Religious Beliefs, JUM-LIT
Our religious beliefs can affect our lifestyle, our perceptions, and our way of relating to fellow human beings. Is there a higher power (or powers) that governs the universe and judges all of us? Does committing a mortal sin mean the death of a soul, or is there a chance for forgiveness? The answers to such questions differ widely across different religions.
Religious Beliefs Encyclopedia Articles By Title
jumʿah
jumʿah, Friday of the Muslim week and the special noon service on Friday that all adult, male, free Muslims are......
junzi
junzi, in Chinese philosophy, a person whose humane conduct (ren) makes him a moral exemplar. The term junzi was......
Justice
Justice, In philosophy, the concept of a proper proportion between a person’s deserts (what is merited) and the......
justification
justification, in Christian theology, either (1) the act by which God moves a willing person from the state of......
Jötun
Jötun, in Germanic religion, race of giants that lived in Jötunheim under one of the roots of Yggdrasill. They......
jāhiliyyah
jāhiliyyah, in Islam, the period preceding the revelation of the Qurʾān to the Prophet Muhammad. In Arabic the......
Jōdo
Jōdo, (Japanese: Way to the Pure Land), devotional sect of Japanese Buddhism stressing faith in the Buddha Amida......
ka
ka, in ancient Egyptian religion, with the ba and the akh, a principal aspect of the soul of a human being or of......
Kabbala
Kabbala, esoteric Jewish mysticism as it appeared in the 12th and following centuries. Kabbala has always been......
Kachina
Kachina, in traditional religions of the Pueblo Indians of North America, any of more than 500 divine and ancestral......
Kaddish
Kaddish, in Judaism, a doxology (hymn of praise to God) that is usually recited in Aramaic at the end of principal......
kalma
kalma, in Finno-Ugric religion, Finnish term referring to the dead and used in compound words with concepts associated......
kalām
kalām, in Islam, speculative theology. The term is derived from the phrase kalām Allāh (Arabic: “word of God”),......
kami
kami, object of worship in Shintō and other indigenous religions of Japan. The term kami is often translated as......
kamidana
kamidana, (Japanese: “god-shelf”), in the Shintō religion of Japan, a miniature shrine, the centre of daily worship......
kammatthana
kammatthana, in Theravada Buddhist tradition, one of the objects of mental concentration or a stage of meditation......
Kanphata Yogi
Kanphata Yogi, member of an order of religious ascetics in India that venerates the Hindu deity Shiva. Kanphata......
kanōn
kanōn, one of the main forms of Byzantine liturgical office; it consists of nine odes, based on the nine biblical......
kappa
kappa, in Japanese folklore, a type of vampirelike lecherous creature that is more intelligent than the devilish......
kapāla
kapāla, cup made of a human skull, frequently offered by worshipers to the fierce Tantric deities of Hindu India......
Karaism
Karaism, (from Hebrew qara, “to read”), a Jewish religious movement that repudiated oral tradition as a source......
karma
karma, in Indian religion and philosophy, the universal causal law by which good or bad actions determine the future......
Kart
Kart, in Finno-Ugric religion, the sacrificial priest of the Mari people of the middle Volga River valley. The......
Karva Chauth
Karva Chauth, a festival traditionally observed in parts of northern India and Nepal primarily by married Hindu......
kasb
kasb, (Arabic: “acquisition”), a doctrine in Islām adopted by the theologian al-Ashʿarī (d. 935) as a mean between......
kashf
kashf, (Arabic: “uncovering,” “revelation”), in Sufism (i.e., Islamic mysticism), the privileged inner knowledge......
Kashmiri Shaivism
Kashmiri Shaivism, religious and philosophical system of India that worships the god Shiva as the supreme reality.......
kashruth
kashruth, in Judaism, regulations that prohibit the eating of certain foods and require that other foods be prepared......
kavvanah
kavvanah, in Judaism, the attitude or frame of mind that is appropriate when one performs religious duties, especially......
Kekri
Kekri, in ancient Finnish religion, a feast day marking the end of the agricultural season that also coincided......
