Key Terms

Believing in God

Numinous
the feeling of the presence of something greater than you; e.g. in a church, Or looking up at the stars

Miracle
something which seems to break a law of science and makes you think only God could have done it

Conversion
when your life is changed by giving yourself to God

Prayer
an attempt to contact God, usually through words

Design
when things are connected and seem to have a purpose; e.g. the eye is designed for seeing

Causation
the idea that everything has been caused (started off) by something else

Agnosticism
not being sure whether God exists

Atheism
believing that God does not exist

Moral evil
actions done by humans which cause suffering

Natural evil
things which cause suffering but have nothing to
do with humans; e.g. earthquakes

Omnipotent
the belief that God is all-powerful

Omniscient
the belief that God knows everything

Benevolent
the belief that God is good/kind

The Amrit ceremony
the Sikh initiation ceremony

Haumai
egoism, the major spiritual defect

Manmukh
self-originated/ human centered


Matters of Life and Death

Reincarnation
the belief that a soul moves into a different body after death

Euthanasia
an easy and gentle death

Resurrection
the belief that, after death, the body stays in the grave until the end of the world when it is raised

Assisted Suicide
providing a seriously ill person with the means to commit suicide
Immortality of the soul
the idea that the soul lives on after the death of the body

Paranormal
unexplained things which are thought to have spiritual causes; e.g. ghosts, mediums

Non- Voluntary Euthanasia
ending someone’s life painlessly when they are unable to ask, but you have good reason for thinking they would want you to do so; e.g. switching off a life- support machine

Voluntary Euthanasia
the situation where someone dying in pain asks a doctor to end his/her life painlessly

Abortion
the removal of a foetus from the womb before it can survive

Sanctity of life
the belief that life is holy and belongs to God

Contraception
preventing conception from occurring

Khands
stages on the path to liberation/salvation

Mukti
the freeing of the soul from rebirth/salvation/liberation



Marriage and Family
Cohabitation
living together without being married

Marriage
the condition of a man and woman legally united for the purpose of living together and, usually, having children

Extended Family
children, parents and grandparents/aunts/uncles living as a unit or in close proximity

Anand Karaj
the Sikh wedding ceremony

Nuclear Family
mother, father and children living as a unit

Lavan
marriage hymn

Re- constituted Family
where two sets of children (step brothers and sisters) become one family when their divorced parents marry each other

Circling
the essential feature of a Sikh wedding when the couple circle the Guru Granth

Sahib
Faithfulness
staying with your marriage partner and having sex only with them

Pre- Marital Sex
sex before marriage

Re- Marriage
marrying again after being divorced from a previous marriage

Promiscuity
having sex with a number of partners without commitment

Homosexuality
sexual attraction to the same sex

Adultery
An act of sexual intercourse between a married person and someone other than their marriage partner

Social Harmony

Equality
the state of everyone having equal rights regardless of gender/race/class

Racial Harmony
different races/colours living together happily

Sexism
discriminating against people because of their gender (being male or female)

Multi- faith society
many different religions living together in one society

Multi-ethnic society
many different races and cultures living together in one society

Religious Freedom
Accepting all religions as having an equal right to coexist

Prejudice
believing some people are inferior or superior without even knowing them

Religious pluralism
The right to practice your religion and change your religion

Discrimination
putting prejudice into practice and treating people less favourably because of their race/gender/colour/ class

Multi- ethnic Society
many different races and cultures living together in one society

Racism
the belief that some races are superior to others

Khalsa
the community of the pure/the Sikh community

Mati Sahib Kaur
The woman who provided the ingredients for the first amrit ceremony