AP Human Geography Chapter 6 (Religion) Vocabulary Exam Answered

Animism - ANSWER-Belief that objects, such as plants and stones, or natural events, like thunderstorms and earthquakes, have a discrete spirit and conscious life. Autonomous religion - ANSWER-A religion that does not have a central authority but shares ideas and cooperates informally. Branch (of a religion) - ANSWER-A large and fundamental division within a religion. Caste - ANSWER-The class of distinct hereditary order into which a Hindu is assigned according to religious law. Cosmogony - ANSWER-A set of religious beliefs concerning the origin of the universe. Denomination - ANSWER-A division of a branch that unites a number of local congregations in a single legal and administrative body. Diocese - ANSWER-The basic unit of geographic organization in the Roman Catholic Church. Ethnic religion - ANSWER-A religion with a relatively concentrated spatial distribution whose principles are likely to be based on the physical characteristics of the particular location in which its adherents are concentrated. Fundamentalism - ANSWER-Literal interpretation and strict adherence to basic principles of a religion (or a religious branch, denomination, or sect). Ghetto - ANSWER-During the Middle Ages, a neighborhood in a city set up by law to be inhabited only by Jews; now used to denote a section of a city in which members of any minority live because of social, legal, or economic pressure. Hierarchical religion - ANSWER-A religion in which a central authority exercises a high degree of control. Missionary - ANSWER-An individual who helps to diffuse a universalizing religion. Monotheism - ANSWER-The doctrine or belief of the existence of only one god. Pagan - ANSWER-A follower of a polytheistic religion in ancient times. Pilgrimage - ANSWER-A journey to a place considered sacred for religious purposes.