Chapter 11

animistic religion - A religion centered on the belief that inanimate objects, such as
mountains, boulders, rivers, and trees, possess spirits and should therefore be
revered.
Buddhism - A religion that originated in northern Indian and remains strong in
Southeast Asia, China, and Japan with an estimated 347 million adherents
worldwide.
Chinese religions - Tradition religions of China, such as Confucianism and Taoism,
that never involved concepts of supernatural omnipotence.
Christianity - The most popular religion in the world. Monotheistic and divided in
Roman Catholic, Protestant, and Eastern Orthodox branches.
Confucianism - A philosophy of ethics, education, and public service based on the
writings of Confucius and traditionally thought of as one of the core elements of
Chinese Culture.
ethnic religion - A religion that is particular to one, culturally distinct, group of
people.
Hinduism - the third most popular religion in the world characterized by great
diversity and not as centrally organized as Christianity and Islam. An ethnic religion
most popular in India and the surrounding countries.
Islam - The second most popular religion in the world. Monotheistic and universal,
and divided into Sunni and Shia branches.
Judaism - One of the world's most influential religions, with about 17 million
adherents. Monotheistic and ethnic religion with most followers found in Israel.
monotheistic religion - Belief system in which one supreme being is revered as
creator and arbiter of all that exists in the universe.
Nation of Islam -a movement that helped Islam gain ground that was born in the
1930s and reflected the desire of American Blacks to be freed from white
oppression.
polytheistic religion - Belief system in which multiple deities are revered as creators
and arbiters of all that exists in the universe.
secularism - The idea that ethical and moral standards should be formulated and
adhered to for life on Earth, not to accommodate the prescriptions of a deity and
promises of a comfortable afterlife.
Shamanism - A community faith in which people follow their shaman, a religious
leader, teacher, healer, and visionary.
Shintoism - An ethnic religion found in Japan that focuses particularly on nature and
ancestor worship.
Sikhism - A religion founded around the turn of the sixteenth century that contains
elements of both Hinduism and Islam.
syncretic religion - a religion that is formed when elements from different cultural
sources are combined in distinctive ways.
Taoism - A traditional Chinese religion that holds that human happiness lay in
maintaining the proper relationship with nature.
traditional religion - a religion that is an intimate part of local culture and society.
universalizing religion -A belief system that espouses the idea that there is one true
religion that is universal in scope. In some cases, great effort is undertaken in
evangelism and missionary work.
Zoroastrianism- The first monotheistic religion, developed in southwest Asia around
the middle of the first millennium B.C.