Edexcel GCSE Religious Studies A key terms

The annual pattern of Christian seasons and festivals used to organise worship and remember events in Jesus’ life; also called the liturgical year.

A vessel used to hold consecrated hosts for distributing Holy Communion and keeping them after Mass.

Walking around a sacred person, object or place as an act of reverence.

Removal of the foreskin of the penis; a practice followed by Muslim families for boys, with differences in its timing and celebration.

People appointed to lead a church and care for its members, such as priests or ministers.

Grasping at experiences, possessions or ideas of oneself as though they could provide lasting security or satisfaction.

An aggregate considered as something that can be grasped at or clung to, sustaining attachment.

Living together as a couple without being married.

A method of contraception in which the penis is withdrawn from the vagina before ejaculation; also called withdrawal.

An observance that remembers and honours a person or event and reflects on its significance.

Entrusting a person who has died to God’s mercy and care through prayer.

The final funeral service of farewell at the graveside or crematorium.

The conditions in society that enable everyone, rather than only a privileged group, to flourish.

Worship shared by a group of believers.

A Christian act of worship remembering Jesus’ Last Supper through bread and wine; also called the Eucharist or Holy Communion.

Concern for another person’s suffering that leads to action to help them.

The collection and organisation of material into a written text.

The belief that men and women have equal worth before God but different, complementary responsibilities, usually including the husband's leadership within marriage.

The belief that men and women have equal dignity while their differences can enable them to enrich and support one another.

Different responsibilities that work together and are understood as equally important, such as earning an income and caring for children.

Forcing someone to act against their own choice; in religion, this includes forcing someone to accept or practise a faith.

The exercise of the Church’s teaching authority through bishops gathered in a council with the Pope.

The principle that something occurs or exists because the necessary conditions are present; when those conditions change or cease, what depends on them also changes or ceases.

Acknowledging wrongdoing before God and asking for forgiveness.

A group of people gathered for religious worship.

Worship carried out together by a gathered community, rather than by an individual alone.

A person's judgement about whether a particular action is morally right or wrong; Catholics understand it as a judgement of reason through which God's guidance can be recognised.