MSCE Religious and Moral Education key terms

The Christian teaching that one God exists eternally as three distinct persons - Father, Son and Holy Spirit - who are equal in nature but not three separate gods.

The belief that the eternal Son of God became a human being in Jesus Christ, fully divine and fully human, born of the Virgin Mary.

The work by which Jesus' death on the cross restores the broken relationship between humanity and God, understood variously as sacrifice, victory over sin, or a moral example.

The Christian belief that God raised Jesus bodily from the dead on the third day, seen as proof of his divinity and the guarantee of believers' own future resurrection.

The undeserved love and help God freely gives to people, which Christians hold is necessary for salvation and cannot be earned by good works alone.

The teaching that human nature was damaged by Adam and Eve's disobedience, so every person is born inclined to sin and in need of God's saving help.

The Protestant teaching, central to Luther, that a person is put right with God through trusting in Christ rather than through keeping the law or performing good works.

The branch of theology concerned with the last things: death, judgement, heaven, hell and the final renewal of creation at the end of time.

The expected future return of Jesus Christ in glory, when Christians believe he will judge the living and the dead and complete the kingdom of God.

An outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace. Most churches recognise baptism and the Eucharist; Catholic and Orthodox traditions recognise seven.

The rite of washing with water that marks entry into the Christian community, signifying cleansing from sin and new life in Christ.

The central Christian act of worship in which bread and wine are shared in obedience to Jesus' command at the Last Supper, commemorating and participating in his death and resurrection.

The set form and order of words and actions used in public Christian worship, such as the structure of a Mass or a communion service.

A published schedule of Bible readings appointed to be read at worship on particular days, following the pattern of the church year.

The official list of books that a religious community accepts as authoritative scripture; the Christian canon differs slightly between Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox traditions.

A journey to a sacred place undertaken as an act of devotion, penance or thanksgiving, for example to Jerusalem, Rome, Santiago de Compostela or Lourdes.

The movement seeking greater unity and cooperation among the different Christian denominations, based on Jesus' prayer that his followers may be one.

A distinct branch of Christianity, such as Anglican, Catholic, Methodist or Pentecostal, sharing a common heritage but differing in doctrine, worship and organisation.

A movement, strongest in Latin America, that reads the gospel as a call to side with the poor and to challenge unjust political and economic structures.

The belief that humans are entrusted by God with responsibility for the created world and must use its resources wisely and justly for others.

The principle that all people deserve fair treatment, dignity and access to basic needs, and that societies should correct inequalities through law and moral action.

The core Islamic belief in the absolute oneness and uniqueness of God (Allah), which excludes any partner, image or equal being associated with him.

The sin of associating partners or equals with God, which Islam regards as the gravest offence because it contradicts the oneness of Allah.

The Muslim declaration of faith - that there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is his messenger - whose sincere recitation marks acceptance of Islam.

Faith in Islam, understood as inner belief in Allah, his angels, books, messengers, the Last Day and divine decree, expressed through word and action.

The Islamic belief in life after death, including the resurrection of the body, the Day of Judgement, paradise (Jannah) and hell (Jahannam).

The Islamic name for hell, a place of punishment and separation from God described in the Qur'an for those who reject faith or persist in serious wrongdoing.

The Islamic belief that Allah chose human messengers, ending with Muhammad, to convey divine guidance and to model right conduct for their communities.

The recorded sayings, actions and approvals of the Prophet Muhammad, which Muslims study as a guide for how to live out the Qur'an in daily life.

A report describing something the Prophet Muhammad said, did or approved, transmitted through chains of narrators and graded for reliability by scholars.

The five central obligations of Muslim practice: the declaration of faith, prayer, almsgiving, fasting in Ramadan and pilgrimage to Mecca.

The five daily ritual prayers performed by Muslims at set times, facing Mecca, preceded by ritual washing and following prescribed movements and recitations.

The ritual washing of hands, mouth, face, arms and feet required before Muslim prayer and other acts of worship, symbolising purity before God.

The direction of the Ka'ba in Mecca, toward which Muslims face during prayer and which unites their worship across the world.

The obligatory annual alms paid by Muslims with sufficient wealth, usually 2.5 percent of savings, to support the poor and other specified categories of need.

Voluntary charitable giving in Islam, not fixed in amount, offered at any time and regarded as a means of gaining reward and purifying intention.

The pilgrimage to Mecca that every adult Muslim of sound mind and sufficient means should complete at least once, performed during the month of Dhu al-Hijja.

The body of Islamic law and moral guidance derived from the Qur'an, the Sunna and scholarly reasoning, covering worship, family life, commerce and crime.

Independent scholarly reasoning used to work out Islamic rulings on issues not settled directly by the Qur'an or the Sunna.

The Islamic idea that human beings are God's trustees or deputies on earth, answerable for how they care for creation and use its resources.

The worldwide community of Muslims, bound together by shared faith and practice rather than by nationality, ethnicity or language.

Striving in the way of God, understood by most Muslims primarily as the inner struggle against selfishness, with strict rules governing any armed struggle in defence.

A southern African moral outlook expressed in the idea that a person is a person through other people, stressing shared humanity, compassion and community responsibility.

The practice in many African traditional religions of honouring deceased relatives believed to remain in contact with the living as guardians and mediators of blessing.

The African traditional emphasis on the group over the individual, where family, clan and village share resources, obligations and responsibility for one another.

A ceremony marking a change of status in a person's life, such as birth, initiation into adulthood, marriage or death, often involving ritual separation and reintegration.

A prohibition in traditional religion and culture that marks something as sacred or dangerous, such as a forbidden food, place or behaviour, breach of which brings misfortune.

A plant, animal or object regarded as sacred and linked to a clan's identity, which members protect and may not harm or eat.

Sincere sorrow for wrongdoing together with a turning away from it, a step Christians and Muslims alike regard as necessary for forgiveness.

The lifelong process by which a believer is made holy through the work of the Holy Spirit, growing in moral character after justification.

The belief that God will assess each person's life and deeds, a teaching found in Christianity and Islam and a key motive for moral responsibility.

The inner sense of right and wrong that guides moral decisions and produces guilt after wrongdoing, understood by believers as God-given.

The ethical theory that moral truths can be discovered by human reason reflecting on human nature and its purposes, prominent in Catholic moral teaching.

A person preparing for baptism through a period of instruction in Christian faith and practice, traditionally lasting through Lent.

The Catholic teaching that in the Eucharist the substance of bread and wine becomes the body and blood of Christ, while the appearances remain unchanged.