Glossary of religious terms
(Starting with "S")
By
B.A. Robinson,
Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance,
Canada
http://www.religioustolerance.org/glossary.htm
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Note:
Conservative Christian faith groups often define terms
very differently than other faith groups and secular
movements. The former are shown in italics
in the below lists of words.
| Sabbat:
A seasonal day of celebration observed by Wiccans
and other Neopagans. There are eight each year.
The two solstices and two equinoxes are minor
Sabbats. Between each solstice and equinox is
a major Sabbat. Samhain (Oct. 31), Imbolc (Feb.
2), Beltane (May 1), and Lammas (Aug. 1) are among
the most common names used. 1 |
| Sabbatarianism:
The belief that the weekly Sabbath must be observed
from sundown on Friday to sundown on Saturday.
Often, Jewish dietary laws and seasonal days of
service are also observed by Sabbatarians. |
| Sabbath,
weekly: Originally Saturday: a day of
rest and holiness; observed by Jews and a minority
of Christian denominations. Most Christian groups
observe Sunday as the Sabbath. |
| Sabellianism:
Synonym for Modalism |
| Sacraments:
A formal church ritual frequently described as
an outward and visible sign of an internal and
spiritual grace. The Roman
Catholic and Orthodox
churches recognize seven sacraments, popularly
known as: Baptism, Confirmation, Mass, Penance,
Anointing the dying, Ordination and Marriage.
Most Protestant denominations only recognize two:
Baptism and Communion. A few denominations, such
as the Amish,
add foot washing. Sacraments are believed by most
Christian denominations to have been instituted
by Jesus. The Society
of Friends (Quakers) and the Salvation
Army do not recognize or use sacraments. |
| Sadaqa:
Islamic term for the giving of a charitable donation.
This is an obligation for Muslims. |
| Sadducees:
A small group of priests who controlled the temple
at Jerusalem. One of about two dozen Jewish religious
groups active during the 1st century CE. They
rejected belief in immortality. They were religious
conservatives who felt threatened by Pagan influences
due to Roman and Greek occupation of Israel. |
| Sahaba:
This is the Arabic word for "companions."
In Islam, it generally refers to the people who
lived and witnessed with the Prophet Muhammad. |
Saint:
| - |
In
Roman Catholicism, a person of great spirituality
who has died, is responsible for at least
three miracles, and who has been elevated
to the sainthood by the church. |
| - |
In
Protestantism, a saint is one of the ancient
leaders of the church, like St. Peter and
St. Paul. |
| - |
In
Evangelical Christianity, all saved Christians
are saints. |
|
| Sajdah:
(Full name: As-sajdah) This is the the act
of prostration by a Muslim during which seven
parts of the body are to touch the ground: the
forehead, palms, knees and big toes. |
| Salat:
A Muslim prayer. Islam expects each Muslim, where
possible, to perform the salat prayer
five times a day. It is the second of the Five
Pillars of Islam. This is recited while orienting
one's body towards Mecca. 2
It is done at specified times in the morning,
at noon, mid-afternoon, after sunset and just
before sleeping. 3 |
| Salvation:
The remission
of sins and healing of the gulf between an individual
and God. Various passages in the Christian
Scriptures imply that salvation is achieved either
by good deeds; or by belief in Jesus' resurrection;
or belief that Jesus is the Son of God; or by
church rituals such as baptism or penance; or
by avoiding certain behaviors; or some combination
of the preceding. Various traditions within Christianity
have resolved the Bible's ambiguity by stressing
some passages and largely ignoring others.
