A priori
In philosophy, this Latin term refers to knowledge or understanding that is based on reasoning or …
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Aaron
According to the Abrahamic religions, Aaron was a prophet, high priest, and the elder brother of …
Agnieszka Halemba
Ahadith
The ahadith are texts containing reported stories about Muhammad, and are frequently used to fill in …
Ahmadiyya Muslim Community
Ahura Mazda
The supreme deity in Zoroastrianism.
Akashic records
The Akashic records are a non-physical storehouse of information, proposed by Theosophists to …
Alan Watts
Allah
The supreme deity in Islam.
Alternative Perspectives
Alternative perspectives, due to their absence in mainstream texts and dismissal by historical …
Animism
Animism is a term based on the Latin word for 'soul', which frames all religious belief in terms of …
Austerities
A category of difficult, often painful, practices which may include restricting intake of food or …
Ayahuasca
A drink prepared by indigenous groups in the Amazon, containing a number of psychoactive chemicals. …
Bahá’í Faith
A religious tradition that originated in Iran, and which teaches that one singular deity is …
Belief
Religious systems often include beliefs about the world (both seen and unseen), which describe (or …
Bhagavad Gita
A popular Hindu text, part of the larger Mahabharata, which contains a conversation between Krishna …
Bias, Context, Epoche
As we enter the world of religious studies, we do so as conditioned individuals, with our own …
Blaauboschkraal stone ruins
A series of stone circles in South Africa.
Bodh Gaya
The site of Buddha's enlightenment.
Bodhisattva
A figure in Buddhist traditions who is on the path to enlightenment.
Brahma
The Hindu deity of creation.
Brahman
A Hindu deity and philosophical principle, viewed by some as the supreme reality, or by others as …
Brahmin
A Hindu holy person, often officiates ceremonies.
Buddhism
Buddhism is a family of traditions which trace their lineage back to a figure known as Siddartha …
Candomblé
Cannabis
Cannabis is a psychoactive drug from the Cannabis plant used primarily for medical or recreational …
Caodaism
Caodaism emerged in Vietnam during the 1920s and based its structure on that of the Roman Catholic …
Capitalist Spirituality
A term used to describe the use of religious ideas, practices, and materials in the support of …
Carl Jung
A Swiss psychologist who helped introduce and develop ideas about the human unconscious.
Catherine Bell
An American religious studies scholar who specialised in the study of Chinese religions and ritual …
Catholicism
Chanting
A vocal practice in which words or sounds are repeated, either alone or in a group.
Chinese New Year
Christianity
Christians follow the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, a man born around the beginning of …
Church
The term 'church' can refer to subtraditions within Christianity, or a place of worship for …
Close encounters
A type of experience in which a person witnesses, interacts with, or is abducted by non-human …
Cognitive Theories
Community
Crucifix
A physical representation of Jesus dying on the cross, used by Christians as a reminder of Jesus's …
Cults
One of the key aspects of religion – particularly in public discourse – is the relationship between …
Dharma
The Hindu concept of law, righteousness, or way of life.
Dimitris Xygalatas
An anthropologist and cognitive scientist studying ritual and cooperation.
DMT
A chemical substance that occurs in many plants and animals and which has historically been prepared …
Douglas Marshall
A scholar of religion and ritual.
Druidry
Eastern Orthodox Church
Eid-e-Shuja’
Eid-e-Shuja’, also known as Eid-e-Zahra, is a ritual festival observed by most Twelver Shi‘a …
El
The name for any god or deity in the ancient Near East, is also the name of specific deities in that …
Elohim
Eucharist
Gathas
A collection of 17 hymns, believed to have been composed by Zarathustra – the Gathas represent the …
Glastonbury
A town in Somerset, United Kingdom, which acts as a site of pilgrimage for many.
Graham Harvey
Gurdwara
Guru Amar Das
Guru Angad
Guru Arjan
Guru Gobind Singh
Guru Har Krishnan
Guru Har Rai
Guru Hargobind
Guru Nanak
Guru Ram Das
Guru Tegh Bahadur
Gwilym Beckerlegge
Hassan al-Banna
Hassan al-Banna, the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, is alternately praised as a leading …
Henotheism
Henotheism means the worship and veneration of one god, in a world where many gods exist – for …
Himalayan Institute Of Yoga Science And Philosophy
The Himalayan Institute of Yoga Science and Philosophy was founded by Swami Rama, and is dedicated …
Hinduism
A diverse range of Indian religious systems, which regard the Vedas as authoritative scripture.
Hugh Beattie
Imam
International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief
A day designated by the UN General Assembly as a day to commemorate the victims of acts of violence …
Isaiah Shembe
Islam
A monotheistic tradition that developed during 7th century Arabia, and which traces its roots back …
Jainism
The Jain religious tradition focuses on liberation from the suffering of rebirth, and in this sense …
James George Frazer
Jerusalem
Jesus
The founding figure of Christianity, Jesus was a Jewish mircle-worker and teacher who proclaimed a …
Jonathan Z. Smith
Judaism
Kabir
Kanniyakumari
A town in southern India, named after Kanya Kumari, a Hindu goddess. Also the site of a memorial to …
Karen Armstrong
Kashrut
Jewish dietary law.
Kirtan
Korean Martyrs
Kosher
Food which is appropriate to eat in Jewish traditions.
