GLOSSARY OF CONFUSING RELIGIOUS TERMS

Some professions (e.g. medicine, engineering) pride themselves in their precise use of language. Misunderstandings could cause patients to die and bridges to collapse. Every term must have a unique, universally understood meaning.

On the other hand, there are areas where language is extremely imprecise, and misunderstandings abound. One prime offender is religion. It is as if every faith group stays inside its own "bubble". Within each bubble, communication is facilitated because everyone assigns the same definition to each term. Communication between bubbles is strained and sometimes impossible.

Some religious terms with multiple meanings are described below. Definitions used by conservative religious people such as:

• most Fundamentalist and some other Evangelical Christians
• some conservative Roman Catholics
• some conservative Jewish believers
• some conservative Muslims

The Glossary

• Atheist: a person who does not believe in the existence of a deity
• Agnostic: a person who has doubts about the existence of deity or deities, and believes that we can not know anything about them if they do exist.
• Christian: a person who believes in the teachings and divinity of Joshua ben Joseph (a.k.a. Jesus Christ). Evangelical/Fundamentalist usage: often used to refer to Evangelical Christians.
• Cult: a word with many religious meanings (and some secular as well) which should be used with great care to avoid misunderstanding:
  1. Traditional theological usage: a style of worship and its associated rituals.
  2. Sociological usage: a small religious group that exists in a state of tension with the predominant religion; e.g. Christianity in Pakistan.
  3. General religious usage: a small, recently created religious group; not a variant of an established religion. Often headed by a single charismatic leader.
  4. Evangelical usage: a religious group that does not accept Jesus as lord and saviour and/or does not accept the concept of the Trinity.
  5. Popular, media usage: a small, evil religious group, often with a single charismatic leader, who engage in brainwashing and other mind control techniques.
• Deist: a person who believed in the existence of deity, usually male, but felt that he has not been involved with the world since he created the universe.
• Doomsday cult: a religious group which is focused on the anticipated end of the world in the near future. Many such cults are also mind control cults.
• Evangelical: The conservative "wing" of Protestant Christianity. The most conservative Evangelicals are called Fundamentalists. Evangelicals believe in the historical doctrines of the Christian church:
  1. the original writings of the Bible, was inerrent (without error)
  2. that Jesus Christ was born of a virgin
  3. atonement: that through Jesus' death, the relationship between God and Man (which had been damaged by Adam and Eve's sin) has been restored
  4. resurrection: that after Jesus' death and burial, he arose again
  5. second coming: that Jesus return to earth is imminent
  6. incarnation: that God appeared on earth in human form, as Jesus
  7. justification: an act of God in which any person who accepts that they have sinned and who believes in the atonement of Christ is forgiven of their sins and brought into a close relationship with God
  8. regeneration of the spirit: that a new believer undergoes a spiritual rebirth
  9. inspiration: that the authors of the Bible were inspired by the Holy Spirit.
  Most Evangelicals tend to be less anti-scientific and less literal in their interpretation of Biblical passages than are their fellow Fundamentalists (see below). There are many additional beliefs regarded as important by various Evangelical organizations. Speaking in tongues is seen by some groups to be a necessary result of salvation. One Evangelical church requires its employees to sign a loyalty oath which includes the belief that the authors of the Gospels were in fact named Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
• Faith Group: a general, inclusive term that might be used to refer to a religion, denomination, sect or cult.
• Freethinker: a person who rejects the beliefs of organized religions, and follows her/his own path.
• Fundamentalist: the most conservative group within Evangelical Protestant Christianity. It arose in the late 19th Century as a reaction against liberal movements of Biblical criticism and analysis. Their Niagara Bible Conference (in 1895) listed five unalterable requirements of belief for a Fundamentalist individual or group. They are listed above under "Evangelicals", items 1 to 5 above. The term has three additional meanings in general usage that cause great confusion:
  • a "snarl" word, used by some non-Fundamentalists to imply intolerance, lack of flexibility and an anti-intellectual bias.
  • when applied by the Western media to Muslims, it often means "anti-American".
  • when used by Muslims themselves, it refers to a person who strictly follows the teachings of Mohammed, and who promotes the concept of theocratic government.
• Infidel: a person who does not believe in your particular religion, denomination or religious tradition. Similar to "Unbeliever" but more of a "snarl" word.
• Mind control cult: a religious group which uses severe domination and manipulation to control its followers rigidly; such cults are often small, exhibit little personal freedom for the membership and have a single, all-powerful leader.
• Monotheist: One who believes in the existence of only one deity, usually male.
• Neo-pagan: a person who follows a religion which is reconstructed from a ancient Pagan religion. e.g. the Druids' religion is based on the faith and practices of the ancient Celtic professional class; followers of Asatru adhere to the Norse religion; Wiccans trace the roots of their religion back to the pre-Celtic era in Europe. Other neo-pagans follow Roman, Greek, Egyptian and other traditions. Conservative usage: a form of Satanism
• Nilhilist: one who rejects almost every type of assertion about the nature of the universe. Usually attributes no significance to humankind or to any meaning for existence.
• Occult: There is no generally accepted meaning for this term. The term has been used to refer to such unrelated topics as astrology, palm reading, the Masonic Order, Satanism, tarot card reading, New Age Spirituality and Wicca. Some definitions include:
