Religious Studies key terms

A person harmed by armed conflict, including through injury, bereavement, displacement or the destruction of their livelihood.

Disembodied liberation attained after death.

True spiritual knowledge or insight into the nature of the self and ultimate reality.

A service of watchful prayer, sometimes held during the night before a major religious festival.

A Buddhist monastery where monks or nuns live and practise Buddhism, often with spaces for worship and study.

The collection of Buddhist monastic rules governing the conduct of monks and nuns.

The use of physical force intended to hurt or kill someone, or damage something.

A protest that uses physical force intended to harm people or damage property.

Insight meditation that develops understanding of the nature of existence, especially impermanence, suffering and non-self.

A good moral quality developed through repeated choices and actions.

The preserver and protector deity in the Tri-murti, whose avataras include Krishna and Rama.

A religious experience in which someone sees or experiences something supernatural, understood as revealing the divine. It may involve an appearance seen with the eyes or an image experienced in the mind.

Forming a mental image, such as a Buddha or Bodhisattva, as a focus for meditation and the development of spiritual qualities.

The Hindu marriage rite, traditionally understood as a lifelong commitment.

Performing operations on living animals for scientific research; the word is also used more broadly in debates about experiments on living animals.

Euthanasia carried out at the request of a person who can make and communicate that decision.

A solemn promise, such as a promise of faithfulness made during a wedding ceremony.

The Sikh name for God, the one Creator who sustains the universe.

A marriage feast celebrating and publicly announcing a Muslim marriage.

A village in Norfolk, England, which became a Christian pilgrimage destination following a reported vision of the Virgin Mary in 1061.

Organised armed conflict between nations or groups.

Money, possessions and other valuable resources owned by a person or group.

A weapon capable of causing widespread, indiscriminate death and destruction; the main types are nuclear, chemical and biological weapons.

Weapons capable of causing death and destruction on a very large scale; nuclear weapons are an example.

A Buddhist festival commemorating the Buddha’s birth, enlightenment and death, particularly important in Theravada Buddhism; also called Vesak or Buddha Day.

A woman whose husband has died. In first-century Palestine, losing a husband could leave a woman without financial support and social protection.

Understanding and sound judgement that help a person recognise right and wrong and act appropriately.