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The Nature of Belief Systems
Rob Julian
Ravenswood School for Girls
Religious and non religious belief systems
Outcomes
In understanding the nature of belief systems, you will be concentrating particularly on the following outcomes:
| H2 | analyses relationships within and between social and cultural groups (examining the role belief systems play in those relationships) |
| H3 | accounts for cultural diversity and commonality within societies and cultures (explaining why there are such a range of belief systems across the world) |
| H7 | applies appropriate language and concepts associated with society and culture (which is what you should be doing every time you think or write about the subject) |
Focus
To fulfil the syllabus aim of understanding the role of belief systems in personal life, and in relationship to societies, cultures and environments across time, it is important to understand your own intellectual response to what comprises belief systems, and why they exist.
Understanding key terms
One of the important things to consider when studying belief systems is that you are preparing a Focus Study in Society and Culture. It is vital that you always refer to the language and concepts of the subject, and are familiar with the concepts mentioned specifically in the syllabus. These are the terms you should use when writing about Belief Systems.
The syllabus requires you to be aware of three specific terms, which are all defined in the syllabus glossary, and you should become familiar with them. In simple terms:
Belief system: It is an organised way of trying to explain the world around us. It is something that distinguishes human beings, and becomes an integral part of culture. The syllabus gives examples such as Confucianism, humanism, Islam, capitalism and feminism.
Worldview: There is a subtle difference between Belief System and Worldview. Where a belief system will attempt to provide understanding of larger issues of philosophy and fundamental beliefs and ways of doing things, a worldview essentially tries to explain and interpret world history or civilisation. You may find, as the syllabus glossary does, that the two terms are very similar.
Ideology: This refers to the unified set of ideas that link together beliefs. Thus you can refer to the capitalistic ideology that combines the ideas that underpin the belief system of capitalism.
The range of belief systems
One way of trying to chart the extent of
belief systems within and outside Australia is through statistical analysis. You
could consult census material from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, which
collects and publishes information based on Australian census returns. The ABS census material 
includes a short article on the nature
and history of religion and belief in Australia. For a look at a brief coverage
of the range and history of belief systems across the world, you could try Bret Wallach’s
article on the University of Oklahoma Geography Department web site.
The “big” questions
The source of all belief systems, whether
religious or not, is an attempt to describe the world in some way. Whether it is
“where did we all come from?”, “why are we here?” or
“what happens when we die?”, belief systems help people to
understand their environment. The environment is a key concept in understanding
the variety of belief systems in the world. Indigenous Australians before
European occupation used their natural environment to explain the world and
their place in it. Science and rationality have contributed to the emergence of
more contemporary belief systems that have to make sense of economic systems,
technology and a complex social environment. Thus the environment of the person
who stood at the entrance to Sydney or New York Harbour in 1000CE (common era)
was experiencing a totally different environment than the person who stood in
the same place in 2000CE. Many of the questions they would ask of their
existence could be the same, but the differing environments would lead to
different explanations and belief systems.
Religious and non-religious belief systems
All belief systems offer an explanation of something. The difference between secular (non-religious) and religious belief systems is that religious systems normally deal “with the whole of human life and death”. (John Bowker. World Religions. Dorling Kindersley. 1997). They take on a transcendent dimension that encompasses more than a mere human dimension. In other words, they believe in a supreme being or god. Secular belief systems often tend to try and explain specific aspects of life rather than all of life. For example, feminism is a belief system that attempts to explain gender equality, and capitalism explains economic organisation and life. However, it should be remembered that some non-religious belief systems like Wicca or Scientology often refer to very similar ideas to traditional religious belief systems.
Personal responses
To fully understand the nature and variety of belief systems, you need to engage in a degree of personal reflection. You must determine what your own beliefs are, and where they may have originated. You should try and determine the influence of socialising agents upon you, and compare your beliefs with those of family and friends, as well as people of other times and places. Refer back to the course concepts, and consider issues of continuity and change. Try and explain, through specific examples, areas of commonality and contrast in beliefs across time.
Activities
- Draw up a list of your own most important beliefs, both religious and non-religious, and trace their origins. Do they fit into an accepted belief system? Which one?
- Try and compile a cross-generational flowchart of beliefs within your family. Try and cover at least three generations. Use the flow chart to determine continuities and changes within the belief systems of your own family.
- Find an example of a belief system from an earlier period of history. How can it be linked to its environment? Compare it with your own experiences.
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