RELIGION, RELIGIOUS

EXPERIENCES, AND SPIRITUALITY

 CLASSROOM POLICIES

1. Always follow instructions.

2. Practice academic honesty and integrity.

3.You have the freedom of speech. Make use of

it with courtesy and prudence.
4. Be prepared for class. Mentally,
physically, and spiritually.

5. Submit requirements on the designated

time-frame; Submissions after the
deadlines are marked with grades closest
to failed.
6. Repititio
 GRADING SYSTEM
Major exams 35%

quizzes 25%

activities 20%

participation/projects 20%

TOTAL 100%
 “ I B E L I E VE …”

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO

BELIEVE IN? ARE YOU RELIGIOUS?
IF YOU WANTED TO OR ARE YOU SPIRITUAL?
• NAME
CHANGE SOMETHING IN
WHY?
• ADDRESS YOUR BELIEFS, WHAT IS IT?

• AGE
HOW WOULD YOU
• RELIGION
WANT THIS COURSE TO FAITH VS RELIGION?
HELP YOU LATER? WHAT’S THE
HOW USELESS C AN IT
DIFFERENCE?
BE?
 C
EML IF
I LFEORD
G E E RT
D UR K HZE IM

RELIGIENS
RELEGERE RELIGARE
“BEING
“TO READ” RELIGION
“TO BIND”
CAREFUL”

(CICERO)
 REL I GION

EMILE C L IF F ORD
D UR K H E IM G E E RT Z

“ A U N I F I E D S Y S T E M O F B E L I E F S A N D P R AC T I C E S “A SYSTEM OF SYMBOLS WHICH AC T S TO

E S TA B L I S H P OW E R F U L , P E RVA S I V E , A N D L O N G -
R E L AT I V E TO S AC R E D T H I N G S , T H AT I S TO S AY,
L A S T I N G M O O D S A N D M OT I VAT I O N S I N M E N
T H I N G S S E T A PA RT A N D F O R B I D D E N – B E L I E F S BY F O R M U L AT I N G CONCEPTIONS OF A
AND P R AC T I C E S WHICH UNITE I N TO ONE GENERAL ORDER OF EXISTENCE AND
C L OT H I N G T H E S E C O N C E P T I O N S W I T H S U C H
SINGLE MORAL COMMUNITY CALLED A CHURCH,
A N A U R A O F FA C T U A L I T Y T H AT T H E M O O D S
A L L T H O S E W H O A D H E R E TO T H E M ” AND M OT I VAT I O N S SEEM U N I Q U E LY
REALISTIC”
 REL I GION

VI C E NT E L . PAUL
RAFAE L TI L LICH
S AW T H AT T H E D E V E L O P M E N T O F C H R I S T I A N I T Y
“ … I S T H E S TAT E O F B E I N G G R A S P E D B Y A N
IN THE PHILIPPINES WA S AFFECTED BY
U LT I M AT E CONCERN, A CONCERN WHICH
M I S T R A N S L AT I O N S AND A DA P T I V E
QUALIF IES ALL OT H E R CONCERNS AS
A C C O M M O DAT I O N B Y T H E TA G A L O G S . B Y T H I S
P R E L I M I N A RY A N D W H I C H I T S E L F C O N TA I N S
S E N S E , R E L I G I O N I S S O M E T H I N G T H AT C H A N G E S
THE ANSWER TO THE QUESTION OF THE
T H E M O R E I T I S S H A R E D ( I N C U LT U R AT I O N ) .
M E A N I N G O F L I F E .”
REL I GION

IMMANUEL
KANT
RUDOLF
OTTO
“ T H AT WHICH G RO W S OUT O F, AND GIVES

“… THE RECOGNITION E X P R E S S I O N TO, E X P E R I E N C E O F T H E H O LY I N

I T S VA R I O U S A S P E C T S .”

