Religion and Spirituality
Religion and Spirituality terms to broaden your understanding of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
Note: This “Living Language Guide” is a curated glossary of DEI related terms, which sometimes offers multiple and differing definitions for some concepts. This should NOT be interpreted as Boston University’s recommended or mandated terminology nor used as such.
Affirming Congregation
Definition: The definition of the word “affirming” means that the church does not view homosexuality in and of itself as a sin. Therefore they would welcome and treat a homosexual person no different than any other person who walked through their church doors seeking Christ. A fully affirming congregation allows ALL people the ability (as much as denominational polity allows) to be involved in all aspects of the community’s life, including ordaining LGBTQ+ folks to ministry and performing same-sex marriages. Sometimes “affirming” churches are also known as “gay friendly” or “welcoming” churches.
Source: Adapted from GayChurch.org
Definition: An “Open and Affirming” setting of the UCC (a local church, campus ministry, etc.) means that it has publicly declared that LGBTQIA+ people (or those of all sexual orientations) are welcome in its full life and ministry (e.g. membership, leadership, employment, etc.). It bespeaks a spirit of hospitality and a willingness to live out that welcome in meaningful ways.
Source: Adapted from Rocky Hill Congregartional Church
Agnosticism
Definition: The terms “agnostic” and “agnosticism” were famously coined in the late nineteenth century by the English biologist, T.H. Huxley. An agnostic is a person who has entertained the proposition that there is a God but believes neither that it is true nor that it is false. Not surprisingly, then, the term “agnosticism” is often defined, both in and outside of philosophy, not as a principle or any other sort of proposition but instead as the psychological state of being an agnostic.
Source: Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Definition: The belief that one cannot know the existence of God without physical evidence. Not a religion.
Antisemitism
Definition: The belief or behavior hostile toward Jews just because they are Jewish. It may take the form of religious teachings that proclaim the inferiority of Jews, for instance, or political efforts to isolate, oppress, or otherwise injure them. It may also include prejudiced or stereotyped views about Jews.
Source: ADL – Fighting hate for good
Definition: Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.
Source: U.S Department of State
Atheism/Atheist
Definition: Atheism is not an affirmative belief that there is no god nor does it answer any other question about what a person believes. It is simply a rejection of the assertion that there are gods. Atheism is too often defined incorrectly as a belief system. To be clear: Atheism is not a disbelief in gods or a denial of gods; it is a lack of belief in gods.
Older dictionaries define atheism as “a belief that there is no God.” Clearly, theistic influence taints these definitions. The fact that dictionaries define Atheism as “there is no God” betrays the (mono)theistic influence. Without the (mono)theistic influence, the definition would at least read “there are no gods.”
Source: American Atheists – What is Atheism
Definition: Atheism is in fact extremely simple to define: it is the belief that there is no God or gods.
Source: Atheism – A brief Insight, by Julian Baggini
Monotheism
Definition: Theists believe that reality’s ultimate principle is God—an omnipotent, omniscient, goodness that is the creative ground of everything other than itself. Monotheism is the view that there is only one such God.
Source: Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Definition: Monotheism is simply defined as the belief in one god. The word monotheism is a relatively modern one that was coined in the mid-17th century CE by the British philosopher Henry More (1614-1687 CE). It comes from the Greek words, monos (single) and theos (god). In the Western tradition, this ‘belief in one god’ specifically refers to the God of the Bible; the God of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam (and always written with a capital G).
Source: World History Encyclopedia – Monotheism in the Ancient World
Interfaith
Definition: The word “interfaith” describes an interaction between people of different religions or faith traditions. But it is more than that. It is about understanding people’s significant differences, but also recognizing their similarities, and working together for peace, justice and healing in the world.
Source: United Religions Initiative
Islamophobia
Definition: Researchers and policy groups define Islamophobia in differing detail, but the term’s essence is essentially the same, no matter the source: An exaggerated fear, hatred, and hostility toward Islam and Muslims that is perpetuated by negative stereotypes resulting in bias, discrimination, and the marginalization and exclusion of Muslims from social, political, and civic life.
Source: Islamophobia: Understanding Anti-Muslim Sentiment in the West – Gallup.com
Definition: The term “Islamophobia” was first introduced as a concept in a 1991 Runnymede Trust Report and defined as “unfounded hostility towards Muslims, and therefore fear or dislike of all or most Muslims.”
The term was coined in the context of Muslims in the UK in particular and Europe in general, and formulated based on the more common “xenophobia” framework.
The report pointed to prevailing attitudes that incorporate the following beliefs:
- Islam is monolithic and cannot adapt to new realities
- Islam does not share common values with other major faiths
- Islam as a religion is inferior to the West. It is archaic, barbaric, and irrational.
