Introduction to World Religions Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms, technical concepts, and historical distinctions across major world religions based on the lecture.

Orthodoxy

The technical term used by scholars to describe a religion that places its greatest emphasis on right belief, such as Christianity.

Orthopraxy

The technical term used by scholars to describe a religion that places its primary emphasis on right practice or doing, such as Judaism.

Contingent Benefit

In religions like Hinduism and Buddhism, the idea that believing and doing can be helpful along an individual's path, but only in a secondary or temporary sense rather than an ultimate sense.

Historical Form

The form of a religion that begins with a single specific founder at a specific point in time and does not exist prior to that founder's life.

Naturalized Word

A word originating from another language (such as Islam from Arabic) that has become part of the English language and is treated as an English word rather than italicized as a foreign word.

Revelation

The central concept in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam where divine speech of non-human origin intervenes in time to convey God's words to humanity.

Discovery

The central concept in Buddhism where the truth of human existence, which has always existed and always will exist, is uncovered by the Buddha rather than received through divine speech.

Four Noble Truths

The core discovery of the Buddha, capturing the fundamental understanding that there is a problem with human existence and that there is a solution to that problem.

Indian Subcontinent

A geographic term referring to a specific regional area in Asia that is currently divided into at least four different countries, from which Buddhism originated roughly 2,500 years ago.

Religion of the Straight Path

A literal concept in Islam asserting that a follower is either on or off the designated path, with no third option or middle ground.

Sacred Land

A concept strongly held in Hinduism and Judaism that ties the religious tradition to a specific, unique geographic territory.

Abraham

A key figure in Judaism who traditionally lived roughly 800 to 1,000 years before Moses.

State of Israel (1948)

A state founded in 1948 with a secular vision focused on agricultural work, strength, and connection to the land rather than traditional religious customs.