In the subjectIntroduction to World Religions and Belief Systems, the learners are

expected to demonstrate understanding of belief system or worldview, Religion, Spirituality,

Philosophy of Religion, Theology, the elements of religion, belief system, and spirituality. Being
familiar with the following terms and concepts are very important as an introduction:

1.‘Materialism’ is the philosophical doctrine that physical matter is the only ultimate reality. It
maintains that all that exists is reducible to matter or to qualities or upshots of matter.

2. Theists believe that unlike opposing ethical theories, theistic moral system (which is also
called ‘moral supernaturalism’) can satisfactorily explain the existence of objective ethical values
and moral laws.

3. Worldview is more than culture as it extends to perceptions of time and space, of happiness
and of well-being. In fact, the beliefs, values, and behaviors of a culture stem from its
worldviews.
4. Derived from the German term ‘weltanschauung,’ the term ‘worldview’ refers to the cluster of
beliefs an individual holds about the most significant concepts of life such as God, the cosmos
(universe), and humanity. These beliefs, which may or may not be true, form a general picture, a
broad-spectrum outlook, or a grand perspective on life and the world.

5. ‘Spirituality’ is one’s integrative view of life. It involves a quest for the meaning and ultimate
value of life as opposed to an instrumentalist or materialistic attitude to life.

6. The word ‘philosophy’ came from the Greek words ‘philo’ (love) and ‘sophia’ (wisdom) and is
thus literally defined as “the love of wisdom”. Considered by some as ‘the mother of all branches
of knowledge’, it may be defined as the systematic examination of principles and
presuppositions of any field of inquiry, including religion.

7. “Seekers” are those people who are looking for a spiritual home but contemplate recovering
earlier religious identities. These SBNRs embrace the “spiritual but not religious" label and are
eager to find a completely new religious identity or alternative spiritual group that they can
ultimately commit to.

8. Belief systems are often deemed as convictions, often in the form of supernatural or religious
beliefs, though they may also take the form of scientific views, or any philosophical belief
relating to the sphere of daily life.
9. Religious scriptures are the so-called sacred texts which religions consider to be central to
their faith. Religious texts may be utilized to “evoke a deeper connection with the divine, convey
spiritual truths, promote mystical experience, foster communal identity, and to guide individual
and communal spiritual practice” (“Religious Text,” n.d.).

10. Generally, a ‘ritual’ is a “sequence of activities involving gestures, words, and objects,
performed in a sequestered place, and performed according to set sequence” (“Ritual,” n.d.).
Rituals may be prescribed by the traditions of a community, including a religious community.

11. Other polytheists are ‘kathenotheists,’ that is, worshiping different gods or goddesses at
different times.
12. The term ‘monotheism’ comes from the Greek ‘μόνος’ (‘monos’) meaning “single” and ‘θεός’
(‘theos’) meaning ‘god.’ It characterizes the traditions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam—
religions that had grown up in opposition to polytheism.

13. The spiritual dimension (spirit) is described as a unifying force within individuals,
integrating and transcending all other dimensions. This dimension is also described as God-
consciousness, or related to a deity or supreme values.

14. This worldview finds its roots in empiricism, which claims that all valid knowledge is derived
from experience, and in positivism, which denies all metaphysical concepts. Ethically,
naturalism proposes that morality must be limited to non-spiritual context since it denies any
supernatural end for humankind.
15. A religion is also viewed as “an organized collection of beliefs, cultural systems,
and worldviews that relate humanity to an order of existence” (“Religion,” n.d.). Many religions
possess holy scriptures, narratives, or sacred accounts that aim to explain the origin and
meaning of life and the universe.

16. Webster’s dictionary defines theology as “the science of God or of religion; the science which
treats of the existence, character, and attributes of God, his laws and government, the doctrines
we are to believe, and the duties we are to practice. . . the science of Christian faith and life.” In
the fifth-century, the philosopher Augustine defined theology as “rational discussion respecting
the deity” (“Theology,” n.d.).

17. ‘Philosophy of religion’ refers to the philosophical study of the main themes and concepts
involved in religions. It may also include an enquiry into the religious significance of historical
events (e.g., the Holocaust) and the general features of the cosmos, the laws of nature, and the
occurrence of conscious life.
18. A ‘mosque’ is a place of worship for followers of Islam. Many mosques” have elaborate
domes, minarets, and prayer halls, in varying styles of architecture … The mosque serves as a
place where Muslims can come together for ‘salat’ (prayer) as well as a center for information,
education, social welfare, and dispute settlement” (“Mosque,” n.d.).

19. Monism is a philosophical, cosmological, and metaphysical stand which proposes an

ultimate unity of all things, and that all seeming differences, distinctions, divisions, and
separations are ultimately only apparent or partial aspects of an ultimate whole. It is a
theological stance that “all is one, that there are no fundamental divisions, and that a unified set
of laws underlie all of nature.

20. Evolutionists claim that the existence of all life is explained by natural selection which for
them is a “blind, unconscious, no purpose, no mind, no vision, no foresight, no sight at all,
automatic process” (Dawkins, 2000, p. 14). In other words, all life allegedly originated through
intrinsically directionless series of processes as opposed to the planned and decisive creation by
God.

