ch 6 ap hug vocab

Animism

Belief that objects, such as plants and stones, or natural events, like thunderstorms and earthquakes, have a discrete spirit and conscious life.

Autonomous religion

A religion that does not have a central authority but shares ideas and cooperates informally.

Branch (of a religion)

A large and fundamental division within a religion.

Caste

The class of distinct hereditary order into which a Hindu is assigned according to religious law.

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 in a single legal and administrative body.

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 (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 any minority live because of social, legal, or economic pressure.

Hierarchical religion

A religion in which a central authority exercises a high degree of control.

Missionary

An individual who helps to diffuse a universalizing religion.

Pilgrimage

A journey to a place considered sacred for religious purposes.

Polytheism

Belief in or worship of more than one god.

Solstice

Time when the Sun is farthest from the equator.

Universalizing religion

A religion that attempts to appeal to all people, not just those living in a particular location.

Atheism

Belief that there is no god.

Agnosticism

Belief that nothing can be known about whether God exists

congregation

a group of people assembled for religious worship

lunar calendar

a calendar system based on the moon's rotation around the earth

lunisolar calendar

A calendar with lunar months that are brought into alignment with the solar year through some process.

Monotheism

Belief in one God

solar calendar

A calendar system based on the earth's rotation around the sun.

Syncretic

A religion that combines several traditions

Utopian settlement

an ideal community built around a religious way of life