Unit 1 Key Words Flashcards
Agnosticism
Not being sure whether God exists
Atheism
Believing that God does not exist.
Theism
Believing that God does exist
Prayer
An attempt to contact God, usually through words
Omnibenevolent
The belief that God is good or kind
Omnipotent
The belief that God is all powerful
Omniscient
The belief that God knows everything that has happened and everything that is going to happen
Conversion
When your life is changed by giving yourself to God
Miracle
Something which seems to break the law of science and makes you think that only God could have done it
Numinous
The feeling or presence of something greater than you, e.g. in a Church or looking up at the stars
Religious Experience
An event where people feel that they have had direct contact with God
Free Will
The idea that human beings are free to make their own choices
Moral Evil
Actions done by humans which cause suffering
Natural Evil
Things that cause suffering but have nothing to do with humans
Paranormal
Unexplained things which are thought to have spiritual causes, e.g. ghosts and mediums
Heaven
A place of paradise where God rules
Hell
A place of horrors where Satan rules
Immortality of the soul
The idea that the soul lives on after the death of the body
Resurrection
The belief that, after death, the body stays in the grave until the end of the world when it is raised
Abortion
The removal of a foetus from the womb before it can survive
Assisted suicide
Providing a seriously ill person with the means to commit suicide
Euthanasia
An easy and gentle death
Non-voluntary euthanasia
Ending someone’s life painlessly when they are unable to ask, but you have good reason for thinking they would you want you to do so, e.g. switching of a life support machine
Voluntary euthanasia
When someone dying in pain asks a doctor to end his/her life personally
Sanctity of life
The belief that life is holy and belongs to God
Purgatory
A place Catholics believe you go to expiate sins before going to heaven
Quality of Life
The idea that life must have some benefits for it to be worth living
Reincarnation
The belief that after death souls are reborn in a new body
Near death Experience (NDE)
When someone about to die has an out of body experience
Adultery
An act of sexual intercourse between a married person and someone other than their marriage partner
Cohabitation
Living together without being married
Faithfulness
Staying with your marriage partner and having sex only with them
Marriage
The condition of a man and woman legally united for the purpose of living together and, usually, having children
Pre-martial sex
Sex before marriage
Promiscuity
Having sex with a number of partner without commitment
Homosexuality
Sexual attraction to people of the same gender
Annulment
A declaration by the Church that a marriage never lawfully existed, this means the marriage is invalid and never truly existed.
Re-marriage
Marrying again after being divorced from a previous marriage
Extended family
Children, parents and grandparents/aunts/ uncles living as a unit in close proximity
Nuclear family
Mother, father and children living as a unit
Re-constituted family
Where two sets of Children (step-brothers and sisters) become one family when their divorced parents marry each other
Celibate life
One without sex
Civil Partnership
A legal ceremony giving homosexual couples the same legal rights as a husband and wife
Contraception
Intentionally preventing pregnancy from occurring
Procreation
Making a new life
Equality
The state of everyone having equal rights regardless of gender/race/class
Sexism
Discriminating against people because of their gender (being male or female)
Multi-ethnic society
Many different races and cultures living together in one society
Prejudice
Believing some people are inferior or superior without even knowing them
Discrimination
Putting prejudice into practice and treating people less favourably because of their race/gender//class
Racism
The belief that some races are superior to others
Racial harmony
Different races living together happily
Multi-faith society
Many different religions living together in one society
Religious pluralism
Accepting all religions as having an equal right to coexist
Religious freedom
The right to practise your religion and change your religion
Community Cohesion
A common vision and shared sense of belonging for all groups in society
Interfaith marriage
Marriage where the husband and wife are from different religions
Ethnic Minority
A member of an ethnic group (race) which is much smaller than the majority group
