WORLD RELIGIONS

A COMMON JOURNEY WHY RELGION? WHAT IS RELIGION? WHAT IS A WORLDVIEW AND HOW IS IT

SHAPED?

Every day, human beings face the

challenge of physical survival, as well as intellectual and emotional challenges.

We need to make sense of our place in the world and find ways to accept that there are events and circumstances that are beyond human control.

WHY RELIGION?

For many, religion and spirituality give meaning and purpose to life. In fact, every group of humans ever discovered has had some kind of religious belief.

Beneath the surface of most religions, we see they are adapted to the needs and concerns of people in particular places and times. Religion typically involves faith in spiritual, or non-human, beings that can influence events.

WHY RELIGION?

Today, most people in the

world practice one of seven religions: Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Confucianism, and Taoism.

WHY RELIGION?

Almost all religions seek the same

fundamental things:• protection from the dangers of life• good fortune• courage during times of conflict• comfort in grief, guidance for daily living• a hope for some sort of immortality It’s the ways that people pursue these

common concerns that are nearly infinite.

WHY RELIGION?

Throughout time and across the globe, humans have

created answers to life’s big questions, but the actual answers to our universal questions are quite different from one religion to another. Both the questions and the answers are expressed through systems of stories, ceremonies, and rituals.

Each of those systems represents a different faith. Faith can refer to a religion, or to belief in one or more deities. Faith is both the belief in something for which there is no definite proof, and the institution, or religious structure that supports that belief.

WHY RELIGION?

The word religion means

‘binding together’ of humans and a higher power. That is, in the broadest sense, what religion does. It helps people feel connected with a God or gods, other people, and the universe.

WHAT IS RELIGION?

Religion gives meaning to individual and group life, and reflects the basic beliefs shared by members of a community. At the heart of religion is a belief in the sacred--a feeling that there is more to life than the ordinary, everyday experience. People feel a sense of awe when they consider the sacred.

Many believe that beyond the physical world there is another, higher reality. This religious realm might be populated by supernatural forces, by one or many gods.

WHAT IS RELIGION?

There are two main traditions in the world’s

religions:1. Essential goodness is acknowledged in the physical world, but attempts are made to change the parts of it that seem wrong or broken.2. Reality is viewed as truly spiritual, and one seeks to release the soul from what appears to be endless cycles of birth, death and rebirth in the material world.

WHAT IS RELIGION?

Every religion has a worldview, a system of beliefs and shared ideas of what is true. These commonly held values and ideas shape the way people think about the nature of reality and our role within it.

A worldview provides a model of the world, which guides its believers in the world.

WORLDVIEW

For example:• Christianity and Islam view the world as having a beginning, an end and a single god.• Hinduism’s worldview is cyclical and seasonal, where events and experiences recur in systematic patterns.

WORLDVIEW

Worldviews express beliefs about the

beginning of time, understanding of God or purpose of life (existential questions).

EXAMPLES OF EXISTENTIAL QUESTIONS; HOW DID THE WORLD COME INTO BEING? WHY AM I HERE? WHAT IS MY PURPOSE? DO I HAVE A PURPOSE? WHEN DOES LIFE REALLY END? DOES LIFE

REALLY END?

WORLDVIEW

Some worldviews are: Theocentric—God-centered. God is in control of the

universe and our lives. Anthropocentric—human-centered. Human beings are

the centre of the universe and everything (nature, water, animals etc.) is here to serve people.

Cosmocentric—nature is sacred. God is present in the world through the environment.

Atheistic—there is no God. Works against the institution of religion.

Secularistic—material centered. Meaning is derived from the cultivation and collection of money and material.

WORLDVIEW

Anthropocentric—human-centered.

Human beings are the center of the universe and everything (nature, water, animals etc.) is here to serve people.

WORLDVIEW

Cosmocentric—nature is sacred.

God is present in the world through the environment.

WORLDVIEW

Atheistic—there is no God. Works

against the institution of religion.

WORLDVIEW

Secularistic—material centered.

Meaning is derived from the cultivation and collection of money and material.

WORLDVIEW

http://bigthink.com/videos/how-does-religion-inform-your-worldview

HOW DOES RELIGION INFORM YOUR WORLDVIEW