Spiritual & Religious Terms & Phrases

Spiritual and religious word, terms, phrases and their definitions

Agnostic

a person who believes that the existence of God, the divine, or the supernatural is unknown or unknowable, or someone who chooses not to commit to a definite belief or opinion on the matter

Deism

a religious philosophy and system of thought that asserts a Supreme Being created the universe and established its natural laws, but does not actively intervene, perform miracles, or answer prayers

Spiritual But Not Religious (SBNR)

a person values personal meaning, inner growth, and connection to something larger than themselves without belonging to or following an organized religion

Focus on the Interior Life: SBNR places emphasis on feelings, intuition, and personal experience rather than codified doctrines, dogmas, or institutional rituals.

Individualized Beliefs: Instead of accepting a single tradition's rules, people often blend practices and ideas—such as meditation, yoga, or appreciation for nature—to shape their own worldview

Dogma

a principle, tenet, or a set of core beliefs that an organization, group, or authority establishes and expects people to accept as true without question or proof

Religious Dogma: In a religious context (such as Christianity or other faiths), dogma refers to official doctrines concerning faith and morals that are formally proclaimed by a church or religious authority (e.g., the Pope or an ecumenical council) as divinely revealed and infallible.

Tenet

a principle, belief, or doctrine generally held to be true, especially one shared by members of an organization, profession, or movement

ecumenical council

a formal, worldwide gathering of Christian bishops and church leaders convened to resolve critical matters of Christian doctrine, administration, and discipline

philosophy

the systematic, critical study of fundamental questions about existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language

Eckankar

a modern religious movement and spiritual path founded in the United States in 1965 by Paul Twitchell. Often called the "Path of Spiritual Freedom", it teaches that each person is an eternal, divine being known as Soul, and its name translates roughly to "Co-Worker with God"

I do not follow this practice as I do not believe any mortal being should clame themselve to be a divine being or conduit. There should be no hierchary withing spiritual practice among people

Karma

It refers to the universal principle of cause and effect, where an individual's intent and actions shape their future

Medieval worldview

The medieval worldview was a deeply integrated, theocentric system that combined Christian theology with ancient Greek natural philosophy. Rather than viewing reality as a neutral collection of physical objects, medieval people saw the universe as an ordered, symbolic, and living creation infused with divine meaning