|
| Salvific
pluralism: The belief that individuals can
achieve salvation by following any one of many
different world religions. 5
If salvific pluralism is true, then the belief
that all those who have not repented of
their sins and trusted Jesus as Lord and Savior
will go to Hell at death is false. More
details. |
| Samahdi:
In Buddhism, a type of insight achieved through
meditation or wisdom. |
| Samhain:
A major sabbat - a seasonal day of celebration - observed by Wiccans and other Neopagans on
OCT-31. Samhain is often incorrectly defined as
a Wiccan God of the dead within many conservative
Christian and secular sources. |
| Samsara:
A Buddhist term referring to the endless cycle
of birth, life, death, and rebirth. The goal of
a Buddhist is to achieve enlightenment and to
escape from samsara. |
| Sanctification:
A Christian term which refers to the process by
which the Holy Spirit helps a Christian to grow
spiritually to be more Christ-like, after first
having been justified. |
| Sanhedrin:
A council of Jewish leaders in Jerusalem. They
formed a court which was the highest religious
body in Palestine. They acted as an advisory board
to the Roman governor. |
| Santeria:
A syncretistic religion which combined Roman Catholicism
with Pagan religions from Western Africa. It is
found throughout the Caribbean and in North America. |
| Satan:
(a.k.a. the Devil, Lucifer): In the older parts
of the Hebrew Scriptures, he is described as a
type of District Attorney in God's court. In the
New Testament, he is described as a supernatural
being who is profoundly evil and who seeks to
destroy people's lives. The religion of Islam
also recognizes the existence of Satan. Many conservative
Christians believe that followers of Wicca
and other Neopagan
religions worship Satan. However, the
latter do not recognize any all-evil deity called
by the name of Satan or by any other name. |
Satanism:
- A
religion based upon Satan, either as a form
of deity or as a principle. Adherents follow
simple rules of behavior: give kindness to
those who deserve it; indulge in their lusts
and wants; return vengeance rather than turning
the other cheek. With some justification,
Satanism has been called the religion of the
U.S. corporate boardroom. Although their beliefs
are different from Christianity,
Satanists are not particularly anti-Christian
any more than they are anti-Hindu
or anti-Buddhist.
However, some have included references opposing
Wicca
in their rituals. Most Satanists are either
teenage dabblers, or members of the Church
of Satan, Temple of Set or Church
of Satanic Liberation. Their total membership
in North America is unknown, but probably
numbers about 10,000. Total membership is
believed to be decreasing.
- Common
Evangelical usage: a violently anti-Christian
religion worshipping Satan. Some are teenage
dabblers; others are religious Satanists belonging
to an established church or temple; others
are mass murderers; still others form a secret,
underground international, multi-generational
conspiracy which engages in Satanic
Ritual Abuse and human sacrifices
- usually of infants or children. Membership
rapidly rising.
- Common
Fundamentalist usage: Any non-Christian faith
group, such as Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism
is Satanic. By this definition, two out of
three people in the world are Satanists..
|
| Satanic
Ritual Abuse (SRA): psychological,
sexual, and/or physical assault committed by two
or more people whose primary motive is to fulfill
a prescribed religious ritual involving the worship
of the Christian devil, Satan. A large percentage
of the population (90% in Utah) believe that SRA
is widespread. Numerous
government studies into SRA have revealed
it to be non-existent, or essentially so. |
| Scapegoat:
Originally a religious term. Ancient Israelite
priests would transfer the sins of the community
to a goat who would then be driven into the desert
to die. The term is currently used to refer to
a person or group who is unjustly accused of a
crime or improper behavior. |
| Schism:
From the Greek word "schisma"
- a rent or tear. A division of a faith group
into two or more smaller groups. One result of
the Protestant Reformation was a series of schisms
leading to the approximately 35,000 present-day
Protestant faith groups. |
|
Schism, great: The formal split between the
Eastern Orthodox and the Roman Catholic churches
in 1054 CE. Also used to refer to the interval
from 1378 to 1417 CE
when as many as three individuals simultaneously
claimed to be pope. |
| Scripture:
In Christianity, this is the Bible. It
is composed of the 39 books of the Hebrew Scriptures
(a.k.a. Old Testament) and the 27 books of the
Christian Scriptures (a.k.a. New Testament). Some
denominations add the books of the Apocrypha. |
| Seance:
A gathering of individuals who attempt to communicate
with the spirits of the dead, generally with the
help of a medium. |
| Second
coming: The return of Jesus Christ to earth. |
| Second
probation: The belief that after death, non-believers
will be given a second chance to be saved by accepting
Jesus as Lord and Savior. |
| Sect:
A small religious group that has recently
split away from an established religion. The early
Jewish Christian group under James, the Brother
of Jesus, in Jerusalem circa 30 CE
would have been considered a sect of Judaism at
the time. |
| Secular:
an item that is free of religion. |
| Secularization:
A process in which religious consciousness, activities,
and institutions lose social significance |
| Security,
eternal: The concept that once
a person is saved, that they cannot lose their
salvation. Christian faith groups have different
beliefs on this topic. |
| Seder:
A Jewish ceremonial meal held on the first day
(and sometimes also on the second day) of Passover.
