Religion and Non-Religion Terminology and Examples

Worldview

The overall way a person or group understands reality: where the world came from, what human beings are and how they should live.

Religious worldview

A worldview that believes in a supernatural or divine element that inspires awe and reverence in its followers (adherents).

Adherent

A follower of a particular religious or belief system.

Transcendent

Beyond the physical world; existing outside of time and space.

Immanent

Present and active within the natural world.

Animism

The belief that natural objects, natural phenomena and the universe itself possess a soul or spirit; an immanent worldview.

Anima

Latin word meaning "soul" or "breath", the root of the word "animism".

E.B. Tylor

Anthropologist who developed animism as an explanation for the origin of religion in his 1871 book Primitive Culture, arguing early humans believed all things possessed a soul (anima).

Polytheism

The belief in, and worship of, many gods or deities, each usually associated with a particular aspect of the world or human experience.

Pantheon

A structured "family" of gods with different roles and levels of authority, sometimes with a chief deity presiding over the rest.

Anthropomorphic

Given human-like qualities (personalities, emotions, relationships) while remaining immortal; used to describe the gods of polytheism.

Omnipotent

All-powerful.

Omniscient

All-knowing.

Omnipresent

Present everywhere at the same time.

Hard polytheism

The view that the many gods are genuinely separate, distinct beings (e.g. Ancient Greece).

Soft polytheism

The view that the many gods are different faces or manifestations of a single ultimate reality (e.g. Brahman in Hinduism).

Brahman

In Hinduism, the single underlying ultimate reality of which the many deities are seen as expressions (soft polytheism).

Monotheism

Belief in one God, understood as the creator of the universe, typically omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent.

Covenant

A sacred agreement between God and people.

Deism

The belief that God created the world but does not intervene in it afterwards.

Pantheism

The belief that God is the universe: every part of the natural world is an expression of the divine, rather than being separate from a Creator.

Imago Dei

The Christian idea that each person is made "in the image of God", giving every individual inherent dignity and purpose.

Akhira

The Islamic belief in the afterlife, providing reassurance that life has an ultimate goal beyond this world.

Hajj

The Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, an example of shared religious identity and belonging.

Social cohesion

The ability of a society to remain unified, stable and harmonious; religion promotes this by reinforcing shared beliefs, values and customs.

Social transformation

The ways in which a society changes and develops over time; religion can drive or resist such change.

Ecumenism

Cooperation between different Christian denominations.

Interfaith dialogue

Cooperation and conversation between people of different religious traditions.

Liberation Theology

A theological perspective developed in Latin America specifically to challenge inequality.

Feminist Theology

A theological perspective developed to challenge inequality, particularly regarding the treatment of women.

Second Vatican Council (Vatican II)

Council held 1962-1965 that modernised Catholic worship and the Church's relationship with the wider world.

Diaspora

The scattering of a people (e.g. the Jewish people after the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE) across the world.

Religious majority

When more than half (over 50%) of a country's population identifies with one religious tradition.

Plurality

When a religious tradition has more adherents than any other single group in a country, but still falls short of half the population.

New Religious Expressions (NREs)

Religious or spiritual beliefs and practices that fall outside the long-established mainstream traditions; some entirely new, others blending older ideas.

New Age

The broad term for the wide range of spiritual beliefs and practices that developed in Western nations from around the 1970s onwards.

Baha'i Faith

A new religious expression centred on the unity and oneness of humankind, teaching that service to others is the highest form of worship.

Hare Krishna

A new religious expression offering a complete spiritual path built around close-knit community, shared worship, communal meals, public chanting and free food distribution.

Neo-Pentecostalism

A new religious expression cited as an example of contemporary organised religious movements outside mainstream tradition.

Wicca

A nature-based new religious expression (essentially animistic) that reveres the earth, marks festivals according to the seasons and sees the divine as present throughout nature.

Kehilat Kolenu

An Australian humanistic Jewish community that draws on Jewish tradition and stories for meaning and ethics "free from supernatural authority and imposed tradition", without requiring literal belief in God.

Secular society

A society in which religion plays a smaller role in public and private life.

Individualistic society

A society in which personal choice and self-expression are highly valued.

Personal fulfilment

Living a life that feels purposeful, satisfying and contented; a key reason people turn to new religious expressions.

Moral relativism

The view that there is no one universal set of moral rules, and that what is right for one person may not be right for another.

Postmodern

Describes a society that lacks a single agreed source of moral certainty.

Materialism

An outlook that is excessively concerned with material possessions, wealth and money.

Scientology

A new religious expression that frames its beliefs in scientific-sounding language, e.g. "Dianetics" and "auditing".

Disenchantment

A sense of disappointment and loss of faith in something once trusted (also called disillusionment); a key influence on the growth of new religious expressions.

Non-religious worldview

A worldview that does not look to a God, transcendent power or supernatural dimension to explain the world or give life meaning, seeking fulfilment through human means instead.

Agnosticism

The view that nothing is known, or can be known, about the existence or nature of God; a middle ground between theism and atheism, summed up as "I do not know".

Theism

Belief in God.

Atheism

The belief that no God or gods exist, summed up as "There is no God".

Weak atheism

A position of scepticism: an absence of belief in God.

Strong atheism

A position that positively asserts the belief that God definitely does not exist.

Richard Dawkins

A well-known prominent atheist scientist who argues the natural world can be fully understood through science and reason without belief in God.

Humanism

A system of thought placing importance on human matters rather than divine or supernatural ones, putting human beings at the centre of its concern.

Humanist Manifesto (1933)

Document that set out core humanist beliefs, arguing traditional religion was inadequate for dealing with the challenges of the modern world.

Rational Humanism

The view that human reason is the highest form of authority in existence, and that a better world is built through compassion, equality and reason, without need for religion.

Scientific Humanism

The view that observation, logic, hypothesis and testing (the scientific method) offer the best means of understanding the world, and that science and technology should be applied to global problems.

Common good

The aim of acting in ways that improve life for humanity as a whole.

Fred Hollows

Australian eye surgeon and committed humanist/atheist (Australian Humanist of the Year, 1990) who restored sight to Aboriginal Australians and people in developing countries.

Peter Singer

Australian philosopher who argues ethics can be grounded in reason without religion, and who donates a significant portion of his income to reduce global poverty.

Laudato Si'

An encyclical (official papal letter) by Pope Francis setting out Christians' duty to protect the environment as stewards of God's creation.

Encyclical

An official papal letter.