Eduqas GCSE Religious Studies (Short Course) key terms

The process in which organisms with inherited characteristics suited to their environment are more likely to survive, reproduce and pass those characteristics on.

The night on which Muhammad first received revelation of the Qur’an through Jibril; also called Laylat-ul-Qadr.

A member of a Sikh warrior order within the Khalsa tradition, combining religious discipline, charity and readiness to defend the community.

An Islamic marriage and its marriage contract, setting out the agreement between the spouses.

A fixed-term marriage accepted by some Twelver Shi’a Muslims but rejected by Sunni Muslims.

Brahman understood without qualities or form, beyond the limits of human description.

The cessation of suffering through ending craving and attachment; the third Noble Truth.

Liberation from craving and suffering, ending the cycle of rebirth. The Pali term is nibbana.

The Buddhist path towards the end of suffering through right understanding, intention, speech, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness and concentration.

Reading the Genesis creation accounts as conveying religious truths through symbolism or metaphor, rather than as exact scientific or historical descriptions.

Prophethood: Allah chooses prophets to communicate his guidance to humanity.

‘The world to come’: a Jewish term that can refer to life after death or to a future age of peace and justice.

All-loving and perfectly good; describing God’s love for creation.

Having unlimited power; Muslims believe Allah is all-powerful.

Having unlimited power; a quality attributed to God.

Being present everywhere; Sikhs believe God's presence extends throughout creation.

The Sikh belief that all human beings have equal worth, regardless of differences such as caste, gender, wealth or religion.

The formal process through which a person becomes a member of the clergy, such as a priest.

The fallen condition of humanity associated with Adam and Eve's disobedience to God in Genesis 3.

The beliefs and practices of Jewish communities that regard traditional Jewish law as binding.

Care that relieves pain and other symptoms, particularly for people with serious or terminal illness, rather than deliberately ending their lives.

People sitting together in rows to share langar, expressing equality.

Final or complete nirvana at the death of an enlightened being, ending further rebirth.

A system in which men hold the dominant positions of authority in a family or society.

The occasion described in Acts 2 when Jesus's followers were filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke in other languages.

The obligation to save human life, which takes priority over observing certain other Jewish commandments.

A society in which people with different religions, beliefs and ways of life live alongside one another.

Material nature: the changing physical world and, in many Hindu philosophical systems, the mind, senses and emotions.