Glossary of religious and spiritual terms

Words & phrases starting
with the letters "PA to PO"

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See elsewhere for terms starting with the letters PR to PY

	Pacifism of Islam: The belief in Islam that war is an abnormal activity opposed to the will of God. It is sometimes forced on Muslims. When entered into must be limited, humane, and involve minimal damage to the land and possessions.
	Padre: This is the word for "father" in the Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish languages. Its origin can be traced to the Latin word "pater," which also means father.  It is often used to refer to a member of the Christian clergy, particularly one who is a military chaplain.
	Paedobaptism: Baptism of infants.
	Pagan: (From a Latin word for village peasant). This word has many unrelated meanings. Some definitions are: Wiccans and other Neopagans sometimes use Pagan as a synonym for Neopagan. Religious and social conservatives often use the term as a general-purpose "snarl" word to refer to cultures and religions very different from their own. a person who is neither Christian, a Muslim or a Jew. 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. The ancient religions of Egypt, Greece, Rome, and other civilizations are often referred to as Pagan religions. Societies surrounding the ancient Israelites are often referred to as Pagan. 1
	Pagoda: A religious building, especially a multistory Buddhist tower in the Far East, erected as a memorial or shrine.
	Palm reading: Attempting to foretell a person's future and reveal their past through an analysis of the lines on a person's hand. Fortune tellers generally have great confidence in this technique. Many conservative Christians consider it a dangerous form of divination forbidden in the Bible.
	Panentheism, Panentheist: (From the Greek pan-en-theos which means all-in-God) Like Pantheism, Panentheism includes the belief that God is in everything. The belief that the entire universe - substances, forces and laws -- is God - the universe is God's body. But, in addition, God is seen as transcending the universe. This belief is seen in Process Theology and in some components of New Age belief. Leading Panentheists in the present and recent past are John Cobb, Charles Hartshorne, Shubert Ogden, and Alfred North Whitehead.
	Pan Indianism: A a recent and growing movement which encourages Native Americans to return to traditional beliefs, and seek to create a common Native religion.
	Pantheism, Pantheist: From the Greek words "pan" (all) and "theos" (God). God is all. The belief that every existing entity (humans, animals, etc.) together, is a part of God. The entire universe is divine. They do not view God in personal terms, as having a personality, having the ability to make decisions, able to interact with humans, etc.
	Pantheon: A group of Gods and/or Goddesses worshiped by a single religion. One example was the Greek pantheon. The term originated with the name of a building: the Pantheon -- a circular temple built in the first century BCE in Rome, and dedicated to all of the deities.
	Parachurch: A religious organization that operates outside of a denomination or sect. Their membership, catchment area, and message often cut across denominational lines. Typical examples are Promise Keepers, Focus on the Family, the Family Research Council.
	Paradise: From the Greek word for park or garden. The afterlife destination taught by Islam that will be attained by persons who have done a predominance of good works.
	Parchment: Sheets of prepared animal skin used for recording documents.
	Parousia: From the Greek word "parousia," meaning "presence." The second coming when many Christians expect Jesus Christ to return to earth. This is a major focus of most conservative Christians.
	Parthenogenesis: Virgin birth.
	Partial life: This is a Jewish term to refer to the status of a fetus. In Jewish law, a fetus normally becomes a full human person when its head emerges from the birth canal. Before that event, the fetus is considered of lesser importance than a full human being. The same term has many other meanings in biology and manufacturing.
	Particular Redemption: This is the third of The Five Points of Calvinism: the belief that Jesus did not die to save all humans. He died only for the sake of specific sins of those who are saved. Sometimes called "Limited atonement."
	Passive resistance: A non-violent method of opposing oppression through the use of non-cooperation.
	Passover: This is the most important feast of the Jewish calendar, celebrated at the first full moon after the Vernal Equinox. The name "Passover" was derived from the actions of the angel of death as described in the book of Exodus. The angel "passed over" the homes of the Jews which were marked with the blood obtained from a ritual animal sacrifice. The same angel murdered the first-born child and first-born animals of every Egyptian family whose doorway was not so marked.
	Past life regression: A therapeutic technique in which the patient is urged to imagine going back in time, past their birth, into a former lifetime. It is a suggestive treatment method that can easily generate memories of events that never happened without either the patient or therapist being aware of the process.
	Patina: A covering that forms naturally on hard surfaces over a long interval. One example is the green layer that forms on copper metal or copper alloys as a result of corrosion. Another is a varnish-like coating found on limestone ossuaries (bone boxes) such as James alleged ossuary and the ossuaries allegedly belonging to Jesus' immediate family.
	Patriarchs: A groups of early Hebrew leaders, including Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob The title given to the current leader of various Eastern Orthodox churches The title given in early Christianity to the bishops at the five main Christian centers: Alexandria, Antioch, Constantinople, Jerusalem, and Rome.
	Peccability: The concept that Jesus Christ could have sinned if he had wanted to.
	Pedobaptism: The practice of baptizing an infant. Most conservative Protestant denominations defer baptism until later in life when a person becomes born again.
	Pedophile: From two Greek words: ''pedo" means "child;" and "philia" means "love for." This is a word whose meaning is changing. In the past, it referred to an adult who is sexually attracted to pre-pubescent children -- often those who fall into a specific age range, like 5 or 6. Currently, it is evolving to mean a person who sexually molests pre-pubescent children. See hebephile.
	Pelagianism: A concept proposed by Pelagious (circa 356 to circa 418) who denied the existence of original sin inherited from Adam. He taught that a soul created by god cannot inherit sin from an ancestor. Thus humans are born morally neutral. They can fall into habits of sin but can overcome sin through mental effort. He promoted adult baptism in place of infant baptism. His beliefs were declared heretical by the Christian movement.
	Penance: A Roman Catholic sacrament in which sins are forgiven by a priest.
	Pentacle: a five pointed star inside a circle -- most commonly used by Wiccans and other Neopagans. Some Satanists invert the pentacle so that one point is downwards and two upwards; they often add a goat's head to the inverted pentacle.
	Pentagram: a five pointed star. Wiccans and other Neopagans are the main North American groups who use a pentagram as a religious symbol. They orient the star with one point upwards, two downwards. The points of the star are often interpreted to refer to earth, air, water, fire and spirit. Satanists, who are numerically much smaller group than Wiccans, sometimes use an inverted pentagram.
	Pentateuch: See Torah
	Pentecost: From the Greek word "pentecoste" which means the 50th day.  In Christianity, a holy day celebrated 49 days after Easter Sunday. It recalls the visitation of the Holy Spirit to 120 Christians 50 days after Jesus' resurrection. They spoke in tongues This is usually regarded as the date of the birth of the Christian church. Also known as Whitsunday. In Judaism, a festival which was called "Pentecost," because it was observed 50 days after Passover.

