RST1501
PORTFOLIO
SEMESTER 2 2026
UNIQUE NO:
DUE DATE:
,INTRODUCING RELIGIONS OF THE WORLD - RST1501
S2 PORTFOLIO 2026
QUESTION 1: TERMINOLOGY AND METHODOLOGY (10/100)
1.1 Can religion bring healing and also cause harm?
Religion has the capacity to bring both healing and harm, depending on how its beliefs,
teachings and practices are understood and applied. On the positive side, religion can
provide people with meaning, hope, belonging and moral direction, particularly during
difficult experiences such as bereavement, illness, poverty or personal failure. Religious
communities can also provide practical support through counselling, charity and social
solidarity. For example, Christianity teaches values such as love, forgiveness,
compassion, honesty and care for vulnerable people. These values can promote
emotional and social healing by encouraging individuals to forgive others, seek
reconciliation and assist people experiencing hardship.
However, religion can also become harmful when beliefs are interpreted in ways that
justify exclusion, discrimination, intolerance or violence. Religious authority may
sometimes be misused to control individuals or discourage questioning. The same
sacred traditions that encourage compassion can therefore be interpreted selectively to
defend harmful practices. This means that the existence of harmful behaviour
associated with religion should not automatically be taken as proof that religion itself is
inherently harmful.
In my view, religion is best understood as a powerful social and moral force that can
produce either positive or negative consequences. Its effects depend greatly on
interpretation, leadership, social circumstances and the behaviour of believers. Ethical
values such as compassion, justice, dignity, forgiveness and respect for human life
provide important standards against which religious practices can be evaluated.
1.2 Phenomenological and critical approaches
PORTFOLIO
SEMESTER 2 2026
UNIQUE NO:
DUE DATE:
,INTRODUCING RELIGIONS OF THE WORLD - RST1501
S2 PORTFOLIO 2026
QUESTION 1: TERMINOLOGY AND METHODOLOGY (10/100)
1.1 Can religion bring healing and also cause harm?
Religion has the capacity to bring both healing and harm, depending on how its beliefs,
teachings and practices are understood and applied. On the positive side, religion can
provide people with meaning, hope, belonging and moral direction, particularly during
difficult experiences such as bereavement, illness, poverty or personal failure. Religious
communities can also provide practical support through counselling, charity and social
solidarity. For example, Christianity teaches values such as love, forgiveness,
compassion, honesty and care for vulnerable people. These values can promote
emotional and social healing by encouraging individuals to forgive others, seek
reconciliation and assist people experiencing hardship.
However, religion can also become harmful when beliefs are interpreted in ways that
justify exclusion, discrimination, intolerance or violence. Religious authority may
sometimes be misused to control individuals or discourage questioning. The same
sacred traditions that encourage compassion can therefore be interpreted selectively to
defend harmful practices. This means that the existence of harmful behaviour
associated with religion should not automatically be taken as proof that religion itself is
inherently harmful.
In my view, religion is best understood as a powerful social and moral force that can
produce either positive or negative consequences. Its effects depend greatly on
interpretation, leadership, social circumstances and the behaviour of believers. Ethical
values such as compassion, justice, dignity, forgiveness and respect for human life
provide important standards against which religious practices can be evaluated.
1.2 Phenomenological and critical approaches