- Islam is a religion of violence and supports terrorism.
- Islam is a violent political ideology.
Source: Charter for Compassion.org
Polytheism
Definition: A religion based on belief in multiple deities.
Source: Open Education Sociology Dictionary
Definition: One who believes in the existence of more than one deity. A polytheist often believes in both Gods and Goddesses.
Source: ReligiousTolerance.org
Religion
Definition: Title VII defines “religion” very broadly. It includes traditional, organized religions such as Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism. It also includes religious beliefs that are new, uncommon, not part of a formal church or sect, or only held by a small number of people.
Some practices are religious for one person, but not religious for another person, such as not working on Saturday or on Sunday. One person may not work on Saturday for religious reasons; another person may not work on Saturday for family reasons. Under Title VII, a practice is religious if the employee’s reason for the practice is religious.
Social, political, or economic philosophies, or personal preferences, are not “religious” beliefs under Title VII.
Source: U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commision
Definition: There is no one definitive definition of religion that is generally accepted by scholars.
- The cognitive dimension of religion comprises the conscious, intellectual factors such as their view of the universe and the world, their system of values, their beliefs in the existence of the “supernatural,” i.e. one or more gods or other “supranormal” figures and powers which are supposed to watch over their fates, their needs and their values. It is typical of religions that they are maintained by traditions transmitted from one generation to another or from people to people, including narratives, mythologies and beliefs about the “other.”
- The affection or emotional level refers to religious feelings, attitudes, and experiences. A religious experience is a state of interaction between the natural and the supernatural, a state in which a religious person or rather, tradition acting through him, actualizes a meeting with one of the supernatural figures or powers that dominate his/her religious beliefs.
- The conative or behavioral aspect in religion is seen on the actional level as a form of behavior. Included here are rites, social conventions, such as sacrifices, prayers, charms and claims with the aid of which an individual, a group or a society can achieve by traditional methods some kind of spiritual union or connection with their supernatural figures. Another important part of the conative dimension is related to morals. Besides rituals and cults, religions usually presuppose certain ethical behavior.
- The social factor forms a fundamental part of every religion. Religion usually presupposes the existence of a group or a society whose duty it is to watch over the religious views of the followers, to carry out certain tasks together, and also to control the cultic and ethical behaviors of the believers.
- The cultural level is an often neglected but a very influenceable and comprehensive factor as far as every religion is concerned. It essentially becomes manifest in the dependence of religion, both in time and space, on the ecological, social and cultural environments in which respective religions are practiced.
Source: Adapted from The five dimensions of religion – The Church of Scientology – Juha Pentikäinen, Ph.D. and Marja Pentikäinen, MSC (1996)
Religious Accommodation
Definition: Religious accommodation refers to an employer’s duty to reasonably accommodate an employee’s religious observance or practice if the employer can provide it without undue hardship to its business.
Under Title VII, an employer or other covered entity may use a variety of methods to provide reasonable accommodations to its employees. Some of the most common methods are: Scheduling Changes, Voluntary Substitutes, and Shift Swaps; Changing an employee’s job tasks or providing a lateral transfer; Making an exception to dress and grooming rules; Use of the work facility for a religious observance; Accommodations relating to payment of union dues or agency fees; and Accommodating prayer, proselytizing, and other forms of religious expression.
Source: Adapted from U.S Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Definition: A religious accommodation is a change in work or school schedule or environment, or in the way tasks or assignments are customarily done, made to enable a student or employee to participate in his/her religious practice or belief.
Source: Adpated from The University of Arizona – Religious Accommodation Policy
Spirituality
Definition: Spirituality involves the recognition of a feeling or sense or belief that there is something greater than myself, something more to being human than sensory experience, and that the greater whole of which we are part is cosmic or divine in nature.
Spirituality means knowing that our lives have significance in a context beyond a mundane everyday existence at the level of biological needs that drive selfishness and aggression. It means knowing that we are a significant part of a purposeful unfolding of Life in our universe.
Source: Royal College of Psychiatrists
Definition: Spirituality is more of an individual practice and has to do with having a sense of peace and purpose. It also relates to the process of developing beliefs around the meaning of life and connection with others.
Spirituality is also used as a way of gaining perspective, recognising that our role in life has a greater value than just what we do every day. It can separate a person from dependence on material things and establish a greater purpose. Some people also see spirituality as a way of coping with change or uncertainty
Source: Ideas.org – What is Spirituality?
Theism
Definition: Theism, in turn, is best understood as a proposition—something that is either true or false. It is often defined as “the belief that God exists”, but here “belief” means “something believed”.
Source: Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Definition: A belief in the existence of a personal God who is active in the universe. Sometimes used to include persons who believe in the existence of multiple deities, but who worship only one.
Source: ReligiousTolerance.org