Introduction to World Religions
and Belief Systems
Quarter 1 – Module 3: Positive and
Negative Effects of Religion
HOW DO RELIGIOUS BELIEFS
INFLUENCE CULTURE?
Religious beliefs influence culture in a variety of
ways. Certainly, before societies were as civilized as
ours, religious beliefs and culture were much more
effectively mixed. Today, religious beliefs help
determine the value systems used in a culture. In
America, many of the regulations and laws are
based on concepts and principles articulated in the
bible. These principles set forth acceptable
behaviors and necessary consequences for
These similarly to the ten commandments in the
bible.
A. POSITIVE EFFECTS OF RELIGION
1.PROMOTES SOCIAL HARMONY
-Religion practices a set of rituals and ceremonious
rites of passage and intensification. It regards
leaders in high esteem. And religion provides divine
authority to ethical and moral principles which also
promote unity among people.
2. PROVIDES MORAL VALUES
-This one of the most significant functions of religion. It
provides a systematic model of the universe, which in
affect determines organized human behavior. It
provides a system of reward and punishment and it is
able to distinguish right from wrong and good from
evil. Some people believe that following rules of their
religion is more important than government rules.
3. PROVIDE SOCIAL CHANGE
-since religion is a source of moral values, it provides
social change.
It can be very effective in lobbying and campaigning
for certain social issues using its own moral teachings
as the basis for argument. Religion has the potential
to institute social change especially in the issues
concerning poverty, reproductive health, gender
equality and religious discrimination.
4. REDUCES FEAR OF THE UNKNOWN
-religion was developed from a man’s need to have a
sense of origin and destination; to discover where
they came from and where the spirits go when people
die. Reducing peoples fear of death and
Something undesirable.
5. GIVES POSITIVE GOALS IN LIFE
-People were inspired by the stories of different
prophets from their own religious affiliations like that of
Moses, Buddha, and Muhammad. These people showed
how ordinary people like them were given important
missions in life, and how they struggled to carry out
their respective missions. Their narratives (known to us
because of religion) may give people a sense of
meaning in life; that they are not placed in the world by
purpose that each has a purpose. That each has a
mission to fulfill.
6. GIVES PEOPLE A SENSE OF BELONGING
-For some, religion provides people with personal
identity as part of a group with similar worldviews,
beliefs, values, practices and lifestyles. Belonging
to a particular religion – whose members share the
same beliefs, practices the same rituals and
worship the same God. It also provides them a
sense of security because other people who belong
to the same group tend to support and help each
other in times of crisis
B. NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF
RELIGION
1. AFFIRM SOCIAL HIERARCHY
-Some religion often favor men and as a result,
perpetuate the notions of class or gender
discrimination or oppression.
Examples: Confucianism emphasize the relation
between the ruler and the subject.
There traditional caste system in India would
also reflect how religion shows political and social
structures since it propagated with idea tha people
2. CAUSES DISCRIMINATION
-Religion can be a source of discrimination of a
prejudicial treatment and some people do not
tolerate religious ideologies different from the one
they follow. Religious fanaticism can lead to feelings
of hatred, which could lead to racism and
eventually violence. There are some religions which
discriminate other religions by saying that there is a
right religion and that only their followers will be
saved in the afterlife.
3. TRIGGERS CONFLICTS AND FIGHTS
-wars have been fought in the name of religion.
Numerous lives were sacrificed and lost and this
phenomenon continues up to the present time. For
example: -In Palestine, Jews are in conflict with th
muslims; In Kashmir, Muslim are against hindus;
4. ECONOMIC TOOL FOR EXPLOITING THE MASSES
-Karl Marx said, “Religion is the opium of the masses.” he
believes that religion maintains social inequality by
propagating a worldview that justifies oppression.
5. IMPEDES SCIENTIFIC SUCCESS AND
DEVELOPMENT
-Catholic church claimed that the earth was flat and
that it is the center of the solar system and so when
Copernicus stated his theory that the sun is the center
of the solar system, he was banned from the church
and his book was banned for more than 200 years.
Some religions have rituals that impede scientific
success. For example: During the cholera outbreak in
the Philippines, the Catholic practice of having the dead
body of cholera victims be brought to church for a Mass
was seen as one reason why the cholera epidemic
continued to spread rapidly.