F O R H I M , R E L I G I O N I S A N A C C E S S TO D E C O D E
OF ALL OUR DUTIES AS T H E M Y S T E R I O U S N E S S O F T H E D I V I N E T H RO U G H

E X P E R I E N C E O F AW E O R FA S C I N AT I O N .

DIVINE COMMANDS.”
 RELIGION

ATHEI S T AUTHORS ON REL I GION

K ARL M ARX AN D F R I E D RICH E N G E L S L U DW I G A N D R E S F E U E R B AC H

“ T H E O L O G Y I S A N T H RO P O L O G Y ”
RELIGION IS AN OPIUM OF THE PEOPLE. THE JUSTIFIER
G O D I S A M E R E P RO J E C T I O N O F M A N ’ S
OF INJUSTICE.
LONGINGS
FEATURES OF RELIGION
 FEATURES OF RELIGION

C O S M O LOGICAL D I M E N SIO N M O R AL D I M E N S ION

S OT E R I OLOGICAL D I M E N S ION O R G AN IZATIO NAL D I M E N S ION

ANTHROPOLOGICAL DIMENSION T H E O L OGICAL D I M E N SIO N

S YM B OLIC D I M ENS ION

 FEATURES OF RELIGION

C O S M O LOGICAL D I M E N SIO N

C O S MO S = O R D E R

R E L I G I O N S T E N D TO P ROV I D E
AC C O U N T S O F C R E AT I O N . O N
H OW T H E U N I V E R S E C A M E TO B E .
 FEATURES OF RELIGION
C O S M O LOGICAL D I M E N SIO N

S OT E R I OLOGICAL D I M E N S ION

ΣΩΤΗΡΊΑ
I N E V E RY FA I T H S Y S T E M , T H E R E I S A
SŌTĒRÍA S U M M U M B O N U M O R A PA RT I C U L A R ,
H I G H E S T, A N D U LT I M AT E G O O D T H AT
= B E L I E V E R S A R E E N C O U R A G E D TO H O L D
O N TO.
M O S T B E L I E F S O F F E R A P RO M I S E O F
SALVATION S A LVAT I O N .
 FEATURES OF RELIGION
C O S M OLOGICAL D I M E N SIO N

S OT E R I OLOGICAL D I M E N S ION

ANTHROPOLOGICAL DIMENSION

R E L I G I O N S A C K N OW L E D G E T H AT T H E R E A R E T H I N G S T H AT A R E
B E YO N D T H E H O R I Z O N O F T H E C A PA C I T I E S O F H U M A N
U N D E R S TA N D I N G . T H E R E A R E T H I N G S T H AT W E C A N N OT F U L LY G R A S P.

H U M A N L I M I T S = I N C O M P R E H E N S I O N = M YS T E RY
 FEATURES OF RELIGION
C O S M OLOGICAL D I M E N SIO N

S OT E R I OLOGICAL D I M E N S ION

ANTHROPOLOGICAL DIMENSION

S YM B OLIC D I M E N S ION

I D E O L O G I E S A N D B E L I E F S C O M M O N LY M A K E
U S E O F D I S T I N C T S Y M B O L S TO S I G N I F Y O R
I M PA RT S O M E S O RT O F M E S S AG E . I T I S A
C O M M O N E L E M E N T A M O N G R E L I G I O N S TO
C O M M U N I C AT E W I T H N O N - V E R B A L M E A N S .
 FEATURES OF RELIGION
C O S M O LOGICAL D I M E N SIO N M O R AL D I M E N S ION

S OTERI OLOGICAL DI M ENS ION

ANTHROPOLOGICAL DIMENSION

S YM B OLIC D I M E N S ION

WAY S O F L I V I N G A R E R E C O M M E N D E D B Y FA I T H S Y S T E M S
TO G U I D E A B E L I E V E R O R A P R A C T I T I O N E R . M O S T O F
T H E S E E T H I C A L S U G G E S T I O N L E D TO T H E I R C O N C E P T S
O F S A LVAT I O N O R P E R S O N A L T R A N S C E N D E N C E .
 FEATURES OF RELIGION
C O S M O LOGICAL D I M E N SIO N M O R AL D I M E N S ION

