RELIGION EXAM REVISION – UNIT 1

SECTION 1: THE PURPOSE OF RELIGION

DEFINITION OF RELIGION

 Religion is the belief in and reverence for a supernatural power recognised as the creator and governor of the
universe
 Religion has its own sets of beliefs, traditions and rituals, as well as a sacred text which followers of that
particular religion use to guide their own lives and decision making

PURPOSE OF RELIGION

 Make sense of existence

 Initiated and supported/resisted social changes
 Inspired individuals
 Source of happiness and comfort during tragedy
 Can be a central element of identity or can mean nothing
 Gives faith to the poor

SECTION 2: THE ASPECTS OF RELIGION

NINE ASPECTS OF RELIGION

Aspect Definition Catholic Other Example (Jewish)

Example
Beliefs Ideas that are thought and felt by the Catholics believe That God created all creatures
religion’s followers to be true in Monotheism and that He alone made, makes,
(one God) and will make everything
Sacred Stories Religious stories or myths that Genesis Creation The Creation Story – same as
convey a believed truth Story Catholicism however some Jews
believe this story literally
Spaces, Places, Sacred spaces and places whereby Church (place of Synagogue – Jewish place of
Time and adherents demonstrate commitment worship) worship
Artefacts to unseen forces
There are times in a religious
tradition which shape the rites of
passage of adherents’ lives
An artefact can be a source of
identity or focus for a religion
Texts Where the oral and written literature The New The Torah – the central reference
that is essential to a religion are Testament of the religious Judaic tradition
recorded
Rituals A prescribed set of sacred actions The Eucharist Weekly Sabbath
that have symbolic meaning
Symbols Used to represent or stand for The crucifix The Star of David
something else
Social The social order of the religion and Pope – Rabbi, Chazzan, Gabbai, Kohein,
structures the order the religion fits in with Archbishops – Levi, Rebbe and Tzaddik
society Bishops – Priests
Ethics Study of decision making about what The Ten Jewish ethics originate with the
is right and wrong Commandments Hebrew Bible
Spiritual A person’s own experience within the Mass at Hanukkah – a lesser Jewish
Experience religion, and they may find meaning Christmas festival, lasting eight days from
in it followed by a the 25th day of Kislev (in
meal December)

 As society changes, grows and believes in new things over time, from generation to generation, so does
religion, and this is how the aspects of religion change
 They survive because each generation teaches the next generation, and it is a flow on effect
RELIGION EXAM REVISION – UNIT 1

SECTION 3: AN EXAMPLE OF A RITUAL FROM AN ANCIENT RELIGION

IMPORTANCE

 Rituals give closure to the past, and they also provide a more formalised way of giving focus to our desires
 They have the power to unite people who believe in the same thing

HOW IT HAS CHANGED OVER TIME

 Catholic Masses used to be said in Latin many years ago

 Due to not many people understanding Latin in modern society, and therefore the amount of Catholics
attending church decreased, they changed the language according to the country that the mass was held in
 Overall, rituals keep changing as the times change

SECTION 4: THE CONCEPT OF “COLLECTIVE IDENTITY”

 The shared definition of a group that derives from its members’ common interests, experiences and
solidarities
 Seen through the 9 aspects of religion

SECTION 5: COMPARISON/ANALYSIS OF TABLES

 Identify prominent religions in various areas
 Why are they there
 What reasons, trends and predictions can we make