GCSE Religious
Studies Revision Notes
,Believing In God
Numinous – The feeling of the presence of something greater than you
Conversion – When your life is changed by giving it to God.
Miracle – Something, which seems to break the law of science and makes you
think only God, could have done it.
Prayer – To communicate with God.
Design – Evidence for Gods existence in the design of the world.
Causation – When things are started and seem to have a purpose.
Agnosticism – Not being sure of whether God exists.
Atheism – Believing God does not exist.
Moral Evil – Actions done by humans that cause suffering for example murder.
Natural evil – Things that cause suffering but have nothing to do with humans for
example earthquakes.
Omnipotent – The belief that God is all-powerful.
Benevolent – The belief that God is good/kind.
Omniscient – The belief that God knows everything that has happened and
everything that will happen.
Theodicy – A way of explaining why there is suffering made in a world by a good
all-powerful God.
Matters of Life and Death
Resurrection – After death nothing happens until a time in the future when the
dead will be brought back to life and be given an immortal body.
Immortality of the soul – The belief that humans have a body and soul, which
survives death, and after death enters a spiritual state where God is.
Purgatory – A place where Catholics believe souls go to be made clean of sin.
Heaven – A place of paradise where God rules.
Hell – A place of horrors where the devil rules.
Paranormal – Something strange that cannot be explained for example ghosts.
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, Sanctity of life – Believing that life is special and made by God.
Abortion – The removal of the foetus from the womb before it can survive.
Euthanasia – An easy and gentle death.
Assisted suicide – Providing a seriously ill person with the means to die.
Voluntary euthanasia - The situation where someone is dying in pain asks a
doctor to end his/her life painlessly.
Non-voluntary euthanasia – Ending someone’s life painlessly when they are
unable to ask, but you have a good reason for thinking that they want to.
Contraception – Preventing conception from occurring.
Marriage and the Family
Cohabitation – Living together without being married as if you are married.
Marriage – When a man and a woman are legally united.
Faithfulness - Only having sex with the person you are married to.
Pre marital sex – Sex before marriage.
Promiscuity – Having sex with a number of partners without commitment.
Adultery – An act of sexual intercourse between a married person and someone
they are not married to.
Annulment –The church saying the marriage never happened. One or both of the
couple did not mean their vows.
Re marriage – Marrying again after being divorced from a pervious marriage.
Nuclear family – Mother, father and children living together as a family.
Extended family – Children, parents, and grandparents/aunts/uncles living as a
family.
Re constituted family – Where two sets of children (step brothers and sisters)
become one family when their divorced parents marry each other.
Homosexuality – Sexual attraction to the same sex.
Social Harmony
Equality – Everyone having equal rights regardless of gender/class/race.
Sexism – Discriminating against people because of their gender (being male or
female.)
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Studies Revision Notes
,Believing In God
Numinous – The feeling of the presence of something greater than you
Conversion – When your life is changed by giving it to God.
Miracle – Something, which seems to break the law of science and makes you
think only God, could have done it.
Prayer – To communicate with God.
Design – Evidence for Gods existence in the design of the world.
Causation – When things are started and seem to have a purpose.
Agnosticism – Not being sure of whether God exists.
Atheism – Believing God does not exist.
Moral Evil – Actions done by humans that cause suffering for example murder.
Natural evil – Things that cause suffering but have nothing to do with humans for
example earthquakes.
Omnipotent – The belief that God is all-powerful.
Benevolent – The belief that God is good/kind.
Omniscient – The belief that God knows everything that has happened and
everything that will happen.
Theodicy – A way of explaining why there is suffering made in a world by a good
all-powerful God.
Matters of Life and Death
Resurrection – After death nothing happens until a time in the future when the
dead will be brought back to life and be given an immortal body.
Immortality of the soul – The belief that humans have a body and soul, which
survives death, and after death enters a spiritual state where God is.
Purgatory – A place where Catholics believe souls go to be made clean of sin.
Heaven – A place of paradise where God rules.
Hell – A place of horrors where the devil rules.
Paranormal – Something strange that cannot be explained for example ghosts.
2
, Sanctity of life – Believing that life is special and made by God.
Abortion – The removal of the foetus from the womb before it can survive.
Euthanasia – An easy and gentle death.
Assisted suicide – Providing a seriously ill person with the means to die.
Voluntary euthanasia - The situation where someone is dying in pain asks a
doctor to end his/her life painlessly.
Non-voluntary euthanasia – Ending someone’s life painlessly when they are
unable to ask, but you have a good reason for thinking that they want to.
Contraception – Preventing conception from occurring.
Marriage and the Family
Cohabitation – Living together without being married as if you are married.
Marriage – When a man and a woman are legally united.
Faithfulness - Only having sex with the person you are married to.
Pre marital sex – Sex before marriage.
Promiscuity – Having sex with a number of partners without commitment.
Adultery – An act of sexual intercourse between a married person and someone
they are not married to.
Annulment –The church saying the marriage never happened. One or both of the
couple did not mean their vows.
Re marriage – Marrying again after being divorced from a pervious marriage.
Nuclear family – Mother, father and children living together as a family.
Extended family – Children, parents, and grandparents/aunts/uncles living as a
family.
Re constituted family – Where two sets of children (step brothers and sisters)
become one family when their divorced parents marry each other.
Homosexuality – Sexual attraction to the same sex.
Social Harmony
Equality – Everyone having equal rights regardless of gender/class/race.
Sexism – Discriminating against people because of their gender (being male or
female.)
3
