Ap Unit 4 Terms

T E R M S

Agnosticism

The belief that the existence of God can’t be empirically proven

Animism

The belief that objects, such as plants and stones, or natural events, such as thunderstorms and earthquakes, have a discrete 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 and cooperates informally

Branch

A large and fundamental division within a religion

Caste

The class or distinct hereditary order into a Hindu is assigned, according to religious law.

Congregation

A local assembly of persons brought together for common religious worship

Cosmogony

A set of religious beliefs concerning the origin of the universe

Denomination

A division of a branch of that unites a number of local congregations into 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 congregation)

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 group 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

Monotheism

The doctrine of or belief in the existence of only one God

Pilgrimage

A journey to a place considered sacred for religious purposes

Polytheism

Belief or worship in more than one god

Solstice

An astronomical event that happens twice each year, when the tilt of the Earth’s axis is most inclined toward or away from the Sun, causing the Sun’s apparent position in the sky to reach it most northernmost or southernmost extreme, and resulting in the longest and shortest days of the year

Syncretic

The combining of two elements of two groups into a new cultural feature

Universalizing Religion

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

Apartheid

Laws (that are no longer in effect) in South Africa that physically separated different races into a different geographic areas.

Balkanization

A process by which a state breaks down through conflicts among its ethnicities

Blockbusting

A process by which real estate agents convince white property owners to sell their homes at low prices because of a fear that persons of color will move into that neighborhood

Centripetal Force

An attitude that tends to unify people enhance support for a state

Ethnic Cleansing

A purposeful policy designated by one ethnic or religious group to remove by violent and terror-inspiring means the civilian population of another ethnic or religious group from certain geographic areas

Ethnic Enclave

A place with a high concentration of an ethnic group that is distinct with a particular area

Ethnicity

Identity with a group of people who share the cultural traditions of a particular homeland or hearth

Ethnoburb

A suburban area with a cluster of a particular ethnic population

Genocide

The mass killing of a group of people in an attempt to eliminate the entire group from existence

Nationalism

Loyalty and devotion to a particular nationality

Nationality

Identity with a group of people who share legal attachment to a particular country

Race

Identity with a particular group who are perceived to share a physiological trait, such as color

Racism

The belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race

Sharecropper

A person who works fields rented from a landowner and pays the rent and repays loans by turning over to the landowner a share of crops

Triangular Slave Trade

A practice, primarily during the eighteenth century, in which European ships transported slaves from Africa to the Caribbean to Europe, and trade goods from Europe to Africa