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Religious Beliefs
Task One
In groups, identify as many religious beliefs as you can.
Make a written note of these beliefs.
Below are the main religious beliefs:
A belief in God
A belief in the soul
A belief in life after death
A belief in right and wrong
A belief in heaven and hell
Task Two
In groups, think of questions that you could ask a person
about these beliefs. Make a list of your questions. Think of
people you could interview with your questions. Invite
them for an interview and make a written record of their
responses.
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God
All the world religions (apart from Buddhism) say that
God exists. Each world religion says that God created the
universe. This means that God is all-powerful. Each world
religion also says that God is all-knowing and all-loving.
Descriptions of God can be very detailed. Islam has 99
names for God. Two of these are the Gracious and the
Sublime. One Sikh holy book lists 950 names for God.
Some of these are borrowed from Islam. Two of the most
important Sikh names for God are the Timeless and the
True.
All religions say that God is vast and sometimes
mysterious. God is often described as beyond the
imagination. This is why some religions do not show what
God is like in a picture or statue. Religions that do not have
images of God are Islam, Sikhism and Judaism. Protestant
Christians do not have images of God but Roman Catholic
Christians do. Orthodox Christians also have many
pictures of God. These religious images are called icons.
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Task Three
1) Copy out the following cloze passage. Then use the
Word Bank at the bottom of the page to complete the
passage.
Most world _________________ claim that God _____________ .
They also say that he is _____ ___________________ and _____
__________________ . God is often given names. For example,
Sikhs call God the _________________ and the _________________ .
Muslims say that God is _________________ and ______________ .
God: Word Bank~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
all-powerful Gracious Sublime True
Timeless exists all-loving religions
2) Why do some religions never have pictures of God?
Literacy advice: begin your answer with the sentence and
sentence stem: There are several reasons why some
religions do not have pictures of God. For example, .…
Icons4
Religions that use icons do so for many reasons. For
example, an icon can provide comfort. Many people keep
icons in their homes. They often treat them like a family
member. An icon can also give inspiration. Icons can also
be a source of knowledge. Icons often contain messages
about the beliefs and values of a religion. Many icons are
amongst the greatest works of art.
The religion that uses the most images for God is
Hinduism. Hindus believe that Brahman (God) is a
formless power. This power appears in many ways. These
appearances of God are called ‘avatara’. An avatar can be a
male or female or even an animal. An avatar has a
particular skill. For example, the god Shiva can be a
destroyer whereas the goddess Sarasvati is a creator.
People that believe that God exists are called theists. For
theists, the existence of God answers questions such as:
1) Where did the universe come from? 2) Is there an
intelligence that controls nature? 3) Are humans alone in
the universe?
Icons of God in Hinduism
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Icons in Christianity
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Jesus and Mary
Christ Pantocrator
Task Four
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Copy out the following cloze passage. Then use the Word
Bank at the bottom of the page to complete the passage.
Icons are used for many ____________ . They can be kept in
the __________ or else _______________ buildings. The religion
with the most icons is ___________________ . For _____________
God can _____________ in many ways. These appearances are
called ______________ . All icons contain important
information about the _____________ and _______________ of a
religion.
Word Bank
avatara home Hindus reasons values
Hinduism appear beliefs religious
Task Five
You can do a worksheet and icon on either 1) The Hindu
Goddess Maha Kali or 2) Christianity: (a) Christ
Pantocrator or (b) Jesus and the Virgin Mary (The
Hodegetria).
God as a Symbol8
Some religious people do not believe in a literal God. They
do not believe that God exists somewhere ‘out there’.
Rather, they think of God as a symbol.
The symbol of God tries to show what is most important to
us. Human beings value love and family life. For some
people this explains why God is often described as a
mother and sometimes as a father. In this way of thinking,
God personifies two things. As a mother, God represents
the natural process that gives birth to everything. God also
represents our need to be loved and nurtured. As a father,
God represents an authority figure that offers guidance
and protection.
Task Six
Copy out the following cloze passage. Then use the Word
Bank at the bottom of the page to complete the passage.
Some ________________ people think of God as a _____________ .
This means that God ____________________ what is most
important to us. Human beings need __________________ and
___________________ . This is why God is often thought of as a
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___________________ . Human beings also need to be
__________________ . This is why God is often __________________
as a mother. God as a mother and father symbolise our
first and most basic ______________ .
Word Bank
needs guidance religious protection
father imagined symbol represents nurtured
2) Using a dictionary, look up the words: (a) personify and
(b) personification. Write the meaning of these words into
your jotter.
