Defining what is Religion. This was the powerpoint I made for my HUMSS class. Not my words, contents credited to its rightful owner/s.

1. INTRO TO WORLD
RELIGIONS AND
THEIR BELIEF
SYSTEMS
Norjannah M. Tomanong, LPT

2. MONOTHEISM
O The belief in single God.
O The belief in only one divine being who
deserves recognition, reverence and
allegiance.
O the belief that there is only one God, as
found in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

3. JERUSALEM, a city of significance for Jews,
Christians and Muslims

4. First
Things
First

5. This photo is ___ Religious/ ____not
Religious
because _________________.

6. This photo is ___ Religious/ ____not Religious
because _________________.
Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

7. This photo is __ Religious/__not Religious
because __________.

8. This photo is ___ Religious/ ____not Religious
because _________________.

9. RELIGION and the
SOCIAL SCIENCE
A social scientific approach

10. OReligion is a complex reality.
OIt could be a personal matter and
therefore could be very emotional.
OIt is also a socially constructed
institution with particular historical
contexts and trajectories depending on
the physical and social constraints that
it is faced with.
OThe beliefs and practices of a religion
have a consequence on its followers and
the wider society that it is part of.

11. TMLSS..
O A social scientific approach understands
religion as socially constructed realities.
O Methodological Atheism or the suspension
in the divine is a fundamental character of
any social scientific approach to the study
of religion.
O In the sense, Religion is..
O SEARCH FOR THE ORDER OF THINGS.
O SEARCH FOR PERSONAL MEANING

12. DEFINING RELIGION
As A Social Reality

13. 1. SUBSTANTIVE
OConcerned with what constitutes
religion.
OReligion involves beliefs and practices
“which assume the existence of
supernatural beings” (Davie, 2007)

14. 2. FUNCTIONAL
OIt is more concerned with the social
consequences of religion.
O“A unified system of beliefs and
practices relative to sacred things, that
is to say, things set apart and forbidden
– beliefs and practices which unite into
one single moral community.

15. “Religare”
OTo bring together.
“Relegere”
OTo rehearse painstakingly, as
in the case of collective rituals.
Latin origin of the word
RELIGION

16. What main conceptual
problem do you think this
brings upon the study of
religion?

17. Coverage of Religion
OSUBSTANTIVE definition limits.
OFUNCTIONAL definition is
expansive in that it includes even
other seemingly non-religious
phenomena (e.g. Nationalism,
social practices, sports events).

18. Engage:
Read the “Jehovah’s Witness
and the Philippine Flag”
ACTIVITY: DEBATE THE MATTER

19. So what definition
must we adopt?

20. “A system of beliefs and
practices by which a group
of people interprets and
responds to what they feel
is sacred and, usually,
supernaturally as well.”
(Johnstone 2014, 13)

21. RELIGION as a social reality in four
respects:
A collective
phenomenon
 Ordering
behavior in
relation to the
sacred and/or
supernatural
Body of beliefs
and moral
prescriptions
Expects its
followers to
follow a set of
practices that
relate to the
notion of the
sacred.

22. 31.5%
23.3%
16.3%
15.0%
7.1%
5.9% 0.8%
0.2%
Size of Major Religious
Group, 2010
Christians
Muslims
Unaffiliated
Hindus
Buddhists
Folk Religionists*
Other Religions**
Jews

23. Let’s Evaluate!
O ____________1. the fundamental character of
any social scientific approach to the study of
religion that suspends belief in the divine.
O ____________2. the definition of religion that
focuses on the elements that constitute it such as
particular beliefs and practices.
O ____________3. the definition of religion that is
concerned with its social consequences.
O ____________4. this is the Latin origin of the
world religion, which means to bring together.
O ____________5. this is another Latin origin of the
word religion, which means to rehearse
painstakingly.