Ker
Ker, in ancient Greek religion, a destructive spirit. Popular belief attributed death and illness to the action......
kerygma and catechesis
kerygma and catechesis, in Christian theology, respectively, the initial proclamation of the gospel message and......
ketubba
ketubba, formal Jewish marriage contract written in Aramaic and guaranteeing a bride certain future rights before......
Khalsa
Khalsa, a casteless group of Sikhs that embodies courage and commitment to Sikhism. The people within this order......
kharāj
kharāj, a special Islāmic fiscal imposition that was demanded from recent converts to Islām in the 7th and 8th......
khirqah
khirqah, (Arabic: “rag”), a woolen robe traditionally bestowed by Sufi (Muslim mystic) masters on those who had......
khitān
khitān, in Islam, circumcision of the male; by extension it may also refer to the circumcision of the female (properly......
Khoja
Khoja, caste of Indian Muslims converted from Hinduism to Islam in the 14th century by the Persian pīr (religious......
khutbah
khutbah, in Islam, the sermon, delivered especially at a Friday service (ṣalāt al-jumʿah), at the two major Islamic......
Kiddush
Kiddush, Jewish benediction and prayer recited over a cup of wine immediately before the meal on the eve of the......
kippah
kippah, head covering, typically a close-fitting brimless cap made of cloth, worn primarily by men in Judaism.......
Kirishitan
Kirishitan, in Japanese history, a Japanese Christian or Japanese Christianity, specifically relating to Roman......
kiswah
kiswah, black brocade cloth that covers the most sacred shrine of Islām, the Kaʿbah (q.v.) in Mecca. A new kiswah......
kitsune
kitsune, trickster foxes from traditional Japanese folklore. They are a type of yōkai, a class of supernatural......
kittel
kittel, in Judaism, a white robe worn in the synagogue on such major festivals as Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur.......
Kiva
Kiva, subterranean ceremonial and social chamber built by the Pueblo Indians of the southwestern United States,......
klezmer music
klezmer music, genre of music derived from and built upon eastern European music in the Jewish tradition. The common......
koan
koan, in Zen Buddhism of Japan, a succinct paradoxical statement or question used as a meditation discipline for......
kobdas
kobdas, magic drum used for trance induction and divination by the Lapp shaman, or noiade. The drum consisted of......
kobold
kobold, in German folklore, mischievous household spirit who usually helps with chores and gives other valuable......
Kogaku
Kogaku, (Japanese: “Ancient Learning”), one of three schools of Neo-Confucian studies that developed in Japan during......
Kol Nidre
Kol Nidre, (Aramaic: “All Vows”), a prayer sung in Jewish synagogues at the beginning of the service on the eve......
Konkō-kyō
Konkō-kyō, Japanese religious movement founded in the 19th century, a prototype of the “new religions” that proliferated......
kosher
kosher, (“fit,” or “proper”), in Judaism, the fitness of an object for ritual purposes. Though generally applied......
kuala
kuala, in Finno-Ugric religion, a small, windowless, and floorless log shrine erected by the Udmurt people for......
Kumbh Mela
Kumbh Mela, Hindu religious festival and the world’s largest public gathering. The 2019 event at Prayagraj attracted......
Kurozumi-kyō
Kurozumi-kyō, prototype of the contemporary “new religions” of Japan, named for its founder, Kurozumi Munetada......
Kusha
Kusha, Buddhist school of philosophy introduced into Japan from China during the Nara period (710–784). The school......
kuṇḍalinī
kuṇḍalinī, in some Tantric (esoteric) forms of Yoga, the cosmic energy that is believed to lie within everyone,......
Kyrie
Kyrie, the vocative case of the Greek word kyrios (“lord”). The word Kyrie is used in the Septuagint, the earliest......
Kyōha Shintō
Kyōha Shintō, group of folk religious sects in Japan that were separated by a government decree in 1882 from the......
kīrtana
kīrtana, form of musical worship or group devotion practiced by the Vaiṣṇava sects (followers of the god Vishnu)......
La Quema del Diablo
La Quema del Diablo, annual festival celebrated throughout Guatemala on December 7, on the eve of the Feast of......
Laetare Sunday
Laetare Sunday, fourth Sunday in Lent in the Western Christian Church, so called from the first word (“Rejoice”)......
