The belief that objects, such as plants and stones, or natural events, like thunderstorms and earthquakes, have a discrete spirit and conscious life.

The belief that God does not exist.

A religion that does not have a central authority but shares ideas and cooperates informally.

A large and fundamental division within a religion.

The class or distinct hereditary order into which a Hindu is assigned, according to religious law.

A local assembly of persons brought together for common religious worship.

A set of religious beliefs concerning the origin of the universe.

A division of a branch that unites a number of local congregations into a single legal and administrative body.

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.

Literal interpretation and strict adherence to basic principles of a religion (or a religious branch, denomination, or congregation).

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 group live because of social, legal, or economic pressure.

A religion in which a central authority exercises a high degree of control.

An individual who helps to diffuse a universalizing religion.

The doctrine of or belief in the existence of only one God.

A journey to a place considered sacred for religious purposes.

Belief in or worship of more than one god.

An astronomical event that happens twice each year, when the tilt of Earth's axis most inclined toward or away from the Sun, causing the Sun's apparent position in the sky to reach it most northernmost or southernmost extreme, and resulting in the shortest and longest days of the year.

Combining several religious traditions.

A religion that attempts to appeal to all people, not just those living in a particular location.