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Lesson 2 - ITWRBS

1) The earliest evidence of religion dates back to Paleolithic times when humans were hunter-gatherers and began pondering matters of existence. 2) As humans transitioned to agriculture around 10,000 BCE, societies became more complex and organized religions emerged that were influenced by geography, culture, and social factors. 3) Geography influenced religions through aspects like iconography reflecting the local environment, while culture and social influences shaped practices and views among religious groups.

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Arman Miguel Dungao Loar
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31 views

Lesson 2 - ITWRBS

1) The earliest evidence of religion dates back to Paleolithic times when humans were hunter-gatherers and began pondering matters of existence. 2) As humans transitioned to agriculture around 10,000 BCE, societies became more complex and organized religions emerged that were influenced by geography, culture, and social factors. 3) Geography influenced religions through aspects like iconography reflecting the local environment, while culture and social influences shaped practices and views among religious groups.

Uploaded by

Arman Miguel Dungao Loar
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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LESSON 2: HOW WORLD RELIGIONS BEGAN Muslims –


It is a cultural practice for women to cover their hair
with a hijab or a veil that covers the head and chest.
➢ The Emergence of Religion
The earliest evidence of spiritual belief among
humans dates back to the Paleolithic Period. It may Cultural diversity plays a great part in shaping
be said that as communities became increasingly religions.
complex and sophisticated, moving beyond merely
addressing the most basic needs of food and shelter, Pre-colonial Filipinos –
humans began to ponder matters of existence, being, They expressed their religion through artistic
and purpose. This philosophizing on the origins and means, such as carving figurines of their deities and
purpose of humans, influenced by rudimentary gods.
thoughts on the understanding of the natural
environment and its wonders, was gradually
institutionalized to become the earliest forms of Egypt –
belief systems.
There are religious writings called “Pyramid Texts”
that are considered the oldest religious writings in
Anthropologists and archaeologists believe that the world and make up the principal funerary
organized religion is due to developments that literature of ancient Egypt. The Pyramid Texts are
occurred around 10, 000 BCE when early humans seen as an assurance that the gods will guide the
moved from a hunter-gatherer way of life to a more soul of the departed on its journey to its eternal
sedentary life. The Neolithic Revolution saw the home.
emergence of agriculture as a primary means of
livelihood for early humans, and the cultivation of
plants and the domestication of animals led to the Social factors also help shape an individual’s
organization of large societies. Over centuries, beliefs, lifestyle, and personality.
differentiated labor, increased interactions through
trade and migration, the invention of writing, and
the establishment of governments. Pope John Paul II and Mother Teresa –
They are considered among the most influential
personalities of the Catholic Church.
➢ The Geographic, Cultural, and Social
Factors that Influenced the
Development of Religions Martin Luther King –
Religions are practiced differently in various parts With his reformations, it has changed people’s
of the world. They are significant for many people views and ideas of Christianity.
because they establish different lifestyles among
their believers.
Hinduism – The 14th Dalai Lama –

Cows and other animals are considered sacred; Is known even to non-adherents of Buddhism due to
therefore, Hindus are vegetarians and do not kill his views on numerous social issues such as
cows or eat beef.
Intro to World Religions and Belief Systems – Ms. Chery Rose C. Balusada
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religious harmony, economics, the environment, and The evidence suggests that belief in the supernatural
gender equality. – that there is more to the world than meets the eye,
and that there is something that transcends and is
beyond the natural environment –is as old as
Subject to geographic location, the religion humanity itself.
practiced in an area continues to evolve depending
The Homo sapiens’ adaptability and penchant for
on the country’s resources, which shows how
survival caused them to migrate from one area to
geography can affect the emergence of a belief
system. another. This migration separated their
descendants from those of other human groups for
Geographer Ellen Semple writes that a religion’s extended periods of time. However, groups that
iconography takes significant influence from the were geographically isolated from each other –
place of its birth. For instance, Eskimo’s hell is a sometimes continents apart –experienced cultural
place of darkness, storm, and intense cold while the changes similar to each other, possibly due to
Jew’s concept of hell is a place of eternal fire.
shared desires for discovery.
Buddha pictured his heaven as Nirvana, which is the
cessation of all earthly desires.

Source:
➢ The Earliest Evidence of Religion in
Corral, V., & Balance-Kupang, G. (2017).
Early Human Society Introduction to World Religions for Senior
Anthropologists label early human cultures by their High School. C & E Publishing, Inc.
implements and tools.

Paleolithic or “Old Stone” Age dates back from the


earliest use of stone tools some one million years
ago to about 10, 000 BCE. Throughout this period,
humans were hunter-gatherers and fishers. They
were not yet makers of food. They gradually learned
to create and utilize refined tools of stone and
consumable resources, like logs for fuel, having
learned to make and regulate fire.
Sacred and supernatural views and religious
practices might have materialized to appease or
compel the extraordinary forces believed to move,
animate, or direct the natural environment.
Indication of spiritual belief and practice, along
with magic, goes as far back as archaeology can
take us. Anxiety, reverence, jubilation, gratefulness,
and other responses to the natural environment must
all have figured in the ritual observances, such as
cave art and burial, evidence of which has been
discovered at various locations around the world.

Intro to World Religions and Belief Systems – Ms. Chery Rose C. Balusada

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