Basic Concepts #2

Front 1

clergy

Back 1

The leaders or officials of a religion.

Front 2

divination

Back 2

The practice of using ritual to predict the future.

Front 3

laity

Back 3

The ordinary people who practice a religion.

Front 4

medium

Back 4

An individual who can predict the future by communication with the spirits.

Front 5

ordination

Back 5

A formal ceremony held to initiate a person into the clergy

Front 6

priest

Back 6

A professional religious leader who performs religious rituals.

Front 7

prophet

Back 7

A messenger of a deity.

Front 8

psychic

Back 8

A person who possesses the ability to predict the future or contact the dead.

Front 9

shaman

Back 9

A person who serves as an intermediary between the community and the sacred; common in primal religions.

Front 10

moral codes

Back 10

Rules that govern behavior to help people distinguish between right and wrong behavior.

Front 11

morals

Back 11

Principles about what is right and what is wrong.

Front 12

morality

Back 12

A set of codes or laws that are intended to guide behavior in accordance with the sacred.

Front 13

secular

Back 13

Ordinary; nonreligious.

Front 14

tradition

Back 14

The sacred stories, beliefs, and practices of a religion.

Front 15

apocalyptic

Back 15

Term describing belief in the end of time and the Day of Judgement.

Front 16

cyclical time

Back 16

The model in which time is repetitive and, like a circle, has no beginning or end.

Front 17

Day of Judgment

Back 17

The end of time in many Western religions; the day on which practitioners of these religions hope to be rewarded by God.

Front 18

eschatology

Back 18

Beliefs about and the study of the end time.

Front 19

linear time

Back 19

The model in which time has a beginning and na end and moves in a straight line.

Front 20

Primal Religion

Back 20

The beliefs and practices of the indigenous people around the world.

Front 21

reincarnation

Back 21

The belief that, after we die, our souls are reborn into new bodies.

Front 22

academic study of religion

Back 22

The scientific study of religion; this method stresses either the historical or the descriptive approach and does not attempt to convince people that one religion is correct.

Front 23

anthropology

Back 23

The study of cultures.

Front 24

archaeology

Back 24

A branch of science that studies the remains of earlier civilizations.

Front 25

comparative religions

Back 25

The examination of religious phenomena as expressions of cross-cultural religious patterns and types.

Front 26

descriptive approach

Back 26

A method of religious study that borrows heavily from anthropology, focusing on description and seeking to document the unique beliefs and practices of each religion.

Front 27

historical approach

Back 27

The method of religious study that examines a religion from its beginning to its end or the present day.

Front 28

phenomenological approach

Back 28

Another name for the descriptive approach to the study of religion.

Front 29

scientific study of religion

Back 29

The method of religious study similar to the neutral perspective scientists take when examining the world.

Front 30

sociology

Back 30

The study of society.

Front 31

thick description

Back 31

The investigation of behavior that also attempts to explain its meanings.

Front 32

theological approach

Back 32

The method of religious study that stresses theology, looking at the faith and practices of a religious community and finding evidence of the sacred.

Front 33

ancestor veneration

Back 33

The worship of deceased family members.

Front 34

animistic theory

Back 34

Theory put forth by Edward Burnett Tylor proposing that religion developed from the belief that the world is alive with spirits.

Front 35

magic theory

Back 35

Theory developed by James Frazer stating that religion began with magic.

Front 36

materialistic theory

Back 36

Theory stating that humans believe material possessions and comforts are more important than religion.

Front 37

nature worship theory

Back 37

Theory developed by Max Muller proposing that religion arose from ancient peoples' tendency to personify nature and create myths to describe the deities of nature.

Front 38

original monotheism

Back 38

Theory proposed by Wilhelm Schmidt stating the most primal peoples worshiped a single high god; thus, monotheism was the original religion, and polytheism emerged much later.

Front 39

psychological theory

Back 39

Theory that views religion as a human phenomenon and argues that the supernatural world does not exist.

Front 40

sociological theory

Back 40

Theory developed by Emile Durkheim proposing that societies were more important in forming religions than religious leaders; religion was originally a celebration of the tribe created to bring people together.