Unit 0 Religions Vocab

Caste

level/job

Atman

soul

Samsara

reincarnation

Brahmins

priests

Brahman

1 god in Hindu Trinity

Dharma (in hinduism)

“perform your duty”

Vedas

revealed scriptures

Upanishads/Mahabharata

hindu holy books

Bhagavad Gita

1 chapter of hindu holy books

Shiva, Vishnu, Brahma (hindu trinity)

destroyer, preserver, creater

Mokshah (release)

achieve enlightenment

Karma

cause/effect how you do your job

Diwali

festival of lights, light over darkness

Siddhartha Guatama

Buddha

Therevada/Hinyana Buddhism

2 sects; lesser vehicle, greater vehicle

Tibetan Buddhism

Buddha not divine

Mahayana Buddhism

Buddha is divine

Bodhisattva

somebody who achieved enlightenment comes back to help others

4 Noble Truths

suffering, craving, karma, path to get there

8-fold path

moral behavior

Dharma (in Buddhism)

following the teachings of Buddha

Pali Canon

earliest Buddhist text Theravada

Sutra

scripture Mahayana

Dali Lama

bodhisattva

Nirvana

enlightenment

Mandate of Heaven

ideology to legitimize the rule of emperor

Kong-tzu (Confucius)

guy who spread Confuianism

Lao-tzu

author of Daoism book

Dao

the force/harmony w/ nature

Dao de Jing (Tao te Ching)

book that Lau-tzu wrote

Yin/Yang

balance of good & evil

Analects

sayings of Confucius/holy book

Xiao (Filial Piety)

be good to your parents

Ren (Internal Virtue)

being a good person

Li (External Rituals)

rituals

5 relationships

ruler/subject, father/son, elder brother/younger brother, husband/wife, friend/friend

Zhuangzi (Zhuang Zhou)

text from Daoism like Dao de Jing

Jesus of Nazareth

Jesus

Apostles

followers/close friends of Jesus

St. Paul (Saul of Tarsus)

spread Christianity, but didn’t know Jesus

Constantine

Roman Emperor converts to Christianity

Gospels (names of those included & meaning of word “gospel”)

apostles wrote books about the life of Jesus; Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John

New Testament

new Bible

Holy Trinity

Father, son, holy spirit

Council of Nicaea

1st council to address all the believers —> Constantinople

Nicene Creed

document that combines all the denominations of Christianity

Orthodox vs Heretic

those who believe correctly vs those who believe falsely

Diaspora

communities of a cultural group away from their homeland

Abraham

founding figure of Judaism

Moses

1st savior figure, saves by bringing Jews out of Egypt

Kingdom of Israel

King David was 1st Jewish king and Israelite religion

10 commandments

decalogue; 1. love god more than anything else; 2. don’t make anything more important than god; 3. always say God’s name w/ love & respect; 4. honor the Lord by resting on the 7th day of the week; 5. love & respect your mom & dad; 6. never hurt anyone; 7. always be faithful to your husband or wife; 8. don’t take anything that isn’t yours; 9. always tell the truth; 10. be happy with what you have. don’t wish for other people’s things

Torah (5 books of moses)

main section of Hebrew Bible

Hebrew Bible (how is it different than the Christian Bible?)

similar to the old testament

Shamanism & Animism

unseen spiritual world; natural elements have soul

Ancestor Veneration

respect for dead

Syncretism

mixing of religions

Monasticism

monk way of life, like Avatar the Last Airbender

Secularism

separation of state from religion

Ascetic

self discipline/abstinence for religious reasons

Universal Religions

religions all over the world

Ethnic Religions

specific to 1 area/country

Polytheism

multiple gods

Monotheism

1 god

Canonical/Canon

books that are chosen to be part of the holy text are those books that are part of the “canon” or canonical books; all the versions put together, new & old testament

Patriarchy

male dominated society

5 pillars

1.shahada - faith; 2. salah - prayer; 3. sawm - fasting; 4. zakat - charity; 5. hajj - pilgrimage

Allah

God in arabic

Hadith

written down sayings of Prophet Muhammad

Hijab

head covering women wear

Imam

priest in Islam

Islam means to:

submit to the will of God

Jihad

spiritual quest for God (NOT like Jihad vs McWorld)

Jizya

tax on nonmuslim businesses

Ka’aba

monument in Makkah where Muslims pray

Kalipha (Caliph)

leaders

4 Rightly Guided Caliphs

Abu Bakr (Sunni), Ali (Shia), Usman, Omar

Muhammad

last Prophet

Muslim is a person who:

submits to the will of God

Qur’an (what is it? What does the word mean?)

holy book of Islam; word of Allah given to Prophet Muhammad through Angel Jibreel (Gabriel)

Ramadan

month of fasting

Sharia

Islamic law

Shi’a

sect that believes in Ali as the leader of Islam after Prophet Muhammad died

Sunni

sect that believes in Abu Bakr as the leader of Islam after Prophet Muhammad died

Sufi

another sect of Islam that wants to connect to god spiritually vs the other sects’ practices

Umma

Muslim community

Mosque

place of worship, like a temple or church

Mecca

place of Prophet Muhammad’s birth

Hijrah

migration of Muslims from Makkah to Medina to escape persecution

Medina

place Prophet Muhammad migrated to

Henotheism

I have my God you have yours, that’s okay