Unit 6 Religion - Vocabulary Flashcards
Animism
Belief that objects, such as plants and stones, or natural events, like thunderstorms and earthquakes, have a discrete spirit and conscious life
Branch
A large and fundamental division within a religion
Cosmogony
A set of religious beliefs concerning the origin of the universe
Denomination
A division of a branch that unites a number of local congregations into a single legal and administrative body
Diocese
The basic unit of geographic organization in the Roman Catholic Church; a district under the pastoral care of a bishop in the Christian Church.
Ethnic religion
A religion with a relatively concentrated spatial distribution whose principles are likely to be based on the physical characteristics of the particular location in which it’s adherents are concentrated
Fundamentalism
Literal interpretation and strict adherence to basic principles of a religion (or a religious branch, denomination, or sect)
Ghetto
During the Middle Ages, a neighborhood in a city set up by law to be inhabited only by Jews; now used to denote a section of a city in which members of minority’s group live because of social, legal, or economic pressure
Hierarchical religion
A religion in which a central authority exercises a high degree of control
Inhumation
The action or practice of burying the dead; the fact of being buried.
Interfaith boundary
The boundaries between the world’s major religions
Intrafaith boundary
The boundaries dividing denominations within the same faith
Monotheism
The doctrine of or belief in the existence of only one god
Hadj
The Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca that takes place in the last month of the year, and that all Muslims are expected to make at least once during their lifetime
Pilgrimage
A journey to a place considered sacred for religious purposes
Polytheism
Belief in or worship of more than one god
Proselytizing religion
Attempting to convert people to another religion
Religion
1) A system of beliefs & practices that attempts to order life in terms of culturally “perceived ultimate priorities”
How you “SHOULD” behave, act, live
2) A relatively structured set of beliefs & practices through which people seek mental & physical harmony w/ the powers of the universe
3) Value system or a series of common beliefs, expectations & controls that involve formal or informal worship & faith in the sacred & divine
Sacred place
Sites of special religious significance (experiences, events) Hallowed grounds that are preserved across generations For believers, places endowed with divine meaning. – connection between the mortal and divine. - NOT JUST CHURCHES, Mosques, etc.
Sect
A relatively small group that has broken away from an established denomination
Secularism
The indifference to or rejection of religion
Shamanism
Communal acceptance of a shaman, a religious leader, healer & worker of magic who intercedes w/ & interprets the spirit work on behalf of a group
Sharia law
The body of Islamic law. The term means “way” or “path”; it is the legal framework within which the public and some private aspects of life are regulated for those living in a legal system based on Islam.
Syncretism
A religion that combines several traditions
Theocracy
Form of government in which God or a deity is recognized as the supreme civil ruler
Tribal religions
Special forms of ethnic religions distinguished by small size & unique identity w/ localized culture groups
Universalizing religion
A religion that attempts to appeal to all people, not just those living in a particular location
Zionism
A movement for (originally) the re-establishment and (now) the development and protection of a Jewish nation in what is now Israel. It was established as a political organization in 1897 under Theodor Herzl, and was later led by Chaim Weizmann