The Soul
All world religions (except Buddhism) say that we have a
soul. The soul is not physical like our body. The soul is
spiritual. The soul is the life force behind our thoughts and
emotions. The soul enters the body at conception and
leaves at the moment of death.
Is the Brain Like a Computer?
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The ancient Greek word for the soul is ‘psyche’. The word
‘psyche’ provides us with the word ‘psychology’.
Psychology is the science of mind and behaviour.
Many psychologists think that our thoughts and emotions
come from our brain. They compare our brain to a CPU
(central processing unit) of a computer and our genes to a
computer program. Just as electricity allows a computer to
operate, the energy content of food allows human beings
to live. Just as a computer stops working properly when it
has a virus, human beings can contract a disease and
become sick. Just as a computer needs rebooting, a human
being needs to get better. Just as a computer eventually
becomes burned out, a human being becomes old and dies.
Task Seven
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Answer the following questions in as much detail as
possible.
1) What is the soul and what does it do?
Literacy advice: begin your answer with the stem: The
soul is ….
2) Do you believe that the soul exists or not? Give reasons
for your answer.
Literacy advice: begin your answer with the stem: I believe
that ….
3) Complete the following table of comparisons between a
human being and a computer:
A Human Being A Computer
Computer CPU
Genes
Electricity
Sickness and Disease
Burnout
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4) Although human beings and computers can be
compared to each other, what, if any, are the major
differences between them?
Literacy advice: begin your answer with the sentence and
sentence stem: Humans and computers are different in a
number of ways. For example, …
Life after Death
All world religions say there is life after death. Although
Buddhism claims there is no soul, it does say there is a
stream of consciousness that connects one life to the next.
For those religions that believe it exists, the soul is the
immortal essence of our personality. It survives death and
continues to exist. Even people who do not belong to a
religion sometimes believe in the soul. A person who
believes the soul exists could be called a spiritualist or a
mentalist.
The table below shows how two groups of religions have
different ideas about life after death.
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Life After Death in the World Religions
World Religions: Reincarnation:
Hinduism
Buddhism
Sikhism
A person is reborn either as
another person, animal or
spirit. Spirits can be ghosts
or gods.
World Religions: Resurrection:
Judaism
Christianity
Islam
A person is raised from the
dead to live again as
themselves in the
resurrected body of the
afterlife.
Resurrection and Reincarnation
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Many people claim there is evidence for reincarnation.
There are numerous stories of people who claim to
remember being someone else in the past. Alternatively,
where is the evidence for resurrection?
Task Eight
With the rest of the class, look at some cases of people
who claim to have been reincarnated. Assess the claims
made in these stories. Assess the claims of those who
believe in resurrection. Make some notes on what you
think is the basis of each type of claim.
1) Using a whole page of your jotter, copy out the above
table on ‘Life After Death in the World Religions’.
Answer the following questions in as much detail as
possible:
1) Why do some people claim to be reincarnated?
Literacy advice: begin your answer with the sentence and
stem: People claim to be reincarnated for many reasons.
For example, ….
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2) Why do some people believe in reincarnation?
Literacy advice: begin your answer with the sentence and
stem: People believe in reincarnation for many reasons.
For example, ….
3) Why do some people believe in resurrection?
Literacy advice: begin your answer with the stem: people
believe in resurrection because ….
Right and Wrong
All the world religions say there is a difference between
right and wrong. It is usually God who has told people the
difference between right and wrong. Every religion has
rules. Religious people believe that good consequences
come from sticking to the rules. They also believe that bad
consequences come from breaking the rules. The following
table explains these beliefs:
Heaven and Hell
World Religions: Beliefs about Heaven and Hell
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Judaism
Christianity
Islam
People who practise these religions
believe that when they die they will
be resurrected. They will then live
forever in either heaven or hell. If a
person has lived by religious rules
they will go to heaven. If a person
has broken religious rules they will
go to hell.
World Religions: Beliefs about Heaven and Hell
Hinduism
Buddhism
Sikhism
People who practise these religions
believe that heaven and hell are just
two of many places in which it is
possible to be reborn. For example, a
person in the human realm could die
and be reincarnated as a god in a
heaven realm. They could then die
and be reborn as a spirit in a hell
realm. Release from this continuous
process is known as moksha or
freedom from rebirth. This freedom
is caused by following religious
rules.
Task Nine
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1) Complete the following table in your jotter identifying
as many examples as you can:
Things my parents have told me …
… are wrong to do … are right to do
2) From the above table, choose the best piece of advice
your parents have given to you. Write it down and then
explain why it is the best piece of advice you have been
given.
