Religion Test Study Guide Vocabulary

Vocabulary Definitions

• Religion: A system of beliefs and practices centered on recognizing a higher power (God) and committing to live in relationship with Him.
• Bible: The inspired Word of God; a collection of sacred texts in Christianity.
• Faith: Trust in God and what He has revealed; a personal response to God's invitation.
• Salvation History: The unfolding of God's plan to save humanity through events in history, especially through Jesus.
• Theological (Supernatural) Virtues: Faith, hope, and charity—gifts from God that guide us toward Him.
• Virtue: A habitual and firm disposition to do good.
• Truth: That which conforms to reality or fact.
• Objective Reality: Reality as it is, regardless of one's thoughts or feelings.
• Subjective Reality: One's personal experience or opinion, which may or may not reflect actual truth.
• Knowledge: Justified true belief; understanding gained through experience or reasoning.
• Science: The systematic study of the natural world through observation and experiment.
• Hypothesis: A proposed explanation made on the basis of limited evidence.
• Sensible Reality: Reality perceived through the senses.
• Reason: The capacity for logical, rational, and analytic thought.
• Inductive Reasoning: Drawing general conclusions from specific observations.
• Intuition: Immediate understanding or knowledge without the use of reasoning.
• Philosophy: The study of fundamental questions about existence, knowledge, values, and reason.
• Ethics: The branch of philosophy concerned with moral principles.
• Theology: The study of God and religious truth.
• Intelligible: Understandable; capable of being grasped by the mind.
• Church: The community of believers founded by Christ, also called the Body of Christ.
• Covenant: A solemn promise or agreement between God and His people.
• Lord: A title for God or Jesus, meaning master or ruler.
• Disciple: A follower of Jesus who learns from and lives according to His teachings.
• Baptism: A sacrament that cleanses sin and initiates one into the Christian community.
• Marxism: A political and economic theory that sees religion as a tool of oppression.
• Enlightenment: A historical movement emphasizing reason and individualism over tradition.
• Body of Christ: A metaphor for the Church, with Christ as the head and believers as members.
• Salvation: The deliverance from sin and its consequences, granted by God.

Core Concepts

• Faith allows us to trust in God, accept His revelation, and live in relationship with Him.
• Religion is a response to God that involves belief, worship, and moral living.
• Trust means relying on someone's goodness or truth, even without full evidence.
• Abraham is the father of faith who trusted God's promise.
• An act of faith is a free, conscious decision to believe in God and His revelation.
• Theological virtues are faith, hope, and charity—divine gifts that direct us to God.
• Suffering comes from human free will, sin, and a broken world, but God brings good out of it.
• Objective reality is independent of what anyone thinks or feels.
• Subjective opinion is shaped by individual perspectives.
• We come to truth through reason, experience, and divine revelation.
• Science is a method of studying the physical world.
  • Scientific method: observation -> hypothesis -> testing -> analysis -> conclusion.
  • Empirical method relies on measurable, observable data.
  • Inductive reasoning moves from specific examples to general conclusions.
• St. Edith Stein was a philosopher and convert to Catholicism who died in Auschwitz.
• Intuition gives immediate knowledge not always based on logic.
• Philosophy and science both seek truth but ask different types of questions.
• Ethics studies right and wrong.
  *Philosophy asks deep questions about life, meaning, and existence.
  *Infinite regress is a philosophical problem where each explanation needs another one.
  *Intelligibility means something can be known and understood.
  *Knowing God intimately comes from faith, prayer, sacraments, and love.
  *Truth matters because it aligns us with reality and with God.
  *Prodigal Son parable teaches about mercy, forgiveness, and God's unconditional love.
  *Our lives connect with God's purpose through faith, relationship, and discipleship.
  *Faith in Jesus helps us love, hope, suffer well, and live with purpose.
  *Jesus reveals our deepest meaning: to love and be loved in relationship with God.
  *Baptism unites us with Christ, removes sin, and initiates us into the Church.
  *Material things are not evil, but can distract us if misused.
  *St. Augustine: early theologian who taught that our hearts are restless until they rest in God.
  *Enlightenment thinkers believed truth came from reason, not revelation.
  *Karl Marx said religion was the 'opiate of the masses.'
  *Religion requires a decision: to believe in and follow God.
  *True happiness comes from union with God, not material success.
  *Church as Body of Christ: united in Christ, serving different roles like parts of a body.
  *Faith is not blind: it's based on reason, experience, and revelation.
  *Being a disciple means imitating Christ, loving others, and spreading the Gospel.
  *Avoiding sin isn't enough-we must actively live in love and truth.

Potential Short Essay Questions

Faith vs. Blind Obedience

• Faith is not blind; it involves trust based on reason and experience.
• Abraham trusted God, even when it was hard.
• Faith often challenges worldly norms (e.g., forgiving enemies, helping the poor).

Knowing God Exists

• Through inductive reasoning (e.g., design in nature), we infer a Creator.
• The argument from contingency or intelligibility shows everything points to a source of existence.

Religion & Decision

• Religion means 'to bind again'—a relationship with God.
• It demands we choose to trust God and live in covenant.
• Jesus makes this easier by showing us God's love directly through His life and death.