It recalls the alleged Exodus of the Hebrews from
slavery in Egypt, variously dated as 1440 to 1290
BCE.
The meal and associated rituals are typically
held in the home. |
| Selah:
A biblical term used 71 times by itself in the
Psalms. It invites the reader to pause and to
meditate or reflect on the message. One example
is Psalms 3:2: "Many there be which say
of my soul, There is no help for him in God. Selah." |
| Septuagint:
A Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures,
made in Egypt, perhaps in the third century BCE.
This was the version known to, and used, by the
early Christians. Many theologians believe
that a mistranslation in Isaiah contributed to
the Christian belief in the
virgin conception of Jesus. |
| Serpent
Seed doctrine: The belief that Eve's sin in
the Garden of Eden was to engage in sexual
intercourse with the serpent. Together, they produced
Cain. Various faith groups identify the descendents
of Cain in various ways: They are: "Jews
according to the Christian Identity Movement,
Communists/Atheists according to the Unification
Church, Whites according to the Nation of Yahweh,
and the lost according to William Branham."
4 |
| Service:
In a religious sense, a formal worship meeting
of a group of believers. |
| Sexism:
Any attitude, action or institutional structure
which systematically treats an individual or group
of individuals differently because of their gender.
The most common form of sexism is discrimination
against females. However, it occasionally is manifested
as preferential treatment for women. A secondary
meaning is the belief that one gender - normally
female - is inherently inferior to other genders
(male and intersexual). See also racism,
religism,
and homophobia. |
Sexual
Orientation: There are two
quite different meanings to this term:
| - |
Gays,
lesbians, sociologists, psychologists, researchers
into human sexuality, members of liberal
and some mainline faith groups normally
define this as:
| - |
A
measure of a person's feelings of
sexual attraction to males and females.
There are three sexual orientations,
all of which are normal, natural,
and fixed in adults:
| - |
heterosexuals
are attracted to the opposite
gender only |
| - |
homosexuals
are attracted to the same gender
only |
| - |
bisexuals
are attracted to both men and
women; not necessarily to the
same degree |
|
|
| - |
Evangelical
Christians and some mainline faith groups
sometimes define the term more broadly:
| - |
A
measure of a person's sexual behavior
with men and women, animals, and children.
Some sexual orientations are heterosexuality,
homosexuality, bestiality, pedophilia.
