INTRODUCTION: THE UNDERSTANDING OF CULTURE, SOCIETY, AND POLITICS

Cultural Variation and Social Differences (Religion)

Objectives
At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

 explain religion as a form of cultural variation,

 describe the diversity of religions in the world and in the Philippines, and
 analyze issues regarding religion in the world and in the Philippines.

 How is cultural variation explained in terms of religion?

 What are the existing religions in the world and in the Philippines?
 What are the issues surrounding differences in religion?

Find out the answers in this lesson!

Learn about it!

Religion as a Cultural Variation
 We live in a world with varying and diverse cultures.
 Cultural variation or differences take many forms within and among societies,
one of which is religion.
 Religion can be defined as a set of practices and behaviors that relate to a
group of people's belief in a god or a group of gods.
 Sociologists studying religion consider it a part of society's culture.
 In most cases, religion not only affects a person's belief, but one's way of life.
Variety of Religion
 There are many religions around the world.
 Among the major religions in the world
are Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Taoism, and Buddhism.
 Each of these religions has its own set of beliefs and practices that must be
followed by its believers.
 In a society, several religions may exist, and since religion affects an individual’s
way of life, we can observe cultural variations in the form of different religions.
Religion in the Philippines
 The Philippines is a secular country, which means that the government does not
prescribe a specific set of activities or laws based on religion. A citizen's right to
choose his or her own religion is protected by the Philippine Constitution.
 In the Philippines, the majority of the population are Christians, with a certain
portion of the population practicing Islam, particularly in the southern part of the
country.
  Buddhism, Taoism, and Hinduism are also practiced by a small number of
inhabitants in the archipelago.
 Different religions are being practiced in Philippine society today. This variation in
religion is a product of the evolution of Philippine society across time.
Understanding Cultural Variation in the Form of Religion
 Cultural variations do exist as exemplified through different religions in the world,
more so in Philippine society.
 For example, Christians and Muslims believe in one God, Hindus believe in many
gods, and Buddhists do not.
 The sets of practices and beliefs of a particular religion influence the behavior of
its followers and their interaction with other members of society.
Issues Surrounding Differences in Religion
Because people have different religions, issues and conflicts between religious groups
or denominations cannot be prevented.

Problems or Conflicts

 Since differences in religion do not only mean worshipping different gods, conflicts
sometimes arise between believers.
 Some believers of a particular religion feel like they are being marginalized, while some
feel like those following other religions are taking advantage of their number.
 It may be easy to be swayed by religious differences and start a conflict. A believer or
follower of a particular religion may offend a follower of another religion if he or she
imposes his or her religious beliefs or practices.
 In history, bloody wars happened because of religious differences, and unfortunately,
conflicts continue until now due to varying religions.

Solutions or Actions

 To prevent conflicts, the Philippine government, for example, started recognizing some
of the special days celebrated by different religions.
 Employees are not required to work during Holy Week, when Catholics commemorate
the suffering and death of Jesus Christ.
 The start and end of the Ramadan are also considered holidays, just like when the
Chinese celebrate the start of their new year.
 This way, the government allows followers of different religions to attend to their religious
obligations without work getting in the way.
 To those conflicts brought about by differences in religion, the key word is respect. This
entails a conscious effort to acquire cultural knowledge and understand which this
course is mainly about.

Keypoints
 Cultural variation takes many forms, one of which is religion.
 Religion is a set of practices and behaviors that relate to a group of people's belief in a
god or group of gods.
  Among the major religions in the world are Christianity, Islam, Hinduism,
and Buddhism.
 In the Philippines, the majority of the population are Christians, with a certain portion
of the population practicing Islam, particularly in the southern part of the country, while
some inhabitants practice Buddhism, Taoism, or Hinduism.
 Protestants also believe in Jesus Christ, but they do not share the same practices as
Catholicism.
 The Philippine government started to recognize special days in different religions to
give believers freedom to practice their own religions.
 Despite being largely Catholic, the Philippines remains a secular country. A citizen's
right to choose his or her own religion is protected by the Philippine Constitution.
 Many conflicts happened because of cultural variations such as differences in religion.
 Recognizing cultural variations and showing respect to different religions can help
avoid conflict.
 Respect can effectively be achieved through the conscious effort of acquiring cultural
knowledge and understanding.

I CAN DO THIS!
1. What do you call the set of practices and behavior that relate to a group of people's belief in a
god or group of gods?
2. Filipinos have the freedom to choose their own religion. What does this make the
Philippines?Anne is a Protestant while her friend, Marie, is a Catholic. Sometimes, while doing
their homework in Marie's house, Anne makes fun of the fact that Catholics have images of
saints in their houses. What should Marie do about this problem?

3. Amarah is a Muslim who studies in a public school. Her parents forbade her to make friends
with Christians because they are afraid that she will be bullied. She, however, has Christian
friends, and they understand her religion because of what they learned in class. What should
Amarah do about this problem?
4. Bob went to Saudi Arabia for a vacation. He saw a lot of women wearing hijabs and made fun
of them. He also kept looking for pork when eating in restaurants. If you are Bob's companion,
what should you do?
5. You studied about terrorism in one of your classes in school. It was mentioned that some
terrorist groups are doing terrible acts to protect Islam from Christians. Some of your
classmates started calling your Muslim classmate a "terrorist" behind his back. What should
you do to stop your classmates from bullying your Muslim classmate?