Lag BaOmer
Lag BaOmer, minor Jewish observance falling on the 33rd day in the period of the counting of the ʿomer (“barley......
lama
lama, in Tibetan Buddhism, a spiritual leader. Originally used to translate “guru” (Sanskrit: “venerable one”)......
Lambeth Conference
Lambeth Conference, any of the periodic gatherings of bishops of the Anglican Communion held initially (1867–1968)......
Lambeth Quadrilateral
Lambeth Quadrilateral, four points that constitute the basis for union discussions of the Anglican Communion with......
Lammas
Lammas, the conventional name of the Quarter Day which falls on August 1. The Quarter Days—Candlemas (February......
Lar
Lar, in Roman religion, any of numerous tutelary deities. They were originally gods of the cultivated fields, worshipped......
Las Posadas
Las Posadas, religious and cultural festival celebrated in Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, and elsewhere......
Last Judgment
Last Judgment, a general, or sometimes individual, judging of the thoughts, words, and deeds of persons by God,......
latitudinarian
latitudinarian, any of the 17th-century Anglican clerics whose beliefs and practices were viewed by conservatives......
Lauma
Lauma, in Baltic folklore, a fairy who appears as a beautiful naked maiden with long fair hair. Laumas dwell in......
Laylat al-Qadr
Laylat al-Qadr, Islamic festival that commemorates the night on which God first revealed the Qurʾān to the Prophet......
lectionary
lectionary, in Christianity, a book containing portions of the Bible appointed to be read on particular days of......
lectisternium
lectisternium, (from Latin lectum sternere, “to spread a couch”), ancient Greek and Roman rite in which a meal......
lector
lector, in Christianity, a person chosen or set apart to read Holy Scripture in the church services. In the Eastern......
legate
legate, in the Roman Catholic Church, a cleric sent on a mission, ecclesiastical or diplomatic, by the pope as......
Leib-olmai
Leib-olmai, in Sami religion and folklore, forest deity who was considered the guardian of wild animals, especially......
Lemures
Lemures, in Roman religion, wicked and fearsome spectres of the dead. Appearing in grotesque and terrifying forms,......
Lent
Lent, in the Christian church, a 40-day period of penitential preparation for Easter. For many Christians, Lent......
leshy
leshy, in Slavic mythology, the forest spirit. The leshy is a sportive spirit who enjoys playing tricks on people,......
levitation
levitation, rising of a human body off the ground, in apparent defiance of the law of gravity. The term designates......
Levite
Levite, member of a group of clans of religious functionaries in ancient Israel who apparently were given a special......
leśyā
leśyā, (Sanskrit: “light,” “tint”), according to Jainism, a religion of India, the special aura of the soul that......
Li
Li, Confucian concept often rendered as “ritual,” “proper conduct,” or “propriety.” Originally li denoted court......
liberation theology
liberation theology, religious movement that arose in late 20th-century Roman Catholicism and was centered in Latin......
lila
lila, in Hinduism, a term that has several different meanings, most focusing in one way or another on the effortless......
limbo
limbo, in Roman Catholic theology, the border place between heaven and hell where dwell those souls who, though......
lingam
lingam, in Hinduism, a votary object that symbolizes the god Shiva and is revered as an emblem of generative power.......
Lingayat
Lingayat, member of a Hindu sect with a wide following in southern India that worships Shiva as the only deity.......
Lingbao
Lingbao, Chinese religious movement that produced scriptural and liturgical innovations that greatly influenced......
List of religious populations
Which religion is the largest? Which religion is the smallest? Our planet’s population of about 8 billion people......
List of the most expensive weddings
Very few couples are able to say “money is no object” when planning their wedding. For the ultra-wealthy, however,......
list of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus
While Jesus had many followers, the Twelve Apostles were his closest disciples, and they left an indelible mark......
literal interpretation
literal interpretation, in hermeneutics, the assertion that a biblical text is to be interpreted according to the......
liturgical music
liturgical music, music written for performance in a religious rite of worship. The term is most commonly associated......
liturgy of the Eucharist
liturgy of the Eucharist, the second of the two principal rites of the mass, the central act of worship of the......
liturgy of the Word
liturgy of the Word, the first of the two principal rites of the mass, the central act of worship of the Roman......