Eduqas GCSE Religious Studies key terms

Loving-kindness: goodwill towards oneself and all other beings, wishing them happiness without expecting a reward.

The cultivation of loving-kindness, usually through meditation.

The cultivation of loving-kindness, usually through meditation.

A parchment scroll containing passages of the Shema, placed inside a case and fixed to a doorpost.

The Buddhist way that avoids the extremes of indulgence in sensual pleasure and self-mortification; the Buddha identifies it with the Noble Eightfold Path.

The Buddhist approach that avoids both indulgence in sensual pleasures and extreme self-denial.

A niche in a mosque wall which indicates the direction of prayer.

The angel placed in charge of plants and rain, associated with nourishment and the sustaining of life.

A Buddhist text known as the Questions of King Milinda, containing the dialogue between King Milinda and the monk Nagasena, including the chariot analogy.

Awareness of present experiences, including thoughts, feelings and bodily sensations.

A quorum of ten Jewish adults required for certain communal prayers; traditionally Orthodox communities count men, while Reform communities also count women.

The written collection of Jewish oral law that forms the basis of the Talmud.

The work of sharing Christianity and carrying out its teachings through words and actions, including service to others.

A person sent to share their faith, sometimes abroad, through preaching, teaching or practical service.

A commandment in Jewish law. The plural is mitzvot, and Jewish tradition identifies 613 commandments in the Torah.

Commandments within Judaism, understood by observant Jews as obligations given by God.

A prayer said on waking which thanks God for returning the soul and giving another day of life.

Worldly attachment: possessive clinging to people or things that distracts a person from God.

A person trained to carry out Jewish ritual circumcision.

Liberation from samsara, the cycle of death and rebirth.

A community whose members dedicate their lives to religious practices, particularly prayer and devotion to God.

The view that reality is ultimately one; in Hindu monist thought, apparently separate beings have one underlying reality, Brahman.

Belief in one God.

The opening statement of Sikh belief in Guru Granth Sahib 1, describing the one God as the eternal truth and Creator, without fear or hatred.

The opening statement of the Guru Granth Sahib which expresses central Sikh beliefs about God’s nature.

The view that certain actions are always right or wrong, regardless of circumstances.

Wrongdoing resulting from human actions and choices, such as cruelty or theft.