GEC 209

• religion


  religo
• religo


  ritual
• religare


  bind together
• Religion


  Belief in worship of or obedience to a supernatural power or powers considered to be divine or to have control of human destiny, or any formal or institutionalized expression of such belief
• The majority of religions have developed starting from a revelation based on the exemplary history of nation, of a prophet or a wise man who taught an ideal of life
• Religion is one of the primary disciplines for investigating the boundary questions of life and death, of love and hate, that characterize the human condition
• The goal of studying religion should be wisdom and not knowledge for own sake. It shouldn't be simple knowledge about the world but wisdom about right relationship within the world
• Religion raises questions of purpose and value along with developing important life skills
• Different Elements of Religions

  • Dogma
  • Sacred Books
  • Rituals/Traditions
  • Worship
• Dogma


  A principle or set of principles laid down by an authority as incontrovertibly true
• Sacred Books


  Any book regarded by a religious body as an authoritative source or divinely inspired statement of its faith, history, and practices
• Rituals/Traditions


  Any repetitive and patterned behavior that is prescribed by or tied to a religious institution, belief, or custom, often with the intention of communicating with a deity or supernatural power
• Worship


  An act of religious devotion usually directed towards a deity. It's a type of unquestioning devotion to a superstitious belief or deity
• Basic Components of Religion


  • Belief in Supernatural Power
  • Man's adjustment to Supernatural Powers
  • Acts defined as Sinful
  • Method of Salvation
• Other Components of Religion

  • Belief in some sacred things
  • Procedure of Worship
  • Place of Worship
• Faith


  Complete trust or confidence in someone or something. Strong belief in God or in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof
• Belief


  An acceptance that a statement is true or that something exists. The belief in a religion's central articles of faith
• Soul


  The soul is our humanity that makes us feel emotions, will and desires
• Spirit


  The spirit is our deeper connection with a supreme being when we believe them. This is what connects us to a supreme being or deity
• Atheism


  Is in the broadest sense an absence of belief in the existence of deities or supreme being
• Agnosticism


  Is the view that the existence of God, of the divine or the supernatural is unknown or unknowable
• Different Views on Religion and Spirituality

  • The Spiritual's Views
  • The Outsider's View
  • The Sociologist View
• Monism


  Theory or doctrine that denies the existence of a distinction or duality in some sphere, such as that between matter and mind, or God and the world. The doctrine that only one supreme being exists
• Polytheism


  A belief in and worship of many Gods. Eg. Greece, Rome, Egypt. Polytheism is a belief system that is similar to animism, totemism
• Totemism


  A system of belief in which humans are said to have kinship or a mystical relationship with a spirit-being, such as an animal or plant. The entity, or totem, is thought to interact with a given kin group or an individual and to serve as their emblem or symbol
• History of Religions


  • Mesopotamian Religion
  • Ancient Persian Religion
  • Religion in Egypt
  • Religion in Meso America
  • Greek Religion
  • Roman Religion
  • Philippine Religion
• Mesopotamian Religion


  Mesopotamia has been cited as the birthplace of religion. Their first written records of religious practice was during the Summerians. Great God was Marduk, and he defeated Tiamat
• Ancient Persian Religion


  The early religion of the Persian arrived on the Iranian Plateau with the migrations of the Aryans. They were a polytheistic with a supreme god, Ahura Mazda. Zoroastrianism – Zoroaster's vision
• Religion in Egypt


  Egyptian religion was a combination of magic, mythology, science, medicine, psychiatry, spiritualism, herbology, as well as the modern understanding of 'religion' as belief in a higher power and a life after death. The principle of harmony known as ma'at was of the highest importance in Egyptian life
• Religion in Meso America


  Remembrance of the dead and the part they still play in the lives of those on earth was an important component of all ancient religions including the belief system of the Maya. They imagined an even worse fate where one was constantly under threat of attack or deception by the demon lords who inhabited the underworld (known as Xibalba or Metnal)
• Greek Religion - Olympian Gods


  • Zeus - Supreme being/god of Thunder
  • Hera - goddess of Marriage and Birth
  • Athena - goddess of Beauty
  • Apollo - god of Healing
  • Poseidon - god of the sea
  • Ares - god of War
  • Artemis - goddess of the wilderness
  • Demeter - goddess of Agriculture and Fertility
  • Aphrodite - goddess of Love and Beauty
  • Dionysus - god of Wine and Festivity
  • Hermes - god of Trade
• Roman Religion


  The religion of ancient Rome dated back many centuries and over time it grew increasingly diverse. As different cultures settled in what would later become Italy, each brought their own gods and forms of worship. This made the religion of ancient Rome polytheistic, in that they worshipped many gods. They also worshipped spirits
• Roman Mythology


  • Jupiter - King of the Gods, and god of thunder and lightning
  • Juno - Wife of Jupiter; goddess of women and fertility
  • Mars - Son of Jupiter and Juno; god of war
  • Mercury - God of travelers and tradesmen
  • Neptune - Brother of Jupiter; god of the sea
  • Venus - Goddess of love and beauty
  • Apollo - God of music, archery, healing, poetry and truth
  • Minerva - Goddess of wisdom, learning, arts, and industry
  • Diana - Goddess of hunting, archery, and animals
  • Vulcan - God of blacksmiths and volcanoes
• Philippine Religion


  The stories of ancient Philippine mythology include deities, creation stories, mythical creatures, and beliefs. Ancient Philippine mythology varies among the many indigenous tribes of the Philippines. Some groups during the pre-Spanish conquest era believed in a single Supreme Being who created the world and everything in it, while others chose to worship a multitude of tree and forest deities (diwatas)
• Philippine Mythology


  • Bathala - The supreme god of being
  • Amanikable - Originally this god was worshipped as the god of Hunters
  • Idiyanale - The goddess of labor and good deeds
  • Ikapati - The goddess of cultivated land
  • Mapulon - The god of seasons
  • Mayari - The goddess of the moon
  • Sitan - The god of underworld
• Judaism


  A monotheistic religion developed among the ancient Hebrews
• Judaism is the world's oldest monotheistic religion nearly 4000 years
• Judaism is the Root of Christianity and Islam
• Judaism


  • Belief in one transcendent God who revealed himself to Abraham, Moses, and the Hebrew prophets
  • Religious life in accordance with Scriptures and rabbinic traditions
• Abraham


  Founder of Judaism, the Father of all nations, and the first patriarch of the Jewish people