Key Terms Flashcards
Theism
A belief in God’s existence
Monotheism
Religions that portray God as one all-powerful deity
Polytheism
Religion that emphasises a belief in multiple deities
Deity
Another word for a God
Christianity
A belief in the Judeo-Christian God who sent His son Jesus to die for the sins of the world to reconcile mankind to God. Forgiveness is given by grace to people who trust in their sacrifice and through the power of the Holy Spirit, Christians live for Jesus.
Islam
The belief that Allah is one God who sent his final revelation to Muhammad the Prophet. Muslims hope that through the obedience to the Qur’an and the Five Pillars of Islam that they will gain forgiveness on Judgement Day.
Hinduism
A soft polytheistic religion that emphasises Brahman as the high creator God whose attributes and characteristic are emanated through many gods and goddesses. As an eastern philosophy, Hinduism is more concerned with how one lives by Dharma (teachings) than where our world came from.
Naturalism
The belief that all religious truth is based not on revelation but rather on the study of natural causes and processes
Atheism
A belief that there is no God in existence
Agnosticism
Agnostics believe there is inconclusive evidence regarding the existence of God.
Humanism
A philosophy that emphasises humans (individually and in communities) should be enabled to pursue happiness whilst being considerate and kind to others. They emphasise that they follow ‘reason’ rather than superstition and believe that science can provide the answers to our existence
Trimurti
‘Three forms’ of the divine; the three gods Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva
Religion
A belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or Gods
Holy Trinity
Father, son and Holy Spirit
