Religious Studies

Nuclear weapons- Weapons based on atomic fission or fusion

Pacifism- Refusing to fight in wars

Just war- A war which is fought for the right reasons and in a right way

World peace- The basic aim of the United Nations to remove the causes of war

Bullying- Intimidating/ frightning people weaker than yourself

Forgiveness- The act of stopping blaming someone and/ or pardoning them for what thay have done wrong.

Reconciliation- Bringing together people who were opposed to each other     

Pollution- The contamination/ degration of the environment

Greenhouse effect- The trapping of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere which is thought to increase the temperature of the earth.

Acid rain- Such pollutants as coal smoke which make rain more acidic.

Natural resources- Naturally occuring materials such as oil and fertile land which can be used by humans.

Creation- The act of creating the universe or the universe which has been created.

Stewardship- Looking after something so it can be passed on to the next generation.

Environment- The surroundings in which plants and animals live and which they depend on to live

Conservation- Protecting and preserving natural resources and the environment

Animal rights- The belief that animals have rights not to be exploited by humans 

Bible- The holy book of christians with 66 books split into old and new testament

Church- The community of christians. Christian place of worship

Conscience- An inner feeling of the rightness or the wrongness of an action

Situation ethics- The idea that Christians should base moral decisions on what is the most loving thing to do in a situation.

Electoral process- The way in which voting is organised.

First- past- the- post- The voting system where whoever gets the most votes in a constituency wins the seat

Proportional representation- The voting system where seats are distributed according to the proportion of votes

National government- The government headed by the Prime Minister and parliament which governs the whole country

Local government- The local council which looks after local issues such as education and refuse disposal

Decalogue- The ten commandments

Golden rule- The teaching of Jesus that you should treat others as you would like them to treat you

Sin- An act against the will of God

Crime- An act against the law

Law- Rules made by Parliament and enforceable by the courts

Justice- Due allocation of reward and punishments, the maintenance of what is right

Deterrance- The idea that punishments should be of such a nature that they will put people off (deter) commiting crimes

Retribution- The idea that punishments should make criminals pay for what they have done wrong

Reform- The idea that punishments should try to change criminals so that they will not commit crimes again

Judgement- The act of judging people and their actions

Punishment- A penalty given for any crime or offence

Capital punishment- The death penalty for a crime or offence