S OT E R I OLOGICAL D I M E N S ION O R G AN IZATIO NAL D I M E N S ION

ANTHROPOLOGICAL DIMENSION

S YM B OLIC D I M ENS ION

B E I N G A S O C I O L O G I C A L S T R U C T U R E , R E L I G I O N S E M P L OY
O R G A N I Z AT I O N A L S T R U C T U R E S S O A S TO E S TA B L I S H
A N D R E G U L AT E H U M A N A F FA I R S A N D E N C O U R A G E O R
LEAD RELIGIOUS EVENTS AND OCCASIONS.
 FEATURES OF RELIGION
M ORAL DI M ENS ION
M O S T R E L I G I O N S F E AT U R E G O D S O R S P I R I T U A L
I N S P I R AT I O N S W I T H W H I C H T H E Y B E L I E V E I N .
C O S M O LOGICAL D I M E N SIO N
ORG ANIZATIONAL DI M ENS ION

S OT E R I OLOGICAL D I M E N S ION
T H E O L OGICAL D I M E N SIO N

ANTHROPOLOGICAL DIMENSION

S YM B OLIC D I M ENS ION

 FEATURES OF RELIGION
C O S M O LOGICAL D I M E N SIO N M O R AL D I M E N S ION

S OT E R I OLOGICAL D I M E N S ION O R G AN IZATIO NAL D I M E N S ION

ANTHROPOLOGICAL DIMENSION T H E O L OGICAL D I M E N SIO N

S YM B OLIC D I M E N S ION
RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE

LET’S TRY TO DISSECT THE

TERMINOLOGIES
RELIGIOUS
E X P E R I E N C E

CHARACTERISTIC

MAY PERTAIN TO A PERSON

MIGHT REFER TO THE DIVINE

EXPERIENCE
R E L I G I O U S

A PHENOMENON

ONE THAT ONE GOES THROUGH

AN ENCOUNTER
 RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE

• Encounter with the divine

• Synonymous with “Spiritual Experience,” “Sacred
Experience,” and “Mysterious Experience.”
• Many religions and traditions consider these
experiences as revelations caused by some divine
intervention.

“Real encounters with God/s or real

contact with higher-order realities.”
 RUDOLF OTTO
Religious experience is not something automatically given
to anyone. It is not something really obvious.

Religious feeling is
“the submergence of the nothingness before an
overpowering, absolute might of some kind.”

There is “something” that is present.

This “something” is the Numinous
or the Numen.
 “Religious sense may arise out of a striking
existential situation; it may come upon us
as a vague feeling of ultimate reality.”
(Steinbock, 2007)

RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE
IS THE SITUATION OF ANYONE BEING ENVELOPED BY A SENSE OF
SACREDNESS.
 SPIRITUALITY

2 Approaches in Understanding Spirituality

according to Michael Downey’s
“Understanding Christian Spirituality” (1994):

1. “an awareness that there are levels of

reality not immediately apparent.”
 1. “an awareness that there are levels of
reality not immediately apparent.”
 SPIRITUALITY
2 Approaches in Understanding Spirituality
according to Michael Downey’s
“Understanding Christian Spirituality” (1994):

1. “an awareness that there are levels of

reality not immediately apparent.”
 SPIRITUALITY
2 Approaches in Understanding Spirituality
according to Michael Downey’s
“Understanding Christian Spirituality” (1994):

2. “a quest for personal integration in the face

of forces of fragmentation and
depersonalization.”
 SPIRITUALITY

2. “a quest for personal integration in the face

of forces of fragmentation and
depersonalization.”
 SPIRITUALITY

1. “an awareness that there are levels of

reality not immediately apparent.”

2. “a quest for personal integration in the face

of forces of fragmentation and
depersonalization.”
SPIRITUALITY ≠ Belief/Faith
 UNDERSTANDING
SPIRITUALITY = THE SELF