Edexcel GCSE Religious Studies B key terms

A public procession involving the singing of Sikh hymns and honouring the Guru Granth Sahib.

The duty to discourage or forbid what is evil and wrong.

Remembering and meditating on God’s Name, keeping attention focused on God.

A phrase chanted in Nichiren Buddhism expressing devotion to the Mystic Law of the Lotus Sutra.

A mantra meaning ‘Homage to the Buddha’, used in Theravada Buddhism to express reverence for the Buddha.

Remembering and meditating on God’s name.

An American religious and political movement in which Malcolm X became a minister and spokesman. During his membership, it promoted black nationalism and racial separation; its racial teachings should not be equated with mainstream Islam.

Suffering arising from natural causes, such as disease or earthquakes, rather than deliberate human wrongdoing.

Avoiding pregnancy by identifying fertile times in the menstrual cycle and avoiding sexual intercourse during those times.

Moral principles grounded in human nature and discoverable through reason; Catholics regard them as a basis for universal rights and duties.

A material or source of energy obtained from nature, such as water, timber, minerals or fossil fuels.

The process through which inherited characteristics that help organisms survive and reproduce can become more common over generations.

Pain or distress caused by natural processes rather than human wrongdoing, such as an earthquake.

A reported experience during perceived or actual closeness to death, sometimes involving an apparent separation from the body or encounters with other people.

A being whose existence does not depend on anything else and which cannot fail to exist.

The Japanese practice of recalling Amida Buddha, particularly by reciting his name: ‘Namu Amida Butsu’.

The ‘everlasting light’ kept burning above or in front of the Ark, recalling the lamp commanded in the Torah and God's continuing presence.

A Hebrew word for a miracle, also associated with a raised banner or standard. Jewish interpretations connect these meanings: a miracle draws attention to the Almighty’s action and guides people towards faith and obedience.

The Prophets: the section of the Tenakh containing accounts of Israelite history and prophetic teachings about God and the covenant.

Liberation from craving, ignorance and suffering, ending the cycle of rebirth; also called nirvana.

An authoritative statement of Christian belief that affirms one God and describes the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit; it is recited in worship by many denominations.

An Islamic marriage contract through which a couple enter a recognised marital relationship with responsibilities towards each other.

Without qualities or attributes; a description of Brahman as beyond the characteristics and forms that humans can describe.

Brahman understood without limiting qualities or form, beyond ordinary human description.

Cessation: the ending of suffering through the complete ending of craving; the Third Noble Truth.

Liberation from suffering and rebirth through the ending of greed, hatred and delusion; also called nibbana.

The minimum qualifying wealth threshold used to determine whether a Muslim must pay Zakah.