A COMMON JOURNEY
 WHY RELGION?
 WHAT IS RELIGION?
 WHAT IS A WORLDVIEW AND HOW IS IT
SHAPED?
WHY RELIGION?

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.
WHAT IS 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?
individual and group life,
Religion gives meaning to
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.
WORLDVIEW

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.
HOW DOES RELIGION INFORM
YOUR WORLDVIEW

http://bigthink.com/
videos/how-doesreligion-inform-yourworldview