This page provides definitions and explanations of religious terms, concepts, and beliefs to help readers better understand the intersection of religion and politics.
Bhagavad Gita - a 700-verse Hindu scripture that is part of the epic Mahabharata
Buddhism - faith that was founded by Siddhartha Gautama (the Buddha) more than 2,500 years ago in India
Christianity - the religion based on the person and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, or its beliefs and practices
Deism - belief in the existence of a God on the evidence of reason and nature only, with rejection of supernatural revelation; Belief in a God who created the world but has since remained indifferent to it
Hades - in the ancient Greek religion and mythology, is the god of the dead and the king of the underworld, with which his name became synonymous
Hinduism - The common religion of India, based upon the religion of the original Aryan settlers as expounded and evolved in the Vedas, the Upanishads, the Bhagavad-Gita, etc., having an extremely diversified character with many schools of philosophy and theology, many popular cults, and a large pantheon symbolizing the many attributes of a single god. Buddhism and Jainism are outside the Hindu tradition but are regarded as related religions
Islam - the religious faith of Muslims, based on the words and religious system founded by the prophet Muhammad and taught by the Quran, the basic principle of which is absolute submission to a unique and personal god, Allah
Jainism - a dualistic religion founded in the 6th century B.C. as a revolt against current Hinduism and emphasizing the perfectibility of human nature and liberation of the soul, especially through asceticism and nonviolence toward all living creatures
Jesus - a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the central figure of Christianity, the world's largest religion. Most Christians believe Jesus to be the incarnation of God the Son and the awaited messiah, or Christ, a descendant from the Davidic line that is prophesied in the Old Testament
Jew - one of a scattered group of people that traces its descent from the Biblical Hebrews or from postexilic adherents of Judaism; Israelite.
a person whose religion is Judaism
Monotheism - the doctrine or belief that there is only one God
Mythicism - someone who believes that supernatural people or events originated from the human imagination, particularly as revealed in myths
Naturalism - the philosophical belief that everything arises from natural properties and causes, and supernatural or spiritual explanations are excluded or discounted
Negative Atheism - a lack of belief in the existence of deities, without explicitly asserting that deities do not exist. It is also known as weak atheism or soft atheism
Nihilism - a viewpoint that traditional values and beliefs are unfounded and that existence is senseless and useless; A doctrine that denies any objective ground of truth and especially of moral truths
Polytheism - the doctrine of or belief in more than one god or in many gods
Positive Atheism - the belief that no deities exist, and is also known as "strong atheism" or "hard atheism". It contrasts with "negative atheism", also known as "weak atheism" or "soft atheism", which is when someone doesn't believe in a creator but doesn't explicitly state that none exist