Eduqas GCSE Religious Studies (Short Course) key terms

Being answerable for one’s choices and actions, which Muslims believe Allah will judge.

Divine justice: the belief that Allah is always just and wise and never acts wrongly.

Voluntary sexual intercourse between a married person and someone who is not their spouse.

A non-dualist school of Hindu philosophy which teaches that atman and Brahman are ultimately identical.

Life after physical death.

Selfless love: seeking the good of others rather than personal advantage.

One of the five changing elements that together make up a human being: form, sensation, perception, mental formations and consciousness. Together they are called the Five Aggregates or (s)kandhas.

A woman who remains bound to a marriage under Jewish law because she cannot obtain a religious divorce; literally a ‘chained’ woman.

Non-injury to living things; the principle of non-violence.

‘People of the Book’: a term used for Jews and Christians because of their connection with earlier revealed scriptures.

The Islamic belief in life after death, including resurrection, judgement by Allah, and reward or punishment.

The highest level of Jannah, or paradise.

The Arabic word for God. Muslims believe Allah is the one, unique creator and sustainer of everything.

Belief in Allah’s divine decree: everything occurs within his knowledge and will.

The Buddha at the centre of Pure Land Buddhism, also known as Amitabha.

A Sikh who has undergone the Amrit Sanskar initiation ceremony and belongs to the Khalsa.

The Sikh marriage ceremony, in which the couple make their commitment in the presence of the Guru Granth Sahib.

No permanent self: the Buddhist teaching that a person has no fixed, unchanging soul or self independent of the changing aggregates.

A spiritual being that obeys Allah and carries out his commands, such as conveying revelation or recording human actions.

Impermanence: the Buddhist teaching that conditioned things, including bodies, thoughts and feelings, change rather than remain fixed.

A declaration that a marriage was not valid. In Catholic teaching, this is different from ending a valid marriage through divorce.

The Sikh funeral, meaning the last rite of passage.

Hindu last rites, normally involving cremation.

Using people outside a dispute to help resolve it; Qur’an 4:35 calls for a representative from each spouse’s family.

An enlightened person who has overcome greed, hatred and ignorance, attained nirvana and will not be reborn after death.

A marriage in which families help to identify a suitable partner, but both people freely consent to marry.

Material prosperity and the resources needed to support life; one of the four Hindu aims of human life.