Understanding Culture, Society, and Politics Course Material 5 PDF

UNDERSTANDING CULTURE, SOCIETY, and POLITICS COURSE MATERIAL #5 1st Term AY 2021-2022 Understanding Culture, Society, and Politics Page | 1 World  This module has been designed to help you: explain the social scientif...

UNDERSTANDING CULTURE, SOCIETY, and POLITICS COURSE MATERIAL #5 1st Term AY 2021-2022 Understanding Culture, Society, and Politics Page | 1 World  This module has been designed to help you: explain the social scientific approach to the study of religion; discuss the function of religion to individuals and societies; and navigate the intersection of beliefs and health culture in the Philippines. RELIGION 1st Term AY 2021-2022 Understanding Culture, Society, and Politics Page | 2 World Dear Learner, Welcome to Week 8 of Understanding Culture, Society, and Politics! During the first half of our term, we learned about the concepts of culture and society. We understood the dynamics between individuals and the societies we are part § Definition of Religion of. In the latter half of our term, we will look closely into the systems and institutions that form and shape our society. § Types of Religious This week, we will focus on religion and its function in our Organizations everyday lives as social beings. § Religious Syncretism Let’s learn together! § Contemporary Issue: Same-sex marriage § Health and culture § Contemporary issue: COVID19 pandemic 1st Term AY 2021-2022 Understanding Culture, Society, and Politics Page | 3 World  Religion v How is religion Religion permeates life in many ways. At home, many of us are understood in the taught basic beliefs and practices by our parents and elders. At social sciences? school, we may have attended catechism classes. Among our v How does religion friends, we may notice that some have dietary restrictions because of their beliefs. In the news, we may hear of different views and shape and affect reactions about controversial issues such as divorce or same-sex individuals and marriage. Religion is inescapable and its consequences on private societies? and public life are long-term. What is religion? v How does religion and health culture A social scientific approach understands religion as a socially constructed reality. This means that religion is shaped by the intersect in the interaction of its human agents (leaders, followers, activists, Filipino context? innovators, and even non-believers) and their sociohistorical contexts. This would also mean that our beliefs and how we practice our beliefs are not a result of divine revelation. Religion as a social reality can be defined in two ways: 1. Substantive definition is concerned with what constitutes religion. According to Grace Davie (as cited in Cornelio et al., 2019), religion involves beliefs and practices that assume the presence of supernatural beings. However, this definition is limited because supernatural beings are not always present in some belief systems such as Confucianism and Buddhism. 2. Functional definition is more concerned with the social consequences of a religion and is a response to the limitation of the substantive definition. French sociologist Emile Durkheim defines religion as a “unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things, that is to say, things set apart and WHAT forbidden – beliefs and practices which unite into one single moral IT IS community.” Religion came from the Latin word religare which means ‘to bring together’ and relegere, ‘to rehearse painstakingly’ as in the case of collective rituals. 1st Term AY 2021-2022 Understanding Culture, Society, and Politics Page | 4 World Religion Defined There are two basic ideas about religion. First, it is a search for the order of things. It is a powerful framework to organize everything we are engaged in such as education, morality, politics, and family life. Second, it is a search for personal meaning. It has psychological consequences on an Adopting a specific definition of religion has its own limitations, so individual as it helps a it will be helpful to adopt both the substantive and functional definition of religion. Therefore, in the point of view of social person find meaning in an sciences, religion may be defined as “a system of beliefs and otherwise chaotic world. practices by which a group of people interprets and responds to what they feel is sacred and, usually, supernatural as well” (Ronald Johnstone, as cited in Cornelio et al., 2019). With this definition, we can recognize four important characteristics of religion: 1. Religion is a collective phenomenon. 2. Religion is concerned with ordering how we behave in relation to the sacred and/ or supernatural. 3. Religion involves a body of beliefs and moral prescriptions. 