Free TCE Studies of Religion Flashcard Review

Narrative (mythological), doctrinal (philosophical), ethical (legal), ritual, experiential (emotional), social (institutional) and material.

The stories a tradition tells about origins, founders and the sacred, such as the Exodus, the life of the Buddha or the Ramayana. Stories carry beliefs and values in memorable form.

The inner, emotional side of religion: awe, conversion, mystical union, peace in prayer or insight in meditation. It explains why beliefs feel true to adherents.

Physical expressions of religion: buildings, sacred sites, art, icons, murtis, relics and objects such as prayer beads. They make the sacred tangible.

How a tradition is organised and lived in community: clergy, sangha, ummah, congregations, councils and rules of membership.

Theological (understandings of the divine), philosophical (similarities and differences; universal questions), historical (traditions evolve; stability or conflict) and sociological (the role of religion in society).

Traditions evolve over time and can be a source of stability, community and a moral compass, or of conflict and division, as the Reformation shows.

Questions such as: Who or what is ultimate reality? Why are we here? Why do we suffer? How should we live? What happens after death?

Buddhism has ritual, ethics, texts, community and a goal of liberation but does not depend on a creator god, so it meets the dimensions of religion without theism.

Practices combine dimensions (ritual, narrative, experiential), so analysing how they interact shows depth and meets Criterion 3's analysis of beliefs, values and practices.

The Christian doctrine that the one God exists eternally as three persons — Father, Son and Holy Spirit — sharing one divine nature, as stated in the Nicene Creed.

The Islamic doctrine of the absolute oneness and uniqueness of God (Allah). Its opposite, shirk, is associating partners with God.

Judaism's central declaration, 'Hear, O Israel: the Lord is our God, the Lord is one' (Deuteronomy 6:4), recited morning and evening.

In Hinduism, the ultimate, all-pervading reality behind the universe. Many Hindus worship Brahman through personal forms such as Vishnu, Shiva or Devi.

In Hinduism, the eternal self or soul in each living being. In Advaita Vedanta, atman is ultimately identical with Brahman.

The Buddhist teaching of non-self: there is no permanent soul; a person is a changing combination of the five aggregates (skandhas).

The Christian belief that God the Son became fully human in Jesus of Nazareth while remaining fully divine (John 1:14).

Hindu terms for Brahman with attributes (saguna), approached through personal deities, and Brahman beyond all attributes (nirguna).

The Hindu grouping of Brahma (creator), Vishnu (preserver) and Shiva (destroyer or transformer) as three functions of the divine.

Names such as al-Rahman (the Most Merciful) and al-Adl (the Just) that describe God's attributes without dividing God's oneness.