| Term | Definition |
|---|
| animism | approximately 100 million Africans, 12% of the population, follow traditional ethnic religions; believe inanimate objects such as plants and stones, or such natural events as thunderstorms and earthquakes, are "animated," or have discrete spirits |
| autonomous religion | religion that does not have a central authority but shares ideas and cooperates informally; self-sufficient |
| branch | large and fundamental division within a religion |
| caste (system) | class or distinct hereditary order into which a Hindu was assigned according to religious law |
| cosmogony | set of religious beliefs concerning the origin of the universe |
| denomination | division of a branch that unites a number of local congregations in a single legal and administrative body |
| diocese | basic unit of geographich organization in the Roman Catholic Church |
| ethnic religion | appeals primarily to one group of people living in one place (24%) |
| fundamentalism | literal interpretation and strict and intense adherence to basic principles of a religion (or a religious branch, denomination, or sect; tend to be extremist people) |
| ghettos | defined as a city neighborhood set up by law to be inhabited only by Jews; originated during 16th century in Venice as a reference to the city's foundry or metal-casting district, where Jews were forced to live |
| hierarchical religion | has a well-defined geographic structure and organizes territory into local administrative units |
| missionaries | individuals who help to transmit a universalizing religion through relocation diffusion |
| monotheism | belief that there is only one God |
| pagan | the word for a follower of a polytheistic religion in ancient times, derives from the Latin word for "countryside" |
| pilgrimage | a journey for religious purposes to a place considered sacred |
| polytheism | people who worship or have a belief in a collection of gods |
| sect | relatively small group that has broken away from an established denomination |
| solstice | time when the Sun is farthest from the equator |
| universalizing religions | religion that attempts to be global, to appeal to all people, wherever they may live in the world |
| religion | worhip and faith in the sacred & divine; system of values & beliefs; seeds to explaining the unexplainable of the human world; involves formalized rituals; involves guidence for ways of living; usually involves ceremonies & rituals for rites of passage including marriage, birth and death |
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