Religious Beliefs, INC-KUR

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.
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Religious Beliefs Encyclopedia Articles By Title

incense
incense, grains of resins (sometimes mixed with spices) that burn with a fragrant odour, widely used as an oblation.......
incense burner
incense burner, container, generally of bronze or pottery and fitted with a perforated lid, in which incense is......
incubus
incubus, demon in male form that seeks to have sexual intercourse with sleeping women; the corresponding spirit......
indulgence
indulgence, a distinctive feature of the penitential system of both the Western medieval and the Roman Catholic......
Inner Light
Inner Light, the distinctive theme of the Society of Friends (Quakers), the direct awareness of God that allows......
inquisition
inquisition, a judicial procedure and later an institution that was established by the papacy and, sometimes, by......
inshallah
inshallah, Arabic-language expression meaning literally “if God wills.” The widely used expression derives from......
intelligent design
intelligent design (ID), argument intended to demonstrate that living organisms were created in more or less their......
Iranian religion, ancient
ancient Iranian religion, diverse beliefs and practices of the culturally and linguistically related group of ancient......
irreligion
irreligion, the lack or rejection of religious beliefs or practices. Irreligion is a broad concept that encompasses......
Ishvara
Ishvara, in Hinduism, God understood as a person, in contrast to the impersonal transcendent brahman. The title......
Islam, Pillars of
Pillars of Islam, the five duties incumbent on every Muslim: shahādah, the Muslim profession of faith; ṣalāt, or......
Islamic calendar
Islamic calendar, dating system used in the Islamic world for religious purposes. (Most countries now use the Gregorian......
Islamic philosophy
Islamic philosophy, doctrines of the philosophers of the 9th–12th century Islamic world who wrote primarily in......
Islamophobia
Islamophobia, fear, hatred, and discrimination against practitioners of Islam or the Islamic religion as a whole.......
isnād
isnād, (from Arabic sanad, “support”), in Islam, a list of authorities who have transmitted a report (hadith) of......
Israelite
Israelite, descendant of the Hebrew patriarch Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel after an all-night fight......
istiḥsān
istiḥsān, in Islamic law, juristic discretion—i.e., the use of a jurist’s own judgment to determine the best solution......
istiṣlāḥ
istiṣlāḥ, in Islamic law, consideration of benefit, a norm employed by Muslim jurists to solve perplexing problems......
Jahannam
Jahannam, Islāmic hell, described somewhat ambiguously in the Qurʾān and by Muḥammad. In one version, hell seems......
Jain vrata
Jain vrata, in Jainism, a religion of India, any of the vows (vratas) that govern the activities of both monks......
Jaina canon
Jaina canon, the sacred texts of Jainism, a religion of India, whose authenticity is disputed between sects. The......
Jainism
Jainism, Indian religion teaching a path to spiritual purity and enlightenment through disciplined nonviolence......
James, Liturgy of St
Liturgy of St. James, a eucharistic service based on the Antiochene Liturgy, said to be the most ancient Christian......
Janmashtami
Janmashtami, Hindu festival celebrating the birth (janma) of the god Krishna on the eighth (ashtami) day of the......
Japanese mythology
Japanese mythology, body of stories compiled from oral traditions concerning the legends, gods, ceremonies, customs,......
Japanese religion
Japanese religion, the religious beliefs and practices of the Japanese people. There is no single dominant religion......
Jataka
Jataka, any of the extremely popular stories of former lives of the Buddha, which are preserved in all branches......
Jesus Prayer
Jesus Prayer, in Eastern Christianity, a mental invocation of the name of Jesus Christ, considered most efficacious......
Jewish festivals
Jewish festivals, holidays commonly observed by the Jewish community. Below is a summary of the major Jewish holidays,......
Jewish religious year
Jewish religious year, the cycle of Sabbaths and holidays that are commonly observed by the Jewish religious community—and......
Jigoku
Jigoku, in Japanese Buddhism, hell, a region popularly believed to be composed of a number of hot and cold regions......
jihad
jihad, in Islam, a meritorious struggle or effort. The exact meaning of the term jihād depends on context; it has......
jinja
jinja, in the Shintō religion of Japan, the place where the spirit of a deity is enshrined or to which it is summoned.......
jinni
jinni, in Arabic mythology, a spirit inhabiting the earth but unseen by humans, capable of assuming various forms......
jiva
jiva, in Indian philosophy and religion, and particularly in Jainism and Hinduism, a living sentient substance......
jizyah
jizyah, historically, a tax (the term is often incorrectly translated as a “head tax” or “poll tax”) paid by non-Muslim......
jnana
jnana, in Hindu philosophy, a word with a range of meanings focusing on a cognitive event that proves not to be......
Jubilee, Year of
Year of Jubilee, in the Roman Catholic Church, a celebration that is observed for one full year every 25 years,......
juju
juju, an object that has been deliberately infused with magical power or the magical power itself; it also can......
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......
karuna
karuna, in Buddhism, the perfect virtue of compassion. See...
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, the purified and reconstituted Sikh community instituted by Guru Gobind Singh on March 30, 1699 (Baisakhi......
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, (from Portuguese cristão, “Christian”), in Japanese history, a Japanese Christian or Japanese Christianity,......
kiswah
kiswah, black brocade cloth that covers the most sacred shrine of Islām, the Kaʿbah (q.v.) in Mecca. A new kiswah......
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, in Hinduism, religious festival that is celebrated four times over the course of 12 years, the site......
Kurozumi-kyō
Kurozumi-kyō, prototype of the contemporary “new religions” of Japan, named for its founder, Kurozumi Munetada......

Religious Beliefs Encyclopedia Articles By Title