4. Religion expects its followers to follow a set of practices that relates to the sacred (e.g., rituals). Types of Religion Around 10% of Nobel Peace Prize winners would have 1. Monotheism – belief in single god classified themselves as 2. Polytheism – belief in multiple gods 3. Atheism – lack of belief in the existence of any god atheists and nonbelievers. It 4. Animism – belief in the divinity of nonhuman beings is important to recognize that 5. Totemism – belief in a divine connection between humans being a nonbeliever in a and other natural beings divine entity does not mean that the individual subscribes to no morality. 1st Term AY 2021-2022 Understanding Culture, Society, and Politics Page | 5  Religious Organizations Religion is necessarily social. Beliefs and rituals are usually shared by people belonging to a definite religious community. In modern times, people may belong to organized religious groups or they may opt not to. Those who do not belong to an organized religious groups are called unchurched believers. One way to remember the Types of religious organizations: types of religious organizations is to think of 1. Church church, sect, denomination, The church is a religious organization that claims to possess the truth about salvation exclusively. An example is the Roman and cult as a continuum. The Catholic Church. The church adapts to some extent to the fact church has the greatest that it must embrace everyone. influence on society while the cult has the least influence. 2. Sect A sect is a group or organization whose beliefs and practices are totally different from what is considered to be orthodox, or a breakaway group from a mainstream religion with radically different beliefs. It constitutes a minority in a given society and requires a high level of commitment and activity. Life as a sect member constitutes a major contrast to the lives of people in society. An example of sect in the Philippines is the Iglesia ni Cristo. 3. Denomination A denomination is a large, mainstream religious organization, but it does not claim to be official. Unlike the church and sect, denomination is oriented toward cooperation, as it relates to THINK other similar denominations. The demands for compliance are ABOUT moderate, and there is a relatively harmonious relationship between the denomination and the larger society. IT 4. Cult The term cult has negative connotations. These are often How does your religious considered deviant groups within a society. A cult is a relatively organization affect your small group of people having religious beliefs or practices regarded by others as strange or sinister. behavior, lifestyle, and politics? 1st Term AY 2021-2022 Understanding Culture, Society, and Politics Page | 6  LEARNING ACTIVITY 1 WATCH THIS! Watch this lecture by Dr. Jayeel Cornelio: When the Faith we hold dear hurts us. On Week 5, we talked about the concepts of kinship, family, and marriage. On Week 6, we discussed about the concept of norms and deviance. This week, we will try to synthesize these concepts together with our topic on religion by looking at one issue that has been a source of debate among Filipinos: same- sex marriage. Religion has always been used as an argument by many Filipinos to oppose same-sex marriage. What is your stand on this issue? What do you think are the factors that shaped your position? Express your views by writing a short essay. ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ 1st Term AY 2021-2022 Understanding Culture, Society, and Politics Page | 7  Syncretism Because of globalization, cultures, including religious ideas, rapidly transfer from one place to another. When foreign religious beliefs reach a different soil, they tend to mix and blend with the local and indigenous religious beliefs and folk practices. The mixing of different religious beliefs and practices is called religious syncretism. This promotes the growth of folk religion that is different from the original parent religion. In the Philippines, we practice Folk Catholicism. It can be observed that Filipino Catholics have beliefs and practices that are not observed by other Catholics around the world. One example is our penitensya during Holy Week. THINK ABOUT IT Can you think of other examples of religious practices and beliefs that are unique to Filipinos? Other examples are the devotion to the images of Sto. Niño and the Black Nazarene. These practices and beliefs help Filipino Catholics navigate their faith through the years. 