sikhs are taught to reach out to serve and uplift all of humanity to show their devotion to their god
• Some religions affirm social hierarchy often favoring men and as a result, perpetuate the notions of class or gender discrimination and oppression
• Religious fanaticism can lead to feelings of hatred, which could lead to racism, and eventually violence
• The practice of wearing the hijab in Islam is considered by many critics as a form of suppression against Muslim women
• There are religions which discriminate against other religions on the basis of claiming to be the "right religion" and that only their followers will be saved in the afterlife
• There are religions which discriminate against people from the lower class who they consider to be sinful and dirty, just like the outcast or pariahs in India