Chapter 6

Agnosticism

The belief that the existence of God cannot be proven or disproven empirically.

Animism

The belief that objects and natural events have a spirit and conscious life.

Atheism

The belief that God does not exist.

Autonomous religion

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

Branch

A large and fundamental division within a religion.

Caste

A hereditary social class in Hinduism assigned by religious law.

Congregation

A local group of people gathered for religious worship.

Cosmogony

A set of beliefs about the origin of the universe.

Denomination

A division of a branch that organizes multiple congregations.

Ethnic religion

A religion with a concentrated distribution tied to a specific place and culture.

Fundamentalism

Strict adherence to basic religious principles.

Ghetto

A part of a city where a minority group lives due to social, legal, or economic pressure.

Hierarchical religion

A religion with a central authority that controls practices.

Lunar calendar

A calendar based on the cycles of the moon.

Lunisolar calendar

A calendar that combines lunar months with the solar year.

Missionary

A person who spreads a universalizing religion.

Monotheism

Belief in one God.

Pilgrimage

A journey to a sacred place for religious reasons.

Polytheism

Belief in multiple gods.

Solar calendar

A calendar based on the position of the sun.

Solstice

An event when the sun reaches its highest or lowest point in the sky, marking longest or shortest days.

Syncretic

Combining elements of different religions.

Universalizing religion

A religion that seeks to include all people.

Utopian settlement

A community built around an ideal way of life, often religious.