  • A group of mostly unrelated spiritual and/or magical activities, the detailed knowledge of which is kept secret from the general public.
  • A set of mostly unrelated divination and/or spiritual practices or activities which are not part of a person's faith or of any large world religion.
  • An activity which involves elements of divination, sorcery, magic and/or supernaturally gained concrete experiences or truths.
  • Conservative usage: Satanism the core element of the occult; most of the remaining occult groups are either forms of Satanism or are recruiting groups for Satanism. All Occultic groups are anti-Christian. Rituals are based on demonic powers and fakery. Heavy metal rock music, fantasy role games etc are often considered occult pastimes [There appears to be little or no evidence of this].
• Pagan: There is no generally accepted meaning for this term. Some definitions include:
  • a person who is neither Christian, a Moslem or a Jew. About 50% of the people of the world are Pagans, by this definition.
  • an animistic, spirits-and-essences filled belief system, usually polytheistic. It is based upon direct perception of the forces of nature and usually involves the use of idols, talismans and taboos in order to convey respect for these forces and beings.
  • Conservative: no general consensus as to meaning; sometimes used as a "snarl" word to refer to cultures and religions very different from the speaker's.
• Polytheist: one who believes in the existence of more than one deity. Usually believes in both Gods and Goddesses
• Relativist: one who is convinced that religious disagreements are neither productive nor important, because of the need for harmony and agreement in the world. Relativists tend to emphasize areas of harmony among religions, minimizing or ignoring their differences.
• Satanism: a religion based upon Satan, either as a form of deity or as a principle. Adherents follow simple rules of behaviour: give kindness to those who deserve it; indulge in your lusts and wants; return vengeance rather than turning the other cheek. Although their beliefs are different from Christianity, Satanists are not particularly anti-Christian. They may include references opposing Wicca in their rituals. Essentially all Satanists are either teenage dabblers, or members of the Church of Satan, Temple of Set or Church of Satanic Liberation. Their total membership in North America is unknown. Conservative usage: a violently anti-Christian religion worshipping Satan. Some are teenage dabblers; others are religious Satanists belonging to an established church or temple; others are mass murderers; still others form a secret, underground international, multi-generational conspiracy which engages in Satanic Ritual abuse and human sacrifices - usually of children. Membership rapidly rising. Some Fundamentalists define all non Christian faith groups as Satanic; by this definition, two out of three people in the world are Satanists..
• Satanic Ritual Abuse (SRA): psychological, sexual, and/or physical assault committed by two or more people whose primary motive is to fulfill a prescribed religious ritual involving the worship of the devil. A large percentage of the population (90% in Utah) believe that SRA is widespread. Numerous government studies into SRA have revealed it to be essentially non-existent.
• Sect: a small religious group that has recently split away from an established religion. The early Christian church in Jerusalem circa 50 CE would have been considered a sect of Judaism at the time.
• Sorcery: the use of black magic to harm other people.
• Syncretistic Religion: A faith that is created from the merger of concepts from two or more religions
• Unbeliever: a person who does not believe in your particular religion, denomination or religious tradition. Similar to infidel, but less judgmental.
• Wicca: a neo-pagan polytheistic religion with roots in pre-Christian, pre-Celtic Europe. Wiccans follow the Wiccan Rede: do whatever you wish, as long as you harm nobody, including yourself. Power, manipulation and control of others strictly prohibited; drug usage usually confined to wine. Rare ritual sexual activity, but only in private between committed adult couples. Do not proselytize. Most Wiccans are solitary practitioners; some form democratically organized covens, typically of 5 or more people; minimum age for initiation is 18. Conservative usage: evil occultic practice based on a lust for power and control. Rigid ritual practice; heavy illegal drug usage and sexual activity; organize into covens of 13 members each; practice shape shifting (human to animal). Active recruiters, particularly of young people.
• Witch: another word with so many meanings that it should be used with great care (or preferably never at all) in order to avoid confusion.
  1. a woman of such incredible beauty that she bewitches another person
  2. a woman of incredible ugliness; a hag
  3. a follower of Wicca, the aboriginal religion of Western Europe; the religion of the Celts; is prohibited from harming others by their Wiccan Rede
  4. a person who worships Satan, has sold their soul to the devil and devotes their life to harming others.
     Note: the first and second definitions are mutually exclusive; the third and fourth definitions are also mutually exclusive.
• Witchcraft:
  1. using black magic to harm others, involving the aid of Satan and his demons
  2. Wicca, a benign ancient European religion
  3. a group of Caribbean religions which combine elements of tribal African religions with Christianity; e.g. Santeria
  4. a follower of a African native religion, as in Witch doctor
  5. a person with evil powers devoted to harming others, believed to exist by followers of many Aboriginal religions.

Suggestions for the Usage of Terms

• Instead of cult, you can use new religious movement or emerging religion
• Instead of the occult use the specific name of the occultic activity, such as Astrology, Tea Cup Reading, Tarot Cards, Wicca, etc
• Instead of Pagan, use the exact name of the religion that you are referring to. Alternately, the term non-Christian might be best.
• Instead of Witchcraft use the name of the group that you are referring to, such as Asatru, Druid, Wicca, etc.