 We live in a world with varying and diverse cultures.

 CULTURAL VARIATION or different take many forms within and

among societies, one of which is religion.
 RELIGION – can be defined as a set of practices and behaviors that
relate to a group of people’s belief in God or a group of Gods.
 Sociologist – studying religion consider it a part of society’s culture.
 In most cases, religion not only affects a person’s belief, but one’s way
of life.
 There are many religions around the world.
 Among the major religions in the world are Christianity,
Islam, Hinduism, Taoism, and Buddhism.
 Each of these religion has its own set of beliefs and
practices that must be followed by its believers.
 In a society, several religion may exist, and since religion
affects an individual’s way of life, we can observe cultural
variations in the form of different religion.
 The Philippine is a secular country, which means that the government
does not prescribe a specific set of activities or laws based on
religion. A citizen’s right to choose his/her own religion is protected
by the Philippine Constitutions.
 In the Philippines, the majority of the population are Christians, with
a certain portion of the population practicing islam, particularly in
the southern part of the country.
 Buddhism, Taoism, and Hinduism are also practiced by a small
number of inhabitants in the archipelago.
 Different religion are being ,practiced in Philippine society today.
This variation in religion is a product of the evolution of the
Philippine society across time.
 Cultural variations do exist as exemplified through the
different religions in the world, more so in Philippine
society.
 For example, Christian and Muslim believe in one God,
Hindus believe in many Gods, and Buddhists do not.
 The sets of practices and beliefs of a particular religion
influence the behavior of its followers and their interaction
with other members of society.
Because people have different
religions, issues and conflicts
between religious group or
denominations cannot be
prevented.
 Since differences in religion do not only mean worshipping different
Gods, conflicts sometimes arise between believers.
 Some believers of a particular religion feel like they are being
marginalized, while some feel like those following other religions are
taking advantage of their numbers.
 It may be easy to be swayed by religious differences and start a
conflict. A believer or follower of another religion if he/she imposes
his/her religious beliefs or practices.
 In history, bloody wars happened because religious differences, and
unfortunately, conflicts continue until now due to varying religions.
 To prevent conflicts, the Philippine government, for example, started recognizing
some of the special days celebrated by different religions.
 Employees are not required to work during Holy Week, whenCatholics
commemorate the suffering and death of Jesus Christ.
 The start and end of the Ramadan are also considered holidays, just like when the
Chinese celebrate the start of their new year.
 This way, the government allows followers of different religion to attend to their
religious obligations without work getting in the way.
 To those conflict brought by differences in religion, the key word is respect. This
entails a conscious effort to acquire cultural knowledge and understand which this
course is mainly about.
1. Culture is learned
2. Culture is dynamic: ongoing process shaping and re-
shaping itself, variable overtime and place.
3. Cultured is shared
4. Culture is transmittable ( from one generation to the
other one.
5. Culture is adaptive: in order to survive, it must adapt to
changes in society.
In your own opinion, why is
it important to respect
differences in religion and
religious practices?
Do some research about the
beliefs and practices of your
religion and of other’s
religions. List down their
similarities and differences.
Find some of your friends or friends of
your family who belong to other religions.
Ask them how their religion affects the
way they behave and interact in society.
You may also ask them how much they
know about other religions and their
perceptions of the people who belong to
those religions.