Religious Studies Key Words

  • These are the key words that will be needed to learn for the GCSE Exam as the paper will be testing you on them. These key words will also help you in everyday life. Please do learn them!
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Abortion
The removal of a foetus from the womb before it can survive
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Adultery
A sexual act between a married person and someone other than their marriage partner
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Agnosticism
Not being sure whether God exists
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Assisted suicide
Providing a seriously ill person with the means to commit suicide
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Atheism
Believing that God does not exist
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Civil partnership
A legal ceremony giving homosexual couple the same legal rights as a husband and wife
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Cohabitation
Living together without being married
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Community cohesion
A common vision and shared sense of belonging for all groups in society
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Contraception
Intentionally preventing pregnancy from occurring
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Conversion
When your life is changed by giving yourself to God
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Discrimination
Treating people less favourably becuase of their ethnicity/ gender/ colour/ sexuality/ age/ class
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Ethnic minority
A member of an ethnic group (race) which is much smaller than the majority group
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Euthanasia
The painless killing of someone dying from a painful disease
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Faithfulness
Staying with your marriage partner and having sex only with them
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Free will
The idea that human beings are free to make their own choices
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Homosexuality
Sexual attraction to the same sex
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Immortality of the soul
The idea that the soul lives on after the death of the body
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Interfaith marriages
Marriage where the husband and wife are from different religions
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Miracle
Something that happens that breaks the law of science and makes you think that only God could have done it
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Moral evil
Actions done by human which causes suffering
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Multi-ethnic society
Many different races and cultures living together in one society
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Multi-faith society
Many different religions living together in one society
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Natural evil
Things which causes suffering but have nothing to do with humans
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Near-death experience
When someone about to die has an out of body experience
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Non-voluntary euthanasia
Ending someones life painlessly when they are unable to ask, but you have good reasons for thinking they would want you to do so
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Nuclear family
Mother, father and children living as a unit
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Numinous
The feeling of the presence of something greater than you
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Omni-benevolent
The belief that God is all good
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Omnipotent
The belief that God is all powerful
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Omniscient
The belief that God knows everything that has happened and everything that is going to happen
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Paranormal
Unexplained things which are thought to have spiritual causes eg.ghosts, mediums
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Prayer
An attempt to contact God, usually through words
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Prejudice
Believing some people are inferior or superior without even knowing them
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Pre-martial sex
Sex before marriage
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Procreation
Making a new life
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Promiscuity
Having sex with a number of partners without commitment
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Quality of life
The belief that life must have some benefits for it to be worth living
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Racial harmony
Different race/colours living together happily
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Racism
The belief that some races are superior to others
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Re-constituted family
Where two sets of children (stepbrothers and stepsisters) become one family when their divorced parents marry each other
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Reincarnation
The belief that after death, souls are reborn into a new body
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Religious Experience
An experience that makes the person having the experience feel the presence of God
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Religious freedom
The right to practise your religion and change your religion
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Religious pluralism
Accepting all religions as having an equal right to co-exist
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Re-marriage
Marrying again after being divorced from a previous marriage
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Resurrection
The belief that, after death, the body remains in the grave until the end of the world when it is raised
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Sanctity of life
The belief that life is holy and belongs ot God
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Sexism
Discriminating against people becuase of their gender (being male or female)
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Voluntary euthanasia
Ending life painlessly when someone suffering in great pain asks for death
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Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

A sexual act between a married person and someone other than their marriage partner

Back

Adultery

Card 3

Front

Not being sure whether God exists

Back

Preview of the back of card 3

Card 4

Front

Providing a seriously ill person with the means to commit suicide

Back

Preview of the back of card 4

Card 5

Front

Believing that God does not exist

Back

Preview of the back of card 5
View more cards

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