Edexcel GCSE Religious Studies B key terms

God understood as the all-powerful Creator, a name used for God in Judaism.

Muhammad’s miraculous ascension through the heavens.

The Muslim belief in divine decree or predestination: Allah knows all that will happen and nothing happens outside His permission.

A central Jewish prayer recited standing, traditionally facing towards Jerusalem.

The Buddha whose vows and compassion are central to Pure Land Buddhism; known as Amida in Japan.

The Buddha of Infinite Life, also known as Amitabha or Amida, associated with the Western Pure Land.

The duty to encourage what is good and right.

The mixture of water and sugar prepared with scriptural recitation and a double-edged sword for Sikh initiation.

A Sikh who has received initiation through the Amrit ceremony and belongs to the Khalsa.

A Sikh who has received amrit in the initiation ceremony and belongs to the Khalsa.

The Sikh initiation ceremony through which a willing person joins the Khalsa and accepts its discipline.

The early morning period before dawn associated with Sikh prayer and meditation.

A comparison used to explain or support an idea by showing similarities between two things.

The Sikh marriage ceremony, meaning ‘blissful act’, in which the couple make a commitment in the presence of the Guru Granth Sahib.

A Buddhist discourse on mindfulness of breathing, which presents meditation as a means towards awakening and release.

The Buddhist teaching that there is no permanent, unchanging self.

A being created by Allah from light that obeys His commands and carries out duties without sinning.

Impermanence: conditioned things, including bodies, feelings and possessions, change rather than remaining fixed.

The use of animals in scientific or medical research.

The belief that animals have moral claims to protection, particularly against suffering and exploitation.

The wellbeing of animals, including their treatment, living conditions and protection from unnecessary suffering.

A Church declaration that a valid marriage did not exist from the beginning; it does not dissolve a valid marriage.

The divine as the inner presence or ‘inner controller’, dwelling within the heart.

Prejudice against or hatred of Jewish people because they are Jewish.

The system of legally enforced racial segregation and inequality in South Africa that privileged white people and denied equal rights to other racial groups.

Leaving or renouncing a religion.

A reported appearance of a heavenly person, such as the Virgin Mary.