Religion and Belief

System
Religion – is a social institution that
answers questions and explains the
seemingly inexplicable. Religion
provides explanation for why things
happen and demysifies the ideas of
birth and death.
Animism
 Animism (from Latin anima,
"breath, spirit, life") is the religious
belief that objects, places and
creatures all possess a distinct spiritual
essence. Potentially, animism perceives
all things—animals, plants, rocks,
rivers, weather systems, human
handiwork and perhaps even words—as
animated and alive.
Monotheism
Monotheism - refers to the belief in
the existence of one god, or in the
oneness of one God; as such, it is
distinguised from the polytheism,
the belief in the existence of many
gods, and from the atheism the
belief that there is no god.
Polytheism
is belief in, or worship f,
multiple gods or divinities.
The word comes from the
Greek words poly + theio,
literally ‘many gods’.
(Hinduism, Shinto,some
forms of Wicca, and Asatru)
 Hinduism Shinto
 Other Religions
Christianity: the most widespread
world religion, Christianity was
derived from Judaism. It is based
on the belief that Jesus Christ is
the son of God and the redeemer
of mankind.
Islam: Followers of Islam are
called Muslims. Muslims believe
that the true word of God was
revealed to the prophet
Muhammad around 570 A.D.God
in Islam is the same god as the
Christian and Judaic deity.
Judaism: Judaism is a
monotheistic religion that
predates Christianity, built on
the belief that Israelites are
the ”chosen people” of God.
Hinduism: is the oldest major world
religion, dominant in India. Hindus
do not worship a single person or
deity but rather guided by a set of
ancient cultural beliefs. They
believe in the principle of karma,
which is the wisdom or health of
one’s eternal soul. Karma
strengthened with good acts and
harmed by bad acts.
 Buddhism is a path of practice and spiritual
development leading to Insight into the true
nature of reality. Buddhist practices
like meditation are means of changing yourself
in order to develop the qualities of awareness,
kindness, and wisdom.
The experience developed within the Buddhist
tradition over thousands of years has created an
incomparable resource for all those who wish to
follow a path — a path which ultimately
culminates in Enlightenment or Buddhahood. An
enlightened being sees the nature of reality
absolutely clearly, just as it is, and lives fully and
naturally in accordance with that vision.
Types of Religious Groups

1. The church. Is a religious group

integrated with society.
2. The cult. Is a religious group that is
outside the standard cultural norms,
typically centered on charismatic
leaders.