Chapter 6 Definitions Rubenstein Flashcards
(42 cards)
Agnosticism
Belief that nothing can be known about whether God exists.
Animism
Belief that objects, such as plants and stones, or natural events, like thunderstorms or earthquakes, have a discrete spirit and conscious life.
Atheism
Belief that God does not exist.
Autonomous religion
A religion that does not have a central authority but shares ideas and cooperates informally.
Branch
A large and fundamental division within a religion.
Caste
A class or distinct hereditary order into which a Hindu is assigned, according to religious law.
Cosmogony
A set of religious beliefs concerning the origin of the universe.
Denomination
A division of a branch that unites a number of local congregations into a single legal and administrative body.
Ethnic religion
A religion with a relatively concentrated spatial distribution whose principles are likely to be based on the physical characteristics of the particular location in which its adherents are concentrated.
Fundamentalism
Literal interpretation and strict adherence to basic principles of a religion (or a religious branch, denomination or sect.)
Ghetto
During the Middle Ages, a neighborhood in a city set up law to be inhabited only by Jews; now used to denote a section of a city in which members of any minority group live because of social, legal or economic pressure.
Hierarchical religion
A religion in which a central authority exercises a high degree of control.
Missionary
An individual who helps to diffuse a universalizing religion.
Monotheism
The doctrine of or belief in the existence of only one god.
Pagan
A follower of a polytheistic religion.
Pilgrimage
A journey to a place considered sacred for religious purposes.
Polytheism
Belief in or worship of more than one god.
Sect
A relatively small group that has broken away from an established denomination.
Solstice
An astronomical event that happens twice each year when the tilt of the Earth?s axis is most inclined toward or away from the Sun, causing the Sun?s apparent position in the sky to reach its most northernmost or southernmost extreme, and resulting in the shortest and longest days of the year.
Syncretic
A religion that combines several traditions.
Universalizing religion
A religion that attempts to appeal to all people, not just those living in a particular location.
Belief that nothing can be known about whether God exists.
Agnosticism
Belief that objects, such as plants and stones, or natural events, like thunderstorms or earthquakes, have a discrete spirit and conscious life.
Animism
Belief that God does not exist.
Atheism
