through and within belief in the existence of God.
Those who denied the existence of God, did so for different reasons, while theistic belief systems also vary in thein conceptions of God.
Among theists are polytheists, who based their worldview not on a belief in one God, but incorporate a multiplicity of lordships, in a way that entails belief in the existence of more than one God or more than one deity.
Closely related to this conception is pantheism, the doctrine that identifies God with nature as if the universe and the divinity are the same and thus form only one entity; in this belief, God is nature and nature is God.
In short, both polytheism and pantheism hold a belief in the existence of God, however the former tends to a belief in a number of divinities, while the later fails to distinguish God from the natural world.
Polytheistic and pantheistic conceptions of life are contrasted to that of monotheism, the belief in the existence of one God, who is the Creator of everything and everyone; a position held, though in different ways, by major world religions.
In addition, although monotheism is generally held by major world religious traditions, there is diversity in their belief in the existence of one God, particularly in the area of the universality of God and divisibility of the essence of God.
Hence world religious faiths offer Ethno-centric, Trinitarian and Tawhidic conceptions of God, which primarily share belief in the existence of God, but differ in ways of conceiving God.
Ethno-centrism or monoletry, in which God is one, without denying other communities' right to worship other gods, is attributed to Judaism. In addition, the belief in the existence of one God, but three godheads is attributed to the Christian concept of God, Trinity, and the Hinduism conception of God, Trimurty. Tawhidic conception of God, in which God is one and only One and for all and for everybody, is attributed to Islamic faith. Further details on this topic is found in Hashi, Addurezak A., Between Monotheism and Tawhid: A Comparative Analysis, Revelation and Science, Research Management Center, International Islamic University Malaysia, v.3, no.2, 23-29
Literally, humanism is the devotion to the humanities. Conceptually, this term has various interrelated meanings depending the field and school of thought. For instance, in his online article "What is Humanism", Fred Edwords, lists down various conceptions of humanism such as Renaissance humanism, Western cultural humanism, Philosophical humanism, Modern humanism, Secular humanism and Religious humanism, which more or less exhibit different levels of trust in human made values over divine revelations. Though humanism is expressed in different ways, in the general outlook, humanism is a system of thought that emphasizes goodness of human beings, and attaching prime importance to human affairs rather than divine. Further details are found in: Fred Edwords,"What is Humanism", in American Humanist Association, available
at: htpillamericanhumanist.org/Humanism/What is Humanism, retrieved on 13t October, 2015.
Humanism is a system of thought that gives priority to human thoughts and ideas presumably over divine sources in answering banie questions of life. In a rejection of the authority of revelation, which is generally the source of religious beliefs and traditions proponents of humanism seek to understand human thoughts and boliefs on notions that are primarily derived from human rationality.
Since belief systems differ in conceptions of God, conceptions of ethics and social order too differ from one another.
For instance, given the fact that scientific and atheistic philosophical worldviews deny the existence of God and the truth of Divine revelations, proponents of these worldviews focus on human means for comprehending the reality of life.
These belief systems promote human rationality over divine revelations, therefore their conception of morality and social order are founded on humanism that is the trust in human goodness and values, rather than belief in God or in divine revelations, in all matters of life.
Social orders offered by atheistic worldviews are often marked by secularism and communistic attitudes, theories of governance, which are derived from humanism, not from any divine sources.
In contrast, religious worldviews present an understanding that is contrastable to that of atheistic humanism. This is so because, unlike humanistic philosophy, which is founded on disbelief in the existence of God, religious worldviews are generally founded on belief in the existence of a universal spirit god or divine entity, which has established an eternal order.
Furthermore, unlike humanism in which good in life is sought without belief in God or without guidance from a divine order, in religious traditions, the universal spirit, deity or God, unveils his character and plan through revelations or inspirations.
This divine code addresses both spiritual as well as material aspects of life,and demands that men and women obey its teachings. Based on this divine order, a man's conduct is judged and evaluated; an evaluation which has implications in this life and beyond.
Though in the general outlook, religious worldviews share this common notion, religious traditions hold different perspectives on the conception of God, the understanding of revelation, and teachings that are founded therein.
This book uses analytical and comparative methods, and intends to highlight the foundations and conceptions of dominant belief systems and philosophies of life. This book seeks to address the fundamental ideals and thoughts of given worldviews in a descriptive and comparative manner, however it does not intend to present a normative account, nor does it aim to produce any judgments of right and wrong. It explain the meaning and implications of the leading thoughts and ideals of given philosophies of life, and illustrates the differences and similarities among such belief systems.
Apart from the introduction which highlights the rationale and the method used in this book, as well as the conclusion, which constitutes a summary of the ideas and thoughts presented in this work, this book includes seven chapters. The first chapter highlights basic concepts, understandings, functions and contents of the term "worldview". The second chapter explains types of Worldview, such as thescientific worldview, philosophical worldview and religious worldview, as well as ideologies and leading schools of thought. Foundations and concepts of conventional approaches to life such asmaterialism, modernism, positivism, secularism and postmodernism are highlighted in chapter three. Chapter four illustrates types and forms of religious belief systems and faiths such as polytheism pantheism,monism, deism and monotheism. Theories
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