1st Term AY 2021-2022 Understanding Culture, Society, and Politics Page | 8 Health, Beliefs, and Culture Our faith and religion as Filipinos also affect how we view health, illness, and healing. This is specifically true among Filipino Catholics. Some Filipinos believe in the healing power of the holy water. Some brave the crowd to touch the image of the Black Nazarene with the hope that it will cure their illness. Some wipe religious images with their handkerchief and believe that wiping their body part with that handkerchief will miraculously ease their pain or cure their sickness. These are also examples of folk Catholicism. And as we have previously said, these practices keep the Filipino Catholic faith alive. Aside from these beliefs that are related to the Catholic faith, Filipinos have other folk beliefs in relation to health, illness, and healing that are not necessarily scientific. The best example is usog. This is when someone gets sick after being greeted by other people. This is the reason why our elders say ‘pwera usog.’ Filipinos also have a belief in nature spirits that can cause sickness to a person. Whenever we go to places covered in trees, or anywhere we are visiting for the first time, we often say ‘Tabi-tabi po’. This is similar to saying ‘Excuse me’ to the spirits that we cannot see with the naked eye. What other examples can you think of? Why do you think some Filipinos go to an albularyo instead of consulting a doctor when they have an illness? 1st Term AY 2021-2022 Understanding Culture, Society, and Politics Page | 9  LEARNING ACTIVITY 2 What will you do in this situation? You met a middle-aged woman who refuses to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. When you asked her why, she said that her faith in God is stronger than the COVID-19 virus, so she does not need any vaccine. How will you engage with her? 1st Term AY 2021-2022 Understanding Culture, Society, and Politics Page | 10  LEARNING OUTPUT Group presentation What is the function of religion and religious organizations in the Filipino society during the COVID-19 pandemic? To answer this question, conduct the following data collection methods: - participant observation in your own community - interview - online or digital observations You will present your output as a group. Criteria Content and Relevance 35% Organization 35% Delivery 30% 1st Term AY 2021-2022 Understanding Culture, Society, and Politics Page | 11  Religion, in the social sciences, is understood as a socially constructed reality. It is shaped by the interactions of its human agents. Religion has the power to affect and shape an individual’s behavior. In a similar way, it holds power over views, opinions, and behaviors of every member in a society. In a functionalist perspective, religion brings people together. However, we must also recognize that religion also has the power to divide people. KEY TERMS Filipino beliefs, including religious beliefs and practices, shape how we view health, illness, and healing. This attests to the richness of our culture and beliefs, but this may also cause danger brought by self-diagnosis and self-medication to name a animism few. atheism church cult denomination folk Catholicism monotheism polytheism religion sect syncretism totemism 1st Term AY 2021-2022 Understanding Culture, Society, and Politics Page | 12 Textbooks Cornelio, J., Sapitula, M. V., Calano, M. J. (2019). Introduction to world religions and belief systems (2nd ed). REX Bookstore. Lanuza, G. M. & Raymundo, S. S. (2016). Understanding culture, society and politics. REX Book Store. Miller, B. D. (2017). Cultural anthropology. Pearson. Online Resources Types of Religion. (2021). Lumenlearning.com. https://courses.lumenlearning.com/alamo-sociology/chapter/reading-world- religions/ Photo Credits Flaticon. (2016). https://th.bing.com/th/id/OIP.f6Sq3OO15VY4t8xo8aTOrQHaHa?pid=ImgDet&rs=1 _________ (n.d.). https://www.flaticon.com/free-icon/keyword_2783630 Hixny. (2019). https://www.hixny.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Certified-01.jpg Iconfinder. (2018). https://cdn1.iconfinder.com/data/icons/development- 3/91/SEODevelopment__Marketing_147-512.png Iconscout. (2019). https://cdn.iconscout.com/icon/free/png-256/unboxing-7-1165540.png Myitsupport. (2017). https://cdn2.hubspot.net/hubfs/2515653/bigstock-Business-Project-Cycle-Managem- 57088721.jpg Nicdao, J. (2015). Francais. https://www.flickr.com/photos/jonicdao/16292277372/ Vecteezy. (2019). https://static.vecteezy.com/system/resources/previews/000/609/113/non_2x/quote- square-icon-quotes-with-ask-sign-vector.jpg ___________. (2019). https://static.vecteezy.com/system/resources/previews/000/439/221/original/vector-magnifying- glass-icon.jpg Vectorstock. (2018). https://cdn4.vectorstock.com/i/1000x1000/42/13/creative-brain-concept-icon-vector- 18924213.jpg Jerome Christopher S. Flores Ma. Carmie Flor I. Ortego 1st Term AY 2021-2022 Understanding Culture, Society, and Politics Page | 13 1st Term AY 2021-2022 Understanding Culture, Society, and Politics Page | 14