Learning vocabulary

Religion glossary

Words are starting points, not boxes. These definitions introduce common usage and point toward the context each tradition brings.

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18 terms shown.

Canon

A recognized collection of texts that a community treats as authoritative. Different communities may define a canon differently.

Topics: Sacred texts

Clergy

People formally authorized for religious leadership or service in some communities. Roles and authority vary widely.

Topics: Communities

Covenant

A binding relationship or promise with religious significance, especially important in Jewish and Christian traditions.

Topics: Beliefs · Sacred texts · Related traditions: Judaism, Christianity

Creed

A concise statement of shared belief used by some religious communities.

Topics: Beliefs

Denomination

An organized branch within a larger religious tradition, often with its own institutions and patterns of belief or practice.

Topics: Communities

Doctrine

A teaching or body of teachings held by a religious community. Members may interpret doctrines in different ways.

Topics: Beliefs

Laity

Members of a religious community who are not part of its formally recognized clergy.

Topics: Communities

Liturgy

An established pattern of communal worship, including words, actions, music, or ritual.

Topics: Practices

Monotheism

Belief in one God. Traditions described as monotheistic still differ greatly in how they understand God and divine action.

Topics: Beliefs · Related traditions: Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Sikhism

Orthodoxy

An emphasis on right or accepted belief. The word can also name particular historical communities, so context matters.

Topics: Beliefs

Orthopraxy

An emphasis on right practice or conduct, rather than treating belief alone as the center of religious life.

Topics: Practices · Ethics

Pilgrimage

A journey to a place of religious importance, usually undertaken for devotion, remembrance, or spiritual practice.

Topics: Practices · History

Polytheism

Belief in or relationship with multiple deities. The label does not by itself explain how a tradition understands their unity or difference.

Topics: Beliefs

Ritual

A meaningful action performed in an established way. Rituals may be communal or personal, formal or everyday.

Topics: Practices

Sacred

Set apart as holy, deeply significant, or connected with ultimate meaning within a community.

Topics: Beliefs · Practices

Scripture

Writing a community receives as sacred or especially authoritative. Traditions differ in how scripture is formed, read, and interpreted.

Topics: Sacred texts

Sect

A subgroup within a wider religious tradition. Because the word can sound dismissive, FaithPost uses a community's preferred name whenever possible.

Topics: Communities

Secular

Not governed by religious institutions or purposes. It does not necessarily mean hostile to religion or personally nonreligious.

Topics: Big questions · Communities