Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Universalizing religions - Religions that actively seek converts because they view
themselves as offering belief systems of universal appropriateness and appeal
Ethic religions - Religions that generally do not seek converts outside the group that give
rise to the religion; consequently these religions are spatial concentrated
Christianity - The religion believing in the Holy Trinity; it is divided between Roman
Catholicism, Protestantism, and Eastern Orthodoxy
Islam - The fastest growing of the world’s major religions, dominant in Northern Africa
and Southwest Asia; the two major sects are the Sunni and Shi’ite
Hinduism - One of the world’s major religions concentrated in the single geographic
realm of India; it lacks major branches, a central authority, or a single prescriptive holy
book
Buddhism - One of the world’s major religions; it has historic roots in northern India, but
remains strong in Southeast Asia, China, and Japan. The major division is between the
Mahayana and Theravada forms of Buddhism
Chinese religions - Religions dominant in China; have elements of Buddhism mixed with
local belief systems, ex. Confucianism and Taoism
Taoism - A Chinese belief system emphasizing the idea that human happiness lay in
maintaining the proper relationship with nature
Judaism - One of the world’s most influential religions, spanning throughout the Middle
East, North Africa, Russia, Ukraine, Europe and the Americas. The three main branches
are Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform
Traditional religion - Religions rooted in local culture and society, involving beliefs in a
god as a creator and provider, divinities both superhuman and human, spirits, and life
hereafter; prominent in Africa
Animistic religions - Centered on the belief than inanimate objects possess spirits and
should therefore be revered
Karma - The fundamental doctrine of Hinduism involving the transferability of the soul;
good deeds and adherence to the faith lead to a higher level in hierarchy in the next life
Caste system - A strict hierarchal system of Indian society; it locks people into particular
social classes and imposes many restrictions
Taoism - A Chinese religion emphasizing the idea that human happiness lay in
maintaining the proper relationship with nature; it is based on the text Tao-te-ching or the
“Book of Way”
Feng Shui - The art and science of organizing living spaces in order to channel the life
forces that exist in nature in favorable ways.
Ashkenazim - Jews who after the Roman destruction of Jerusalem traveled north into
Central Europe
Sephardim - Jews who after the Roman destruction of Jerusalem scattered across North
Africa and into the Iberian Peninsula
Zionism - The movement to unite the Jewish people of the diaspora and the establish a
national homeland for them in Palestine
Sunni - The largest sect of Islam, emphasizing the belief in the effectiveness of family
and community in the solution of life’s problems; accept the traditions of Muhammad
Shiite (Shiah) - One of the two major divisions of Islam; emphasizes the belief in the
infallibility and divine right to authority of the Imams, descendants of Ali
Imams - Shiite Muslim leaders whose appointments are regarded as sanctioned by Allah;
they are thought to be without sin and infallible
Crusades - Holy war between Christians and Muslim over control of Jerusalem or the
Holy Lands, occurring between 1095 and 1199.
Exclave - A bounded piece of territory that is a part of a particular state but lies separated
from it by the territory of another state
Enclave - A piece of territory that is surrounded by another political unit of which it is not
apart
Ethnic cleansing - The slaughter and/or forced removal of othe ethnic group from its
homes and lands by another ethnic group
Islamic republic - A completely Islamic state; Muslim leaders called for the establishment
of an Islamic republic in Algeria in 1991.