Edexcel GCSE Religious Studies A key terms

The Muslim community worldwide, united by faith in Allah.

The purpose of sexual intimacy that expresses and strengthens the loving union between spouses.

The purpose of sexual intercourse that expresses love and strengthens the bond between spouses.

An independent source of motion or change that is not itself moved or changed by another; Aquinas identifies this as God.

A Hindu sacred text containing teachings about spiritual reality; Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 1.3.28 includes a prayer for movement from darkness to light and death to immortality.

A regular Buddhist observance day linked to the phases of the moon, devoted to renewed ethical discipline and religious practice.

‘Roots of religion’: the foundational beliefs of Shi’a Islam, commonly organised as the Five Roots.

The spiritual abode of Vishnu, understood in many Vaishnava traditions as beyond the material cycle of rebirth.

A Hindu who worships Vishnu or his avatars, such as Krishna, as the supreme deity.

The view that earthly life provides opportunities for people to develop their character and grow spiritually through challenges, including suffering.

One of the four traditional broad social classes associated with different roles and responsibilities in Hindu society.

Duties associated with a person's social role or varna and stage of life or ashrama.

The annual three-month rains retreat, during which monastics remain based in one place and intensify their practice.

Reverent honour given to a sacred person or image, distinguished in Orthodox Christianity from the adoration due to God alone.

The everyday language of the people, rather than a language such as Latin used traditionally in worship.

An Anglican parish priest.

A person entrusted with responsibility on Allah’s behalf, including care for the natural world.

A gathering for prayer before the main funeral liturgy, usually on the evening before the funeral.

A Buddhist monastery where monks or nuns live and where Buddhists may gather for worship and teaching.

Insight meditation that develops understanding of experience, including its impermanence, unsatisfactoriness and lack of a permanent, independent self.

A settled habit or disposition to do what is good.

An experience in which someone believes they see or hear a spiritual presence or receive a divine message.

The deliberate formation of a mental image, such as a Buddha, a Bodhisattva or a Pure Land, as a focus for meditation.

A calling from God to a particular way of life or form of service.

A solemn promise, including a promise made to God.

A Sikh name for God, often translated as ‘Wonderful Lord’, used in prayer and remembrance.

An Arabic term for divine revelation or inspiration.