Animism:belief that objects, such as plants and stones, or natural events, like thunderstorms and earthquakes, have a discrete spirit and conscious life
Autonomous religion:a religion that does not have a central authority but shares ideas and cooperates informally
Branch:a large and fundamental division within a religion
Caste:the class or distinct hereditary order into which a Hindu is assigned according to religious law
Cosmogony:a set of religious beliefs concerning the origin of the universe
Denomination:a division of a branch that unites a number of local congregations in a single legal and administrative body
Diocese:the basic unit of geographic organization in the Roman Catholic Church
Ethnic religion:a religion with a relatively concentrated spatial distribution whose principle are likely to be based on the physical characteristics of the particular location in which its adherents are concentrated
Fundamentalism:literal interpretation and strict adherence to basic principles of a religion (or a religious branch, denomination, or sect).
Ghetto:during the Middle Ages, a neighborhood in a city set up by law to be inhabited only by Jews; now used to denote a section of the city in which members of any minority group live because of social, legal, or economic pressure
Hierarchical religion:a religion in which a central authority exercises a high degree of control
Missionary:an individual who helps to diffuse a universalizing religion
Monotheism:the doctrine or belief of the existence of only one god
Pagan:a follower of a polytheistic religion in ancient times
Pilgrimage:a journey to a place considered sacred for religious purposes
Polytheism:belief in or worship of more than one god
Sect:a relatively small group that has broken away from an established denomination
Solstice:time when the Sun is farthest from the equator
Universalizing religion:a religion that attempts to appeal to all people, not just those living in a particular location
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