Only the first is considered normal
and natural. Many conservative Christians
do not acknowledge the existence of
bisexuals, believing people to be
either heterosexual or homosexual,
based on their behavior. They often
use the term "sexual preference"
in place of "sexual orientation," thus
implying that orientation is a choice. |
|
|
| Shamanism:
This is a "system of religious and medical
beliefs and practices that centers on the shaman,
a specific type of magico-religious practitioner...who
specializes in contacting and controlling the
supernatural." 6 Usually
male, his main task is healing. Shamanism was
originally centered in central Asia and Siberia. |
| Shari'ah:
A code of Islamic law. In some cases, Shari'ah
provides for very severe punishment - even amputation
or execution - for some transgressions that are
seen as minor in the West. |
| Shaytan:
The Muslim name of the evil entity called Satan - the Devil in Christianity. |
| Sheep
stealing: The practice of some Christian faith
groups who attempt to convert other Christians
to membership in their denomination. |
| Shema:
A Jewish prayer, customarily repeated morning,
evening and just before going to sleep. It begins:
"Hear, Israel, the Lord is our God, the
Lord is One." See Deuteronomy 6:4-9 |
| Shepherding:
An relationship in which an experienced Christian,
a shepherd, is selected to supervise a new convert.
In some denominations, the senior person closely
controls almost every aspect of the convert's
life. This has major potential to generate spiritual
abuse. |
| Shi'a
(a.k.a. Shi'ite): The second largest tradition
within Islam. |
| Shinto:
This is the indigenous religion of Japan. Starting
about 500 BCE
(or earlier) it was originally "an amorphous
mix of nature worship, fertility cults, divination
techniques, hero worship, and shamanism."
7 It later became the state
religion of the country. Church and state were
separated just after World War II. |
| Shoa:
(a.k.a. Shoa and Sho'ah) the killing of five to
seven million of European Jews by the Nazi government
during World War II. Sometimes referred to as
the Holocaust, although the latter term is sometimes
used to refer to all of the ten to fourteen groups
of victims, which included Jews, Roma (a.k.a.
Gypsies), Russians, Poles, other Slavs, homosexuals,
Jehovah's
Witnesses etc. |
| Shunning:
(a.k.a. Disfellowshipping): This is a method of
disciplining or punishing a member who strays
from the group's expected behavior or belief.
Other members --often including friends and family
- are expected to have no contact with the shunned
individual. In a high intensity faith group where
a believer's entire support network is composed
of fellow members, this can have disastrous consequences;
some have been moved to commit suicide. Various
forms of shunning are practiced by Amish
and Jehovah's
Witnesses |
| Sikhism:
Although religious scholars generally
view Sikhism as a blend of Hinduism and Islam,
most Sikhs believe that their religion is unique
without precursors, originating from a series
of ten gurus, starting with Guru Nanak. Sikhs
believe in a single deity, and reject class differences.
There are about 18 million Sikhs in the world;
most are concentrated in the Punjab region in
northwest India. |
| Sin:
In the Bible, the Hebrew and Greek words which
are translated as sin mean failing to hit the
target or missing the mark. Most conservative
Christians believe that, since God is pure and
just, that a person who sins just once cannot
come into God's presence unless they first attain
salvation. |
| Sins,
The Seven Deadly: The seven deadly sins are:
sloth, covetousness, anger, lust, gluttony, envy,
and pride. |
| Six
directions: A Buddhist collection of paths:
north, south, east, west, up and down. Wiccan,
other Neopagan traditions, Native American spirituality
and other Aboriginal religions recognize variations
of this - sometimes including center, and the
four points on the compass that lie between the
cardinal directions. |
| Skandas:
In Buddhism, the five principal components of
the personality: form, sensation, perception,
impulse, and consciousness. |
| Social
Darwinism: An attempt to adapt Charles Darwin
natural selection principles to human society,
thus producing a culture that embraces the
"survival of the fittest." This
is based on a misunderstanding of Darwin's theories.
Natural selection, when applied to a society,
also includes such factors as organizational ability,
talent to inspire others, creativity, perseverance,
mental flexibility, etc., in addition to physical
fitness. |
Sodomite:
| - |
In
the Bible, the word refers to an inhabitant
of Sodom. |
| - |
In
modern usage by religious conservatives:
a
homosexual. It is regarded as
a derogatory term by most homosexuals, religious
liberals, and some others. |
| - |
A
new meaning is gradually emerging: a person
who is insensitive to the needs of the poor,
sick, stranger, imprisoned, widowed, etc.