The following 25 concepts and terms are also important in studying world religions and belief
systems:

1. ‘Belief system’ refers to a particular way of ordering the realities of one’s world. It is often
interchangeable with the term ‘worldview,’ hence, the two shall be predominantly used as
synonyms in this book.
2. A ‘worldview’ is a theory of the world used for living in it, serving as a mental model of reality,
a framework of ideas and attitudes about ourselves, the world, and life.
Simply put, a worldview may be defined as how one sees life and the world at large.

3. Theism or theistic worldview holds that a deity or deities exist/s. Many theistic worldviews
consider this supernatural being as an infinite personal God who is the creator of the universe,
and who supernaturally acts on things in it.

4. ‘Atheism’ refers to the disbelief, denial of, or lack of belief in the existence of God or gods.
The term comes from the Greek prefix a-, meaning ‘without,’ and the Greek word theos, which
means ‘god.’

5. ‘Naturalism’ is a belief system that rejects all spiritual and supernatural explanations of the
worldand affirms nature as the totality of reality. It holds that we can comprehend nature only
through scientific investigation since science is the sole basis of what can be known.

6. ‘Materialism’ is the philosophical doctrine that physical matter is the only ultimate reality.
It maintains that all that exists is reducible to matter or to qualities or upshots of matter.

7. ‘Religion’ refers to the pursuit of transformation guided by a sacred belief system. It is defined
as “people's beliefs and opinions concerning the existence, nature, and worship of a deity or
deities, and divine involvement in the universe and human life” (“Religion,” 2009).

8. ‘Spirituality’ is one’s integrative view of life. It involves a quest for the meaning and ultimate
value of life as opposed to an instrumentalist or materialistic attitude to life.

9. Simply put, theology is the study of God. It comes from the word ‘theos’ which is Greek for
‘God,’ and ‘logos,’ meaning ‘word’ or ‘study.’

10. ‘Philosophy of religion’ refers to the philosophical study of the main themes and concepts
involved in religions. It may also include an enquiry into the religious significance of historical
events (e.g., the Holocaust) and the general features of the cosmos, the laws of nature, and the
occurrence of conscious life.

11. ‘Religious rituals’ refer to the behavior performed by a religious member or a group of
believers with reference to supernatural power or a deity. It includes varieties of behavior such
as reciting prayers, singing of hymns, danci12. A ‘synagogue’ is a Jewish house of prayer.
Synagogues have a large hall for prayer (the main sanctuary).

13. A ‘mosque’ is a place of worship for followers of Islam. Many mosques” have elaborate
domes, minarets, and prayer halls, in varying styles of architecture … The mosque serves as a
place where Muslims can come together for ‘salat’ (prayer) as well as a center for information,
education, social welfare, and dispute settlement” (“Mosque,” n.d.).
ng, fasting, putting on of special types of cloth, taking birth in holy rivers, crawling, etc.

14. Monism is a philosophical, cosmological, and metaphysical stand which proposes an

ultimate unity of all things, and that all seeming differences, distinctions, divisions, and
separations are ultimately only apparent or partial aspects of an ultimate whole. It is a
theological stance that “all is one, that there are no fundamental divisions, and that a unified set
of laws underlie all of nature.
15. Polytheism’ refers to the worship of or belief in more than one deity, especially several deities
usually assembled into a pantheon of gods and goddesses, along with their own religions and
rituals. Especially in a sociological perspective, the emergence of polytheism has been attributed
to the desire to pacify the uncontrollable forces of nature, the need for supernatural moral
sanctions, and the attempt to justify specialization and class distinctions.
16. ‘Monotheism’is the “belief in single God: the belief that there is only one God”
(“Monotheism,” 2009). The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church defines it as the “belief
in one personal and transcendent God.”

17. ‘Atheism’ stands for the disbelief, denial of, or lack of belief in the existence of God or gods.
The term comes from the Greek prefix ‘a-,’ meaning ‘without,’ and the Greek word ‘theos,’ which
means ‘god.’

18. Darwinism, the advocacy of Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution, and evolutionism, the
belief in the theory of evolution by natural selection, are fundamentally related. Both ideologies
attribute the origins of all life forms and other things not to the purposeful creation by God but
to the behavior of random chemical and physical forces.

19. A spiritual but not religious (SBNR) individual associates faith with the private realm of
personal experience rather than with the public realm of religious institutions, creeds, and
rituals. He or she may ignore membership in religious institutions, participation in formal
rituals, and adherence to official denominational doctrines.

20. “Dissenters” are the people who, for the most part, make a conscious effort to veer away
from institutional religion.

21. “Casuals” are the people who see religious and/or spiritual practices as primarily functional.

22. “Explorers” are the people who seem to have what Mercandante refers to as a “spiritual
wanderlust.”

23. Seekers” are those people who are looking for a spiritual home but contemplate recovering
earlier religious identities.

24. Immigrants” are those people who have found themselves in a novel spiritual realm and are
trying to adjust themselves to this newfound identity and its community.

25. Religious but not spiritual (RBNS) man is thus sketched as someone who can give gifts, pray,
and do many good works, but he or she does not understand what it is to offer oneself.
Accordingly, this person may pay ‘tithes’ exactly, but he or she will not put himself or herself to
death in the moments of temptation.