Religion Vocabulary

Altar a place of worship or home for sacred things (offerings to God) to be kept on display

Atonement reconciliation with God "forgiveness"

Bar or Bat Mitzvah In Judaism, the rite of passage into adulthood. Translated, it means "Son or Daughter of the Covenant". There is a ceremony when the boy or girl reads from the Torah for the first time.

Brahman a Hindu God, considered the protector of the world

Yoga increase unity between the self and God

crucifixion The method by which Jesus was killed. He was nailed to a cross until death.

Covenant -A Jewish belief -A solemn agreement between God and Abraham

deity God or other sacred beings

disciple a follower of a particular religion or leader

Enlightenment clarifying information the highest level of understanding

Guru In Hinduism or Sikhism, a religious leader or guide

Idol a symbol or picture that is believed to have sacred powers  Ganesh (Gaurded Paravati’s house while Shiva was off fighting war. When Shiva came back he was denied entry and he cut off Ganesh’s head. Paravati was angry. He replaced it with the head of an elephant.

Koran The holy book of Islam. It is important in Islam to memorize as much as possible of the Koran.

Meditation emptying the mind of thoughts, or concentration on just one thing

Messiah Someone treated as a savior of a country, a religion, or a group of people

Monestary A building or area in which a group of people observing a religion lives together

Monotheism the belief that there is one God (Christianity, Judaism, Islam)

mosque a building in which Muslims worship

Nirvana Release from the cycle of birth and rebirth

persecution the subjecting of a group of people to cruel or unfair treatment because of their beliefs

Pilgrimage a literal or symbolic journey to a holy place.

Torah The Jewish holy book The Torah is written by hand on scrolled paper and kept in the Ark in a synagogue.

Polytheism belief in more than one God.

Reincarnation The belief that humans are in an endless lifecycle of birth and death.

Synagogue A building for worship for the Jewish religion. (a major community-gathering place)