This is derived from the growing belief
that Genesis 19 in the Bible refers to this
lack of concern, and not to homosexual behavior. |
|
| Solstice:
The date and time when the sun reaches its northernmost
or southernmost extreme. On the summer solstice,
the interval of daylight is at its maximum and
the nighttime interval is at its minimum for the
year. The reverse occurs at the winter solstice.
The solstices happen about June 21 and December
21. Many religious holy days are synchronized
to the equinoxes. Wiccans, other Neopagans, Native
Americans and followers of many aboriginal religions
worldwide celebrate the solstices. |
Sorcery:
There are two quite different meanings to this
term:
| - |
the
use of black magic to kill, injure, harm,
dominate, manipulate or control other people.
This is the primary meaning. |
| - |
the
(usually) benign use of magical powers to
influence events or people. |
|
| Soteriology:
The study of salvation. |
| Soul:
From the Greek word "psuche" - breath.
This word has a variety of meanings, including:
the seat of personality, the individual or person
themselves, the immaterial component of a human,
etc. Among Christians, dichotomists believe that
a person is composed of a body and soul; trichotomists
believe that a person consists of a body, soul,
and spirit. Both argue their cases from biblical
passages. |
| Soul
Freedom: the concept that an individual has
the right and privilege to interpret Scripture
for themselves in the context of their religious
community, using the best available scholarship.
Robert Bellah wrote, in 1997: "What was
so important about the Baptists was the absolute
centrality of religious freedom of the sacredness
of individual conscience in matters of religious
beliefs." |
| Soul
sleep: The belief that, after death, one's
soul sleeps until the day of resurrection. |
| Spell:
a prayer, or verbal direction of magickal
energies toward the accomplishment of some goal.
7 Wiccans and other Pagans often
use spells, but are not permitted to use them
to dominate, manipulate, control or harm another
person. For example, a Wiccan is not permitted
to cast a love spell to motivate another person
to feel attraction towards them. |
| Spiritism:
See necromancy. |
| Spiritualism:
See necromancy. |
| Spirituality:
This term is defined quite differently by
monotheists, polytheists, humanists, followers
of new age, Native Americans, etc. A common meaning
is "devotion to metaphysical matters,
as opposed to worldly things." Another
is "Activities which renew, lift up, comfort,
heal and inspire both ourselves and those with
whom we interact." |
Srivatsa
(a.k.a. Swastika in German and English): A
cross symbol with equal arms bent at a right angle:
This is an ancient positive symbol used by many
religions around the world - e.g. Hinduism,
Buddhism,
Jainism,
Christianity,
Judaism,
and by the ancient Greeks, Germanic tribes, and
Native
Americans. 9. It
was distorted and adopted by the Nazi regime in
Germany; since the 1930s it has been considered
a profoundly evil symbol throughout the west. |
| Stereotype:
A process of generalization by which an entire
group is found to be at fault because of the actions
of a few of their members. One example is to blame
all homosexuals for child molestation because
of the actions of NAMBLA, a homosexual pedophile
group which is composed of a handful of members.
The term is sometimes used to refer to the condemnation
of an entire group because of events that never
happened. One example was the German Nazi
government who blamed the loss of World War I
on the German Jews - a very small minority at
the time, numbering less than 1% of its citizens.
|
| Stigmata:
the presence of wounds on a person's body (usually
a woman) in the places where Jesus is believed
to have been injured at his crucifixion. Wound's
usually appear on the palms of the person even
though during his crucifixion, Jesus was either
pierced through his wrists or his arms were tied
to the crossbar. |
| Subliminal
Messages: Visual or audible messages shown
in a way that prevents the conscious mind from
recognizing them. Visual messages may be flashed
on a screen too fast for the person to sense;
audible messages may be played at too low a volume
to be detected. Controlled tests have shown that
they are completely ineffective. Some people still
believe that such messages can enter the individual's
subconscious mind and motivate them to take certain
actions. See also backmasking. |
| Substance
dualism: The concept that the brain and mind
are separate entities: the brain is a physical
entity controlled by chemical and electrical processes;
the mind is not physical. |
| Succubus:
A female demon who would visit men at night and
engage in sexual activity. This belief was commonly
held during the late Middle Ages and Renaissance.