6. OBSTRUCTS THE USE OF REASON
-Many questions the sustainability of religious
doctrines to the needs of the present and future
generations. Ancient religious beliefs and
practices which have proven to be inhuman
should be replaced with sensible ones.
For example: Trepanning or boring of holes in
the skull, a surgical procedure performed on
epileptics and the mentally ill, with the belief
that through the hole, the evil spirit will leave
the person.
HISTORICAL EVENTS CAUSED BY
RELIGION
1. Self-Immolation of a Buddhism Monk in
Vietnam
-Thich Quang Duc was a Vietnamese Mahayana
Buddhist monk who immolated himself on 11 June
1963. He was protesting against the persecution of
Buddhists by the South Vietnamese government led
by Ngo Dinh Diem. The immolation was considered
to be an act of defiance against a corrupt
government.
2. Widow Burning Among the Hindus in
China
-Sati, or the practice of self-immolation of a widow
on her husband’s funeral pyre, is said to have
originated 700 years ago in India. It is believed to
have started among the ruling class or rajputs in
India, when the Rajput women burnt themselves to
death after their men were defeated in battles to
avoid being taken by the conquerors. Later on, it
has become a manifestation of wifely devotion. It
has been outlawed by the British rulers in 1829 but
rare cases still continue to occur.
3. The Inquisition
-Inquisition refers to the Roman Catholic Church
groups charged with subduing heresy from around
1184. The Inquisition was a response to large
popular movements in Europe considered heretical
or profane to Christianity, particularly Catharism (a
Christian dualist movement which espoused the
idea of two gods, one being good and the other
evil) and Waldensians (a Protestant Christian
movement which advocated that apostolic poverty
is the way to perfection) in southern France and
southern Italy.
4. The Godhra Train Incident in 2002
-In February 2002, a train was set on fire in which 59
people, including 25 women and 15 children were killed.
The fire happened inside the Sabarmati Express train near
the Godhra railway station in the Indian state of Gujarat.
Those who died inside the train were mostly Hindu
pilgrims and activists returning from the holy city of
Ayodhya after a religious ceremony at the disputed Babri
Masjid site. It took six years for the commission appointed
to investigate the said incident to conclude that the fire
was committed by a mob of 1000- 2000 people. Thirty-
one Muslims were convicted by the court for the incident
and conspiracy for the crime.
WHAT I CAN DO (activity)
Instructions: Below are the lyrics to John Lennon’s song “Imagine”. Read carefully
each line and think about the possible consequences if a society has no religion.
Imagine by: John Lennon
Imagine there's no heaven It's easy if you try No hell below us Above us only sky
Imagine all the people living for today Imagine there's no countries It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for And no religion too Imagine all the people living life in peace,
You may say I'm a dreamer But I'm not the only one I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one Imagine no possessions I wonder if you can What I Have
Learned What I Can Do 11 No need for greed or hunger A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people sharing all the world, You may say I'm a dreamer But I'm not
the only one I hope someday you'll join us And the world will be as one.
Find List down at least five possible consequences if a society has no
religion.
1.___________________________________________________
2.___________________________________________________
3.___________________________________________________
4.___________________________________________________
5.__________________________________________________
Instructions: Which effect of religion is referred to in the
following sentences? Write the letter of the correct answer
in your activity notebook. Choices:
a. Religion promotes discrimination.
b. Religion promotes social harmony.
c. Religion affirms hierarchy.
d. Religion sets positive goals in life.
e. Religion obstructs scientific success and development.
f. Religion reduces fear of the unknown.
g. Religion obstructs the use of reason.
h. Religion gives people a sense of belonging.
i. Religion makes people fight each other.
j. Religion provides moral values.
_____1. Religion integrates and stabilizes cultures as well as nations.
_____2. Religion should be susceptible to progress.
_____3. Religion sets notions of right and wrong.
_____4. Religion promotes obscurantism.
_____5. Religion gives a sense of origin and destination.
_____6. Religion is a source of discrimination.
_____7. Religion gives a sense of purpose in life.
_____8. Religion makes good people do evil things.
_____9. Religion provides personal identity to individuals as part of a
group with similar world views, beliefs, values, practices, and
lifestyles.
_____10. Religion perpetuates notions of class or gender
discrimination and oppression
