Eduqas GCSE Religious Studies key terms

Dedication to someone or something, involving responsibilities that continue even when circumstances become difficult.

Concern for another person's suffering, accompanied by a desire to help.

A person’s inner sense of right and wrong, which can be informed by faith, reason and reflection.

The divine partner or spouse of a deity.

Understanding a biblical passage in relation to the circumstances and culture in which it was written.

The use of methods to prevent pregnancy.

The study or account of the universe’s origins, structure and development.

A solemn agreement establishing a relationship and responsibilities; in Judaism, especially the relationship between God and the Jewish people.

The belief that God brought the universe and living things into existence.

The belief that God brought the universe into existence out of nothing, rather than making it from pre-existing material.

In this context, the belief that God created life directly as described in a literal reading of Genesis.

God as the source of everything that exists.

A divine being believed to have brought the universe into existence. Buddhism does not recognise a creator God.

The burning of a dead person's body as part of its funeral treatment.

An action that breaks the law of the state.

Execution by fastening a person to a cross; the method by which Jesus was killed.

A view of time in which creation, preservation and dissolution recur, rather than history having only one beginning and one final end.

A member of a community traditionally excluded from the four-varna system and subjected to discrimination associated with ‘untouchability’.

Generosity or giving, which supports others and helps reduce selfishness and attachment.

Punishment or the ‘rod’ of authority: the ruler’s means of restraining wrongdoing and upholding dharma.

Seeing a deity through a sacred image, or seeing a holy person, as an encounter with the sacred.

The practice of contributing one tenth of one's income to support the Sikh community and its work; also spelt dasvandh.

The occasion when Allah judges everyone fairly, taking account of their faith, actions and circumstances.

Execution by the state as punishment for a crime; also called capital punishment.

A god or goddess worshipped as divine.

A recognised branch of Christianity with its own organisation and distinctive beliefs or practices, such as the Anglican or Methodist Church.

The teaching that things arise and continue because of causes and conditions; when these conditions change, what depends on them also changes. Also called conditionality.