History Midterm Study Guide: Religion, Ritual, and Society

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering the definitions, theories, and key terms from the History midterm study guide on religion, ritual, ecstasy, diasporas, and ecology.

A-gnosis

Literally "without knowledge"; refers to a lack of knowledge regarding the existence of God or the divine.

Cult

Worship, cultivation, or religious observance, derived from the Latin "cultus" meaning religious rituals.

Sacralization

The process of giving something a special, sacred, or set-apart status.

Apotheosis

The elevation of a person to divine status, or the transformation of a human being into a deity.

Fetishism

The attribution of extraordinary, sacred, or transcendent power to an object; historically originating from the Portuguese term "feitiço".

Euhemerism

The theory proposed by Euhemerus that gods were originally famous or powerful historical humans who were later immortalized.

Anthropomorphism

The attribution of human traits, forms, or emotions to nonhuman beings, including deities, as critiqued by Xenophanes.

Religare

An etymological root of religion associated with Lactantius and Augustine meaning "to bind" or "reconnect," emphasizing the bond between humans and the divine.

Waldseemüller Map

The first map created in 1507 to include the Americas (specifically depicting the Caribbean and Brazil).

Do ut des

A Latin sacrificial formula meaning "I give so that you will give," representing religion as an economy of exchange.

Scapegoat

A term coined by William Tyndale representing an animal or figure to which community guilt is attached and sacrificed to remove that guilt.

Codex Mendoza

A 16th-century manuscript containing indigenous accounts and pictorial depictions of Aztec society, governance, and history.

Auto-sacrifice

A practice where an individual sacrifices something of their own body or well-being, such as Aztec priests performing bloodletting.

Ritual failure

A situation in which a ritual performance fails to achieve its intended effect or outcome.

Rule of Contagion

The magical or ritual principle that things which have once been in contact retain a permanent connection or shared essence.

Rule of Imitation

The magical or ritual principle that things which resemble one another can influence each other ("like produces like").

Costly Signaling

A behavioral display that is difficult or expensive to fake, serving as reliable evidence of an individual's commitment to a group.

Wakantaka

The Lakota term for the Great Spirit or sacred power; derived from "wakan," referring to anything with unusual or mysterious force.

World Making

The process through which religion shapes how people understand, organize, and actively experience the world.

World Parliament of Religions

A landmark gathering held in Chicago in 1893 during the World's Columbian Exposition that brought representatives of diverse world traditions into a shared public forum.

Diaspora

The dispersal or displacement of a population from its original homeland across multiple regions.

Axis Mundi

The "axis of the world"; a sacred central pillar connecting different cosmic levels of existence such as heaven, earth, and the underworld.

Cosmogonic Repetition

The reenactment of primordial creation or foundational mythical events through ritual and repetitive religious actions.

Asceticism

Practices of intense self-discipline, restraint, or bodily renunciation (such as fasting or seclusion) undertaken for spiritual purposes.

Communitas

A concept coined by Victor Turner describing an intense, egalitarian feeling of shared community and solidarity emerging during common rituals.

Theodicy

The theological or philosophical attempt to explain how evil and suffering can exist in a world governed by an all-powerful, good, and just God.

Agency

The capacity of an individual to act, make autonomous choices, and exercise control over their own circumstances.

Agent Ambiguity

A state of uncertainty regarding who or what is responsible for an action, particularly when a person is being "acted-through."

Ecstasy

A mystical or shamanic state defined literally as "standing outside of oneself."

Enstasy

A spiritual state involving spirit possession, characterized by a divine or spiritual entity entering inside one's body.

Routinization of Charisma

Max Weber's concept describing how the extraordinary authority of a charismatic leader becomes standardized and institutionalized over time.

Ashe

A Yoruba-derived concept denoting the sacred power or capacity to bring things into being, make things happen, and effect transformation.

Syncretism

The blending, interaction, or combination of elements and symbols originating from different religious traditions.

Juca Rosa

A 19th-century Afro-Brazilian religious leader who utilized spirit possession and photography, and was prosecuted as a fetishist by authorities.

Cartes de Visite

Small photographic portraits distributed to others like business cards, used by families and religious figures to circulate personal presence.

Umbanda

A 20th-century Brazilian religion synthesizing Afro-Brazilian religious traditions, French Spiritism, and 19th-century technologies.

Anthropocentric

A human-centered worldview that places humans at the center of moral concern and treats human interests as superior to nature.

Animism

A worldview in which the environment is understood as inhabited by persons, only some of whom are human.

Mamason

An indigenous practice in Borneo requiring ritual consent and chants before entering a forest ecosystem or harvesting plants.

Disenchantment

The process of stripping spiritual meaning from natural entities to treat them purely as objects or exploitable economic resources.

Ho'ailona

A Hawaiian concept referring to natural signs, omens, or indications that can be interpreted as meaningful communication from ancestral forces.

Wao Akua

The Hawaiian sacred realm or wilderness domain reserved for gods and divine beings, commonly associated with high forests and mountains.

Kino Lau

The Hawaiian philosophical concept referring to the myriad physical forms or earthly bodily manifestations assumed by a deity.

Wakea

The divine Sky Father figure in Hawaiian cosmology associated with the sky and ancestral accounts of the origin of the Hawaiian islands and people.