Edexcel GCSE Religious Studies B key terms

A high-ranking angel with particularly important responsibilities.

A Sikh prayer of supplication, offered individually or by a congregation; Article XXV requires an Ardas for correction after penance is assigned.

A person who has attained enlightenment and nibbana by overcoming the causes of suffering; the ideal particularly emphasised in Theravada Buddhism.

The holy cabinet, also called the Aron Hakodesh, in which a synagogue keeps its Torah scrolls.

A marriage in which relatives or others help identify a partner, but the people marrying freely agree to the marriage.

Material prosperity or wealth; one of the four Hindu aims of life, which should be pursued in accordance with dharma.

An ancient Indian treatise on government and statecraft attributed to Kautilya, including rules governing courts, punishment and the treatment of prisoners.

A worship ceremony in which a lighted lamp is offered before a deity.

Contraception using manufactured methods, such as condoms or hormonal contraceptive pills.

The traditional Jewish evening prayer service, also called Maariv.

An Indian Buddhist monk and thinker whose traditional encounter with Maitreya is associated with the Five Treatises of Maitreya.

Jesus’ being taken into heaven after his resurrection, marking the completion of his earthly mission.

A strict way of life involving self-denial and few possessions, sometimes including severe fasting.

A stage of life in the traditional Hindu framework: student, householder, retirement or renunciation.

The tenth day of Muharram. Shi’a Muslims mourn Hussain’s death at Karbala; Sunni Muslims also remember Allah saving Musa and the Israelites.

Helping someone to end their own life; the person themselves performs the final act.

The path of disciplined meditation and control of the mind and senses, also called raja yoga.

A jealous or combative demigod, also called a titan, represented in a separate realm in six-realm versions of the Wheel of Life.

Not believing in any god; this does not by itself specify a person's moral beliefs.

A person who does not believe in God or gods.

The soul, which Sikhs believe is present in every living being, including humans and animals.

The true self in Hinduism, distinct from a person's current body and social identity.

Making amends for wrongdoing and restoring a damaged relationship, particularly the relationship with God.

A person’s ability and freedom to make informed decisions about their own life.

The bodhisattva associated with compassion, whose mantra is ‘Om mani padme hum’.

A descent or incarnation of a deity into the world; many Hindus understand Rama and Krishna as avatars of Vishnu.

Jewish mourning observance, including stages through which mourners gradually return to everyday life.

Spiritual ignorance, especially mistaking the changing body and mind for the true Self and regarding Atman as separate from Brahman.