Edexcel GCSE Religious Studies B key terms

A Church of England worship book containing authorised forms of services and set prayers.

A coordinated refusal to use or buy something in order to put pressure on those responsible for an injustice.

The Hindu deity associated with creation, distinct from Brahman.

A Buddhist discourse examining views about the self and world, including views about existence after death, and explaining how craving and misunderstanding shape them.

The ultimate divine reality in Hinduism, understood differently by different Hindu traditions.

The Jewish ritual of male circumcision, normally performed on the eighth day after birth, as a sign of the covenant.

The Jewish teaching that human beings are created in the image of God and therefore possess inherent dignity.

An awakened or enlightened being. Siddhartha Gautama, the historical Buddha, is a teacher of the path to liberation, not a creator God.

The condition of being a fully awakened Buddha; the ultimate goal of the Mahayana bodhisattva path.

In many Mahayana Buddhist teachings, the potential of all beings to attain Buddhahood.

An image or statue of the historical Buddha or another being believed to have attained Buddhahood.

A Buddhist scripture recounting the lives of Buddhas, including Gotama, whose life is the subject of the prescribed passage Buddhavamsa XXVI.

A voluntary charity established in 1986 to offer information, spiritual friendship and compassionate support from a Buddhist perspective to the living, dying and bereaved.

The Catholic Agency for Overseas Development, the official aid agency of the Catholic Church in England and Wales. It supports people overseas regardless of their religion.

A successor to Muhammad as leader of the Muslim community, also called a khalifah.

The movement of a liquid through narrow spaces, caused by its attraction to surrounding surfaces and forces between its molecules.

The execution of an offender by the state as punishment for a crime; also called the death penalty.

The four central moral virtues in Catholic teaching: prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance.

An inherited social grouping associated with distinctions of status and, traditionally, occupation; caste is not the same as race.

A system of inherited social divisions associated with unequal status; the shared seating and food of langar challenge caste discrimination.

Education in the Christian faith, helping people understand its beliefs and live according to them.

The official summary of Catholic beliefs and teachings.

The Catholic Church's teaching about how society should uphold human dignity and promote justice.

The production of an effect by a cause.

Choosing to abstain from sexual relationships.

Bread traditionally eaten at Shabbat meals. Two loaves recall God's provision of food for the Israelites in the wilderness.

The canopy positioned above the Guru Granth Sahib as a sign of reverence.