There were also male demons, called incubi who
were believed to visit women. |
| Suffragan
bishop: an assistant bishop in a diocese. |
| Sufiism:
"Sufism or tasawwuf, as it is called in
Arabic, is generally understood by scholars and
Sufis to be the inner, mystical, or psycho-spiritual
dimension of Islam." Some Muslims reject
the concept that Sufism is part of Islam. 8 |
| Sunni:
the largest tradition within Islam. |
| Supercessionism:
(a.k.a. Replacement Theology). This is the theological
concept that, because the vast majority of Jews
in the first century CE
did not accept Jesus as their Messiah, God unilaterally
terminated his covenants with the Jewish people
and transferred them to the followers of Christianity.
It relegates Judaism to an inferior position and
recognizes Christianity as the 'true'
or 'spiritual' Israel. This concept was first
developed by Justin Martyr (circa 100 to 165 CE)
and Irenaeus of Lyon (circa 130 to 200 CE). It
was largely accepted within the church by the
4th century. It has led to a great deal of persecution
of Jews by Christians. Many conservative
Protestants still believe in this principle. In
opposition to supercessionism is the dual
covenant theory. |
| Surah:
Any passage from the Qur'an, the Islamic holy
book. |
| Sutra:
A Buddhist scripture. |
| Swastika:
See srivatsa. |
| Sweat
lodge: A Native American ritual for purification
involving moist hot air in an enclosed space.
|
| Synagogue:
A Jewish house of worship. |
| Syncretistic
Religion: A faith that is created from the
merger of concepts from two or more religions.
Santeria
and Vodun
are two examples. |
| Synergism:
Two or more items interacting in such as way that
the end result is greater than each item could
have achieved separately. For example, a client
who believes in Satan
as an evil, quasi-deity who undergoes recovered
memory therapy (RMT) is very likely
to recover false memory of Satanic
ritual abuse (SRA). Just believing
in Satan or just undergoing RMT is much less likely
to generate false memories of SRA. |
Synod:
| - |
In
Roman Catholicism: any official church meeting. |
| - |
Among
Presbyterian denominations, a religious
court between the presbytery and the general
assembly. |
|
| Systematic
theology: The study of God and his relationship
with humanity. |
References:
- Rowan
Moonstone & Durwydd MacTara, "Glossary
of Terms Used Frequently in Wicca," at:
http://www.msu.edu/
- Dr.
Monzur Ahmed publishes QiblaCalc, a Windows
program that calculates the Qibla direction - the
direction of the Kabbah - from any location on earth,
as determined by a compass. See:
http://www.starlight.demon.co.uk/
- Al-Islam
web site has a prayer time calculator at:
http://prayer.al-islam.com/
- "Watchman
Fellowship's 2001 Index of Cults and Religions:
Mysticism," at:
http://www.watchman.org/
- Kenneth
Himma, "Finding a high road: The moral case
for Salvific Pluralism," International
Journal for Philosophy of Religion, (2002) 52: 1-33
- David
Levinson, "Religion: A cross-cultural dictionary,"
Oxford University Press, (1998).
Read reviews or order this
book
- "The
Fountainhead of Miracles, Shinreikyo,"
has a home page at: http://www.shinreikyo.or.jp
- Dr.
Alan Godlas, "Sufism - Sufis - Sufi Orders:
Sufism's Many Paths," at:
http://www.arches.uga.edu/~godlas/Sufism.html
- "Historical
note on the Swastika," Falun Dafa, at:
http://www.falundafa.org.il/
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