A religion is an organized collection of beliefs, cultural systems, and world views that relate humanity to an order of existence. Many religions have narratives, symbols, and sacred histories that are intended to explain the meaning of life and/or to explain the origin of life or the Universe.

2. “Religion is the socially defined
patterns of beliefs concerning
the ultimate meaning of life; it
assumes the existence of the
supernatural.”
- Rodney Stark

3. Religion may be defined as any set of coherent answers to the
dilemmas of human existence that makes the world meaningful.
- Is also defined in terms of its social function.
- Is a set of beliefs and practices that pertain to a sacred or
supernatural realm that guides human behaviour and gives
meaning to a life among a community of believers.
Travers and Rebore (1990) define religion as that which involves:
• a belief about the meaning of life
• a commitment by the individual and the group to this belief
• a system of moral practices resulting from a commitment to this
belief
• a recognition by the proponents of this belief that is supreme or
absolute.

4. Characteristics of Religion
Most of the leading religions throughout history have shared
characteristics. The chief characteristics include:
1. belief in a deity or in a power beyond the individual
2. a doctrine (accepted teaching) of salvation
3. a code of conduct
4. the use of sacred stories, and
5. religious rituals (acts and ceremonies)

5. • Belief in a deity
Three main philosophical views
regarding the existence of deity:
a. Atheist believes that no deity
exists.
b. Theists believe in a deity or
deities.
c. Agnostics say that the
existence of a deity cannot be
proved or disproved.

6. • A doctrine of salvation
- They stress that religion is a
highest goal of the faithful and
one that all followers should try
to achieve.
The major
religions

7. • A code of conduct
- This is a set of moral teachings
and values that all religions have
in some form. Such a code or
ethic tells believers how to act
toward the deity and toward one
another.

8. • Religious rituals
- They include the acts and
ceremonies by which believers
appeal to and serve God, deities,
or other sacred powers.

9. Functions of Religion
1. Religion serves as a means of social control
2. It exerts a great influence upon personality development
3. Religion allays fear of the unknown
4. Religion explains events or situations which are beyond the
comprehension of man.
5. It gives man comfort, strength and hope in times of crisis and despair
6. It preserves and transmits knowledge, skills, spiritual and cultural
values and practices
7. It serves as an instrument of change
8. It promotes closeness, love, cooperation, friendliness and helpfulness
9. Religion alleviates sufferings from major calamities
10. It provides hope for blissful life after death

10. What is the difference among
churches, sects, and cults?
• Church tends to be large, with inclusive membership,
in a low tension with surrounding society. Church
toward greater intellectual examination and
interpretation of the tenants of religion.
• Sect has a small, exclusive membership, high tension
with society. It tends toward the emotional mystic,
faith, feeling, and conversation experience, to be "born
again". Fundamental, literal in teaching -- biblical
passages are the literal words of God -- mean literally
what they say, people are to do what the passage say.

11. • Cults are referred to by Stark
and Bainbridge (1985) as the
more innovative institutions
and are formed when people
create new religious beliefs
and practices.
3 types of Cults are described,
namely:
1. Audience cults
2. Client cults
3. Cult movements

12. The Elements of Religion
1. Sacred refers to phenomena that are regarded as extraordinary,
transcendent, and outside the everyday course of events -- that is,
supernatural.
2. Legitimation of Norms
• Religious sanctions and beliefs reinforce the legitimacy of many rules
and norms in the community.
3. Rituals are formal patterns of activity that express symbolically a set of
shared meanings, in the case of rituals such as baptism or communion,
the shared meanings are sacred.
4. Religious Community
• Religion establishes a code of behaviour for the member, who belongs
and who does not.