Edexcel GCSE Religious Studies B key terms

Suffering arising when something pleasant changes or comes to an end.

Insight meditation that develops understanding of the nature of experience, particularly the three marks of existence.

A settled good quality of character, such as generosity or compassion, that shapes a person's motives, choices and actions.

An approach to ethics that emphasises developing good character, including qualities such as honesty, generosity and humility.

Krishna’s universal or cosmic form, in which Arjuna sees the whole universe in Bhagavad Gita 11.

An experience of seeing something understood to have religious significance, such as a religious figure, rather than an ordinary sight.

Forming and attending to a mental image, such as a Buddha or Bodhisattva, as a focus for meditation.

Deliberately ending a person’s life at their own request.

A solemn promise made to God.

The Sikh name for God, the one divine creator.

An Arabic term for divine revelation or inspiration.

Organised armed conflict between states or groups.

William Paley’s comparison between a watch, whose organised parts indicate a watchmaker, and nature, whose complex organisation he argued indicates God.

Resources and assets a person owns, such as savings, property and possessions; distinct from income received over time.

A weapon capable of causing large-scale death, injury and destruction; the main categories are nuclear, chemical and biological weapons.

A festival particularly associated with Theravada Buddhism that commemorates the Buddha’s birth, enlightenment and passing away.

A Buddhist teaching picture representing the cycle of rebirth and the conditions which sustain it.

A natural contraceptive method in which the penis is withdrawn from the vagina before ejaculation; also called coitus interruptus.

A title for Jesus in John’s Gospel, which identifies him as divine, present with God from the beginning and involved in creation.

Practical acts of compassion, such as feeding hungry people, sheltering homeless people and caring for the sick.

The global community of Christians across different countries and denominations.

Religious acts expressing reverence, love and devotion towards the divine.

Ritual washing, or ablution, which prepares a Muslim for prayer.

A pointer used to follow the words when reading a Torah scroll without touching its handwritten text. Its Hebrew name means ‘hand’.

The annual anniversary of a person’s death, marked by remembrance, often including a memorial candle and Kaddish.

Sacrifice or offering, which can include material offerings and spiritual disciplines undertaken without selfish attachment.

The inclination towards selfishness or wrongdoing in Jewish teaching.