Studied by 11 people
Agnosticism
View that God's existance is unprovable.
Abrahamic Religion
Monotheistic faiths emphasizing that trace their origins to Abraham. Judaism, Christianity, Islam.
Atheism
Belief that God does not exist.
Animism
Belief that nature has a soul.
Ex: Trees, Sky, Mountains etc.
Baha'i
Religion founded by Baha'ullah in Iran who declared himself as a prophet of God/"the promised one". Teachings: World peace through unity of all religions, live a simple life, dedication to serving others.
Buddhism
A religion based on the teachings of Siddartha Gautama (Buddha).
Caste
A social structure in which classes are determined by heredity. Used in the Hindu religion.
Christianity
A monotheistic system of beliefs and practices based on the Old Testament and the teachings of Jesus as embodied in the New Testament and emphasizing the role of Jesus as savior.
Confucianism
Chinese religion/philosophy of life; Focuses on ethical principals for the orderly conduct of daily life.
Diaspora
Forced exodus of the Jewish homeland.
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 its adherents are concentrated.
Fundamentalism
Literal interpretation and strict adherence to basic principles of a religion.
Hajj
A journey to Mecca for all Islamic people. This must be accomplished as the Fifth Pillar in the Islamic religion.
Karma
The belief that actions in this life, whether good or bad, will decide your place in the next life. (Hinduism/Buddhism)
Hinduism
Primary religion practiced in India. No known founder. Believes in many gods and reincarnation. Caste system is part of their beliefs.
Islam
The religious faith of Muslims, based on the religious system founded by the prophet Muhammad and taught by the Koran. The basic principle of the Koran is absolute submission to a unique and personal god, Allah.
Jainism
A religion that branched off from Hinduism and was founded by Mahavira; its belief is that everything has a soul, and its purpose was to cleanse the soul. Hearth is in India.
Judaism
First recorded monotheistic religion. Does not believe that Jesus was Messiah. Holy book is the Torah. Hearth in Israel.
Minaret
The tower attached to a mosque from which the muezzin, or crier, calls the faithful to prayer five times a day (Islam).
Missionary
Someone who travels to spread their religion to others.
Monotheism
Belief in one God.
Mormonism
Christian religion founded by Joseph Smith in 1830 in New York; believe in the Bible and the Book of Mormon. (Officially called the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints)
Pilgrimage
Purposeful travel to a religious site to pay respects or participate in a ritual at the site.
Polytheism
Belief in more than one god.
Profane
Unholy; Showing contempt toward sacred things.
Protestant
Branch of Christianity that originated during the Reformation when Martin Luther broke off from the Roman Catholic Church.
Reincarnation
Belief that the individual soul is reborn in a different form after death. This happens until the soul reaches enlightenment.
Sacred Space
An area that has special religious significance or meaning that makes it worthy of reverence or devotion.
Secularism
The principle of separation of the state from religious institutions.
Sharia Law
Determines how Muslims conduct their personal religious lives. Set of conducts that instruct and guide the every day Muslim life.
Shiite
A branch of Islam that comprises 16% of Muslims. After Muhammad died, they believed that the leadership of Islam should be passes through his family to his cousin/son-in-law.
Shintoism
Ethnic religion with it's hearth in Japan. Modified by the introduction of Buddhism. Nature and the land-emperor are seen as divine.
Sikhism
Emerged in India. Founded by Guru Nanak Dev. Influenced by Hinduism and Islam.
Sunni
Muslim Majority. After Muhammad died, they believed the next leader should be elected from those who were capable.
Taoism (Daoism)
Chinese religion; The religion (philosophy based) evolved by Lao-tzu and Chuang-tzu, that holds the belief that happiness lies in proper harmony with nature.
Theocracy
A form of government in which God or a deity is recognized as the supreme civil ruler; run through use of religious laws.
Universalizing Religion
A religion that attempts to be global, to appeal to all people, wherever they may live in the world, not just those of one culture or location.
Zionism
A movement for the re-establishment of a Jewish nation in Israel.
5 Pillars of Faith
Fundamental beliefs of Islam - proclaiming Allah as god, praying 5 times a day, giving charity, fasting during Ramadan, taking hajj to Mecca.
Creolization
Languages that result from mixing of a colonizer's language with the indigenous language of the people being dominated.
Dialect
A regional variety of a language distinguished by vocabulary, spelling and pronunciation.
Extinct language
A language that was once used by people in daily activities but is no longer used.
Indigenous language
Language native to a region and spoken by the indigenous people of that region.
Indo-European
A large language family of hundreds of languages, including English.
Isogloss
A boundary that separates regions in which different language usages predominate.
Kurgan (nomadic warrior) Theory / Marija Gimbutas
Theory that Indo-European spread from Central Asia by Kurgan warriors on horses that conquered much of Europe and South Asia around 3,000 BC.
Language
A system of communication through the use of speech, a collection of sounds understood by a group of people to have the same meaning.
Language branch
A collection of languages within a family related through a common ancestral language that existed several thousand years ago.
Language family
A collection of languages related to each other through a common ancestor long before recorded history.
Language group
A collection of languages within a branch that share a common origin in the relatively recent past and display relatively few differences in grammar and vocabulary.
Lingua franca
A language mutually understood and commonly used in trade by people who have different native languages.
Linguistic fragmentation
A condition in which many languages are spoken, each by a relatively small number of people.
Logogram
A symbol that represents a word rather than a sound.
Multilingualism
The ability to be able to communicate in more than two languages.
Official language
The language adopted for use by the government for the conduct of business and publication of documents.
Pidgin language
A form of speech that adopts a simplified grammar and limited vocabulary of a lingua franca; used for communications among speakers of two different languages.
Sedentary Farmer Hypothesis / Colin Renfrew
Theory that believes Indo-European began in Turkey and diffused into Europe and South Asia along with agricultural practices (not military conquest) around 5,000 BC.
Spanglish
A combination of English and Spanish spoken by Hispanic Americans.
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