Glossary terms for Study Area Religion and Spirituality
atheistic [order by term]
level: Overview (0)
Devoid of belief in deities.
naturalistic [order by term]
level: Overview (0)
Devoid of belief in anything supernatural.
religion [order by term]
level: Overview (0)
Belief in supernatural ideas and phenomena that lie outside the human realm, such as god, afterlife, reincarnation, heaven, hell, and miracles, and any combination of such supernatural aspects that combine to inform a particular religion or religious sect.
spirituality [order by term]
level: Overview (0)
That which is experienced when an individual is moved to the heights or depths of his or her being in positive and meaningful ways.
agnostic [order by term]
level: Introductory (1)
One who is uncertain about the existence of gods or deities.
anthropomorphism [order by term]
level: Introductory (1)
The attributing of human characteristics to a divine being, an animal, or an object.
autonomous person [order by term]
level: Introductory (1)
One who is in a position to make freely reflective and informed choices about life and is critically reflective about the outcomes of those choices.
autonomy [order by term]
level: Introductory (1)
Self government; personal freedom.
dualism [order by term]
level: Introductory (1)
The concept of human life as separated into distinct entities of body and soul or mind and body.
karma [order by term]
level: Introductory (1)
The eastern religious "law" of action and reaction, cause and effect, by which an individual's actions combine to produce related results for that individual in the present and future lives.
monism [order by term]
level: Introductory (1)
The concept of human life as an integrated whole, without division into body and soul.
reincarnation [order by term]
level: Introductory (1)
The belief that a deceased individual will return to life on earth as a new person or an animal.
theism [order by term]
level: Introductory (1)
Belief in one or more personal gods or goddesses.
theist [order by term]
level: Introductory (1)
Person who believes in one or more personal gods or goddesses.
theists [order by term]
level: Introductory (1)
People who believe in one or more personal gods or goddesses.
abortion [order by term]
level: Basic (2)
The premature expulsion or removal of a foetus from the womb to prevent its development and survival.
active euthanasia [order by term]
level: Basic (2)
The intentional and direct action to end the life of a suffering individual by such means as a lethal injection or a lethal overdose of drugs.
euthanasia [order by term]
level: Basic (2)
The act of ending a life of one who has no hope of recovery from a terminal and extremely painful illness.
indirect euthanasia [order by term]
level: Basic (2)
The act of hastening death as a side-effect of medical treatment.
non-voluntary euthanasia [order by term]
level: Basic (2)
The act of ending the life of an individual who has not expressed any wish to die, perhaps because he or she is not physically or mentally capable of doing so.
passive euthanasia [order by term]
level: Basic (2)
The withholding of treatment so that a patient is allowed to die naturally.
voluntary euthanasia [order by term]
level: Basic (2)
The act of individual who, under no pressure from any persons whatsoever, decides that the termination of his or her life is the best option, and requests assistance in dying.
Contingency Argument [order by term]
level: Comprehensive (3)
Philosophical idea that everything in existence depends on something else for its existence, but that nothing has a reason for its existence contained within it.
cosmological [order by term]
level: Comprehensive (3)
Name used to describe the argument for God's existence which posits that there must have been a First Cause of all things.
divinity [order by term]
level: Comprehensive (3)
That which is posited to make sense of the things in life that the human cannot.
empirical [order by term]
level: Comprehensive (3)
That which is observable by experiment, not accepted as simply a theory.
fideism [order by term]
level: Comprehensive (3)
The idea that God can only be known through faith, and not through rational inquiry.
God of the gaps [order by term]
level: Comprehensive (3)
The expression used to describe the process of assigning to God all mysteries that remains unsolved by rational inquiry. As human knowledge progresses and natural explanations are possible for aspects of existence that were once inexplicable and supernaturally explained, so the role of God diminishes or changes radically.
life-stance [order by term]
level: Comprehensive (3)
The particular interpretation placed on life by an individual or a number of like-minded individuals, and the living of life accordingly.
metaphysical [order by term]
level: Comprehensive (3)
That which is beyond the physical and empirical.
metaphysics [order by term]
level: Comprehensive (3)
The branch of philosophy that is concerned with what is beyond physics -- and therefore beyond any empirical evidence.
natural selection [order by term]
level: Comprehensive (3)
Biological term referring to constant adaptation through the process of evolution.
occam's razor [order by term]
level: Comprehensive (3)
Expression referring to the principle articulated by fourteenth-century English philosopher William Occam, who said that when given a choice of explanations, the one containing the fewest possible assertions is the best.
ontological [order by term]
level: Comprehensive (3)
Name used to describe the argument for God's existence which posits that there must be some kind of being that is greater than anything we can imagine, and that this being is God.
panentheism [order by term]
level: Comprehensive (3)
The belief that the divine is in all things and all things are in the divine, but the divine is greater than all things.
supernaturalism [order by term]
level: Comprehensive (3)
That which is above and beyond the laws of nature; that which is magical or mystical.
teleological [order by term]
level: Comprehensive (3)
Name used to describe the argument for God's existence which posits that the world is characterized by such a degree of planning that there must have been a supreme designer.
theology [order by term]
level: Comprehensive (3)
The study of theistic religion.