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Religion
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Term | Definition |
---|---|
Polytheism | The belief in many different gods. |
Monotheism | The belief in one of the gods. |
Talmud | A variety of Jewish writings, or opinions, that help advance, interpret, the laws and teachings of the Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh. |
Ethics | A set of moral principles or values. |
Exile | To banish or expel from one’s own country or home. |
Jewish Diaspora | The scattering of the Jewish people outside their homeland, beginning in 586 B.C.E. |
Yavneh | An ancient city in Israel that became a center for Jewish learning. |
Hinduism | A religion that developed in India over many centuries; it traces its roots to older traditions, such as Vedic beliefs and Brahmanism. |
Vedas | A collection of ancient writings viewed as sacred by many Hindus. |
Sanskrit | An ancient Indian language. |
Brahmanism | Ancient ritual traditions in which Brahmins played a key role; it grew out of older Vedic religious beliefs and helped lead to Hinduism. |
Caste | A class, or group, in Hindu society. |
Dharma | A belief found in Hinduism and other Indian traditions that a person has a duty or obligation to live an honorable life. |
Karma | A belief found in Hinduism and other Indian traditions that the good and evil done in a past life determines the nature of that person’s next life. |
Reincarnation | The belief that a person’s soul is reborn into a new body after death. |
Pilgrimage | A journey to a holy place. |
Buddha | A Sanskrit word meaning “enlightened”; the name given to the man who founded Buddhism. |
Ascetic | A person who gives up worldly pleasure. |
Enlightenment | The state of gaining spiritual insight and finding universal truth; the goal of Buddhists. |
Alms | Goods or money given to the poor. |
Nirvana | An ideal state of happiness and peace |
Four noble truths | The four basic doctrines, or principles, of Buddhism |
Eightfold Path | A key idea of Buddhism whereby followers should live their lives according to these eight teachings. |
Qur’an | The holy book of the religion of Islam. |
Sunnah | The example that Muhammad set for Muslims about how to live. |
Five Pillars | The most basic acts of worship for Muslims: declaration of faith, prayer, charity, fasting, and making a pilgrimage to Makkah. |
Mosque | A Muslim house of worship. |
Ramadan | The ninth month of the Islamic calendar during which Muslims are required to fast. |
Jihad | Muslims’ struggle with challenges within themselves and the world as they strive to please God. |
Shari’ah | The body of Islamic law based on the Qur’an and the Sunnah. |
Trinity | In Christianity, the unity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as three beings in one God |
Salvation | Being saved from sin; in Christianity, to be specifically saved by Jesus, the source of salvation. |
Roman Catholic | A Christian church headed by the pope in Rome. |
Eastern Orthodox | A Christian church that grew out of Christianity in eastern Europe and present-day Turkey. |
Protestant | Any member of a Christian church founded on the principles of the Reformation. |
Sacrament | A sacred rite, or ritual, of Christian churches. |
Baptism | The Christian sacrament that makes a person a member of the Christian Church. |
Holy Communion | A Christian sacrament in which bread and wine are consumed as memorials of Jesus’s Last Supper with his disciples. |