Lankavatara Sutra
Lao Tzu
Linda Woodhead
Liquid Religion
Liquid religion is a metaphorical way to describe how religious activities change by suggesting that …
Literary Bias
Texts (of all kinds) are controlled and mediated by people, and therefore restrictions can sometimes …
Lived Religion
No one can point to ‘religion’ as a real thing. Instead, scholars argue, we should talk about people …
Lotus Sutra
Mabon
Mabon is a pagan festival that takes place on the autumnal equinox, during which foods are harvested …
Maghi
This is an annual festival commemorating the forty Sikh martyrs who originally deserted Guru Gobind …
Mahabharata
Mahayana Buddhism
A form of Buddhism which is focused on attaining liberation for all beings out of compassion for the …
Mandir
Mantra
Marion Bowman
Marion Bowman is a scholar of religion at the Open University
Mary Douglas
A British anthropologist, known for her writings on human culture and symbolism, whose area of …
Material Religion
Meditation
Mescaline Cacti
Mircea Eliade
Mohandas Gandhi
A figure of Indian independence against British rule, Gandhi was a revered Hindu activist.
Monotheism
Mosque
Muhammad
Muhammad is the revered prophet of Islam, who was active during the 6th Century in Arabia.
Murti
Used by Hindus, a murti is a physical representation of a deity, which that deity can inhabit, and …
Nabta Playa
A region of North Africa that was inhabited several thousand years ago, and which featured signs of …
Nancy Ammerman
Nazareth Baptist Church
Neem Karoli Baba
New Animism
New Testament
Ninian Smart
Smart was a Scottish writer and educator who developed the field of academic religious studies, and …
Obon
A Japanese celebration of people's ancestors, which developed out of Buddhist and Confucian …
Old Testament
Panpsychism
The belief that the universe is one, collective intelligence or consciousness.
Pantheism
The belief that everything is god.
Paramahansa Yogananda
Pascal Boyer
Phenomenology
Pilgrimage
Pilgrimage is a practice of journeying to a significant location, but the location, method of …
Polytheism
Polytheism is any system of belief involving multiple deities.
Practice
Religious practices are those behaviours and actions that have religious meaning for those who …
Prayer
Priest
Principia Discordia
The Principia Discordia is a semi-satirical work on the nature of divine chaos.
Psilocybin Mushrooms
Psilocybin is a chemical found in several species of fungus, the fruiting bodies of which are …
Quran
Ram Dass
Also known by his birth name (Richard Alpert) Ram Dass was a leading figure in the spread of Hindu …
Ramadan
Ramadan is the period of fasting and contemplation undertaken by Muslims in the ninth lunar month of …
Ramayana
The Ramayana (literally Rama's travels) is about the character Rama, prince of a kingdom called …
Rastafari Movement
Ravidassia religion
A tradition with roots in Sikhi, which reveres Ravidass as Guru.
Regina Jonas
Richard King
Co-author of 'Selling Spirituality'
Ritual
Some religious practices have specific rules about how they are performed, these practices are …
Rizalism
Also known as Rizalista religious movements.
Robin Horton
An English social anthropologist and philosopher, he carried out specialised study in comparative …
Ronald Grimes
A ritual theorist who founded the interdisciplinary field of ritual studies.
Rudolf Otto
Santo Daime
Satori
An experience of enlightenment within Zen Buddhism.
Self-Religion
Self-religion is a term used by scholars to describe the modern phenomenon of highly individualised …
Seva
Within the Sikh religion, one of the important practical aspects is seva or selfless service, which …
Seven Dimensions of Religion
The seven dimensions of religion are a framework for exploring and understanding religion, developed …
Shechita
A form of ritual slaughter in Jewish traditions.
Siddhārtha Gautama (Buddha)
The founder of Buddhism.
Sigmund Freud
Sikhi (Sikhism)
Sikhi is the name of a religious tradition which emerged in the Punjab, initiated by Guru Nanak, and …
Similarity and Difference in the Study of Religion
In religious studies, scholars sometime swing between two extremes: a unifying human spirituality or …
Singing
Six Articles of Faith
Within Islam, there are three aspects which are generally agreed upon - these are islam …
Sri Guru Granth Sahib
The Sikh holy text, revered as a guru.
Swami Vivekananda
Synagogue
Sámi indigenous religion
The animistic religious system of the Sámi people, an indigenous Finno-Ugric-speaking group living …
Tanakh
Taoism
Texts
Although the word 'texts' might imply a written document, the term has a wider scope in the field of …
The Bible
The Christian holy text, which includes accounts of the creation of the world and God's dealings …
The Diamond Approach
The International Church of Cannabis
The International Church of Cannabis is a religious group based in Denver, Colorado, USA, which uses …
The Pañcadaśī
The Pañcadaśī is a Hindu philosophical text, in the tradition of advaita vedanta, also known as …
The World Religions Paradigm
When the category of religion is used to describe 'world religions', it is often in a way that turns …
Theravada Buddhism
Theravada is a form of Buddhism that venerates the Buddha but does not deify him, follows the …
Thomas Aquinas
Torah
Trimarga
The trimarga are three methods of liberation found within Hindu traditions.
Trimurti
Trinity
The so-called 'holy trinity' is a Christian formulation of the order or structure of god, comprised …
Tu BiShvat
A Jewish holiday occurring on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Shevat, the 'new year of the …
Umbanda
Upanishads
Vaishnavism
Vajrajana Buddhism
Vedas
Wana people
Wendy Doniger
What is religion?
Although at first glance, you might think that religion is an easy to understand concept - it …
What is religious literacy?
Religious literacy is a term that has become more popular in recent years, but what exactly do we …
What is religious studies?
Religious studies is the academic study of religion - but what does that really mean?
What makes a place sacred?
To claim that a location, structure, or geographical feature is sacred is to assert that it is set …
Who creates religion?
The modern study of religion, beginning in the 19th Century, has been traditionally driven by male …
Worship
Yazidism
Yazidism is a monotheistic tradition, which believes that the universe was created by a single …
Yoga
A range of practices, both physical and mental, within Hindu traditions, which aim to bring the …
Zoroaster
Zoroastrianism
Émile Durkheim