Ch6 Rubenstein Vocab

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Universalizing Religions

A religion that attempts to appeal to all people, not just those living in a particular location

Ethnic Religion

A religion with a relatively concentrated spatial distribution whose principles are likely to be based on the physical characteristics of the particular location in which its adherents are concentrated

Branch

A large and fundamental division within a religion

Denomination

A division of a branch that unites a number of local congregations in a single legal and administrative body

Sect

A relatively small group that has broken away from an established denomination

Monotheism

The doctrine or belief of the existence of only one god

Polytheist

Belief in or worship of more than one god

Animism

Belief that objects, such as plants and stones, or natural events, like thunderstorms and earthquakes, have a discrete spirit and conscious life

Pagan

A follower of a polytheistic religion in ancient times

Missionary

An individual who helps to diffuse a universalizing religion.

Ghetto

During the Middle Ages, a neighborhood in a city set up by law to be inhabited only by Jews; now used to denote a section of a city in which members of any minority group live because of social, legal, or economic pressure.

Pilgrimage

A journey to a place considered sacred for religious purposes.

Cosmogony

A set of religious beliefs concerning the origin of the universe.

Solstice

Time when the Sun is farthest from the equator.

Diocese

The basic unit of geographic organizaton in the Roman Catholic Church.

Autonomus Religions

A religion that does not have a central authority but shares ideas and cooperates informally.

Fundamentalism

Literal interpretation and strict adherence to basic principles of a religion (or a religious branch, denomination, or sect).