Literacy advice: begin your answer with the stem: The
best piece of advice my parents have given me is …
Humanism and Religious Beliefs: God
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Some Humanists say that God is a delusion. A delusion is a
belief for which there is no evidence. Some Humanists
compare the belief in God to a belief in Father Christmas.
Others compare God to an invisible friend or a police
officer in the sky. They say that God simply does not exist.
People who say that God does not exist are atheists.
Some Humanists are agnostics. An agnostic thinks that
there isn’t enough evidence to prove that God exists or
does not exist. Agnostics say they do not know whether
God exists or not. Buddhism is an agnostic religion.
Buddhists are not concerned about whether God exists or
not. For Buddhists, God is irrelevant to what is important
about life.
Many Humanists are sceptics. A sceptic is someone who
exercises doubt. For example, a sceptic would doubt that
God exists. Theists claim that God is all-loving. However, a
sceptic would ask: then why do bad things happen to
people?
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Since bad things do happen to people a sceptic thinks that
God probably does not exist. Considerations like these
make some people very doubtful that God exists.
Humanism and Religious Beliefs: Life After
Death
Many Humanists believe that what happens after death is
a mystery. They claim that we cannot prove whether there
is life after death or not. These people are agnostics and
the position they hold is called agnosticism.
A sceptic seriously doubts there is life after death. They
might claim there is no evidence for resurrection. They
would point out that anyone who has been 100%
conclusively dead for a long time has never come back to
life. Although there appears to be some evidence for
reincarnation, a sceptic would ask why there are only a
few isolated cases of people remembering who they were
in the past. There are hundreds of millions of people in the
world but only a few that claim to remember a previous
life.
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Many Humanists who are influenced by modern science
believe that the physical body causes consciousness. They
believe that thoughts are products of the brain. These
people are called physicalists and the position they hold is
known as physicalism. Physicalists think that when a
person dies they are totally annihilated. Since physicalists
believe in the annihilation of a person at death they are
also known as nihilists. The position they hold is called
nihilism. Physicalists and nihilists believe the opposite of
mentalists or spiritualists. Mentalists or spiritualists
believe that the soul or mind is different than the body.
They believe it is indestructible and lives on after the
death of the body.
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Task Ten
Copy out and complete the cloze passage below. Use
information from pages 19, 20 and 21 to enable you to
complete this task. Do it in a pair or in in a group.
A _______________ believes in God. However, a _________________
does not believe in God. Some people think that in
religious matters knowledge is most important. They say
that they do not know whether God exists or not. These
people are called _________________ . They also claim it is
impossible to know if there is ___________ after ______________ .
A sceptic is inclined to _____________ the existence of God or
____________ after ______________ . People that believe thoughts
are caused by the brain are called ______________________ .
They think that when a person dies they are completely
destroyed. This position is known as ______________________ .
People that believe that the mind is different from the
body are called ______________________ or ______________________ .
These people also believe in life after death.
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Humanism and Religious Beliefs: Right and
Wrong
Humanists believe that evolution has provided people
with a conscience. A conscience leads people to believe
that there is a difference between right and wrong or good
and evil.
Task Eleven
1) What do you believe happens after death? Give reasons
for your answer.
Literacy advice: begin your answer with the sentence
stem: I believe that after death …
2) What do you think about the existence of God? Which
philosophical position do you think is compatible with
your own point of view? Give reasons for your answer.
Literacy advice: begin your answer with the sentence
stem: I believe that God ...
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Religious Beliefs Crossword:
Specialist Vocabulary
Clues
Down:
1) The opposite of good.
2) Someone who believes in life after death.
3) To return from death as another person, animal or
spirit.
4) The opposite of bad.
5) I say: ‘Once you’re dead, you’re dead.’
6) Supreme being.
7) I believe God is an invisible police man in the sky – in
other words, I do not believe he exists.
8) She doesn’t believe in everything she sees or hears.
9) Tells us what we should or should not do.
10) The worst anyone could possibly be.
11) The Ancient Greek word for knowledge.
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Across:
1) Raised from the dead to live again.
2) The reward for a life well-lived.
3) I believe your mind is a product of your brain.
4) A religious picture.
5) The place where people are supposed to burn and
suffer for ever!
6) The Cross, the Khanda and the Star of David etc.
7) Someone who believes that God exists.
8) The indestructible essence of a person.
9) Someone who sees insufficient evidence for and
insufficient evidence against a belief or position.
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