Any supernatural being worshipped as controlling some part of the world or some aspect of life or who is the personification of a force.



Used to refer to various polytheistic, non-Abrahamic religious traditions.



The view that the Universe (Nature) and God are identical.



A belief (or system of beliefs) accepted as authoritative by some group or school.



A collection of Hindu poems dating back to 2000 BCE. 1000 hymns, oldest.



A collection of Hindu religious and philosophical religious texts. Simplicity and peace. One of the most 100 important books ever written.



The Hindu god of creation.

World Soul.

A major Hindu diety; seen as the Supreme God. Creation/Destruction.



The sustainer; a Hindu divinity worshipped as the preserver of worlds.

Savior.

A nomadic group that migrated into India in 1800-1500 BCE, conquered the Dravidians, and began the caste system.

The soul; one’s true self.



The effects of a person’s actions that determine their destiny in their next incarnation.



One’s righteous duty. 

The duty of ones caste.

A city situated on the banks of the Ganges River; regarded as holy.



The act of a Hindu widow willingly (or by force) cremating herself on the funeral pyre of her dead husband.



The liberation from samsara and the concomitant suffering involved in being subject to the cycle of repeated death and rebirth. (Release of atman from samsara).



Asceticism

The doctrine that through renunciation of worldly pleasures it is possible to achieve a high spiritual or intellectual state.



The administrative capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region in the People’s Republic of China. It is located at the foot of Mount Gephel.

Was the chief residence of the Dalai Lama. Located in Lhasa. 

He was the chief patron of Buddhism who spread it in several parts of Asia. Banned the killing of animals.



Is one of the most fundamental Buddhist teachings.

“The Right Way”. The way leading to the cessation of suffering and the achievement of self-awakening.



Like the 10 Commandments, yet for Buddhists.



The Buddhism that is “the way”. The dominant religion of Sri Lanka and Myanmar. Sage Buddha.



A common search for universal salvation especially through faith alone; the dominant religion of China and Tibet and Japan. Divine Buddha.

Of or relating to the Vedas or to the ancient Sanskrit in which they were written.



Buddhist doctrine that enlightenment can be attained through direct intuitive insight.



Conflicting powers within the body. A person is only well when these forces are balanced inside the body.



A name for the God of the Old Testament. The personal name of God in the Hebrew Scriptures.



The founding patriarch of the Israelites, Ishmaelites, Edomites, and the Midianites and kindred peoples, according to the book of Genesis.



An agreement between God and his people in which God makes certain promises and requires certain behavior from them in return.



The second patriarch; son of Abraham and Sarah who was offered by Abraham as a sacrifice to God; father of Jacob and Esau.

The son of Abraham who was cast out after the birth of Isaac; considered the forebear of 12 Arabian tribes.



The whole body of the Jewish sacred writings and tradition including the oral tradition.



Messiah

A person who has a belief in a strict adherence to a set of basic principles (often religious in nature), sometimes as a reaction to perceived doctrinal compromises with modern social and political life.

Having more than one spouse at a time.



A wall in Jerusalem; sacred to Jews as a place of prayer and lamentation; its stones are believed to have formed part of the Temple of Solomon.



An Islamic shrine and major landmark located on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.



Typically used to mean adhering to the accepted or traditional and established faith, especially in religion.



Proselytization

The act of attempting to convert people to another opinion and, particularly, another religion.



The ten calamities imposed upon Egypt by YHWH as recounted in the Book of Exodus, Chapters 7–12, to convince the Pharaoh to let the poorly treated Israelite slaves go.



Believed to be the peak on which Moses received the Ten Commandments.



Jewish republic in southwestern Asia at eastern end of Mediterranean.



Four different versions of Jesus’ life, ministry, death, and resurrection.

Missionaries among the leaders in the Early Church. Pioneers or early advocates of a particular cause.



Someone who believes and helps to spread the doctrine of another.



The smallest independent state in the world. Lead by the pope.



The largest interior of any Christian church in the world, holding 60,000 people. Regarded as one of the holiest Catholic sites.

The head of the Roman Catholic Church.



Disciple of Jesus and leader of the Apostles; regarded by Catholics as the Vicar of Christ on earth and first Pope.



A Christian missionary to the Gentiles; author of several Epistles in the New Testament; even though Paul was not present at the Last Supper, he is considered an Apostle.



One who voluntarily suffers death as the penalty for refusing to renounce their religion.



A letter signed by emperors Constantine I and Licinius that proclaimed religious toleration in the Roman Empire.

Christian council that met in 325 CE to determine orthodoxy with respect to persons of Trinity; insisted on divinity of all persons of the Trinity.



Emperor of Rome who stopped the persecution of Christians and in 324 CE made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire.



The last emperor of a united Roman Empire, he took control of the eastern empire and ended the war with the Visigoths; he became a Christian and in 391 CE banned all forms of pagan worship.



Formal rupture in 1054 CE between the differing Latin and Greek branches of Christianity.



A one-tenth part of something, paid as a (usually) voluntary contribution or as a tax or levy, usually to support a religious organization.



A black stone building in Mecca that is shaped like a cube and that is the most sacred Muslim pilgrim shrine.



The holiest meeting site in Islam.



Site of the tomb of Muhammad; the second most holy city of Islam.

Muslim name for the one and only God.



The pilgrimage to Mecca made by pious Muslims; one of the five pillars.



The Arab prophet who, according to Islam, was the last messenger of Allah.



The obligatory religious duties of all Muslims.



A believer in or follower of Islam.



The central religious verbal text of Islam.



The code of law derived from the Koran and from the teachings and example of Mohammed.



A member of the branch of Islam that regards Ali as the legitimate successor to Mohammed and rejects the first three caliphs.



 An artistic motif that is characterized by the application of repeating geometric forms and fancifully combined patterns. Elements of Islamic art.



A Muslim who represents the mystical dimension of Islam; a Muslim who seeks direct experience of Allah; mainly in Iran.



The practice of the Mevlevi Order in Turkey, and is part of a formal ceremony known as the Sema. 

The Sema is only one of the many Sufi ceremonies performed to try to reach a religious ecstasy.



A collection of folktales in Arabic dating from the 10th century.



Living quarters reserved for wives and concubines and female relatives in a Muslim household.



One of the virtues to be held above all else: a respect for the parents and ancestors. (Involved with Confucianism).

(1) ruler to ruled; (2) father to son; (3) husband to wife; (4) elder brother to younger brother; and (5) friend to friend. For Confucius and his followers, the relationship between father and son was the most important.



The doctrine that all natural objects and the universe itself have souls.