	Pentecostals: those Christian individuals, churches and denominations who believe in the Holy Spirit Baptism, a second manifestation of the power God of which follows an individual's conversion to Christianity. It is evidenced by glossolilia, or "speaking in tongues". Services are highly emotional. There are about 50 Pentecostal denominations in North America, including the Assemblies of God, Church of God in Christ, Association of Vineyard Churches, the Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship, United Pentecostal Church International, Church of God in Christ and the Pentecostal World Conference. This is the fastest growing family of denominations in Christianity. Its roots can be traced to the National Holiness Movement which came into being after the Civil War, and to the Baptist, Methodist denominations. Most denominations allow women to become at least junior pastors. Jim Bakker, Benny Hinn, Jimmy Swaggart and Pat Robertson are among the most famous Pentecostal leaders. BeliefNet estimated that there are about 24 million Pentecostal followers in the U.S. in early 2001.
	Perfectionism: The belief that a person can attain a state of sinlesslessness.
	Perseverance of the Saints: This is the fifth of the five points of Calvinism:  It is the belief that whoever is saved and will remain saved forever. "Once saved, always saved."
	Perspicuous: Text that is written in a style that is clear, unambiguous, easy to understand, and not subject to interpretation.
	Pesach: Hebrew term for Passover. It celebrates the escape from slavery in Egypt.
	Pesher: Hebrew term for interpretation. The term refers to a system of interpretation of scripture which views scripture as written in two levels: a surface meaning for the general public, and a deeper, concealed level for Hebrew specialists.
	Pharisees: From the Hebrew word perushim which means separatists. A Jewish religious party composed of the synagogue rabbis and their followers. They formed one of about two dozen Jewish religious groups during the 1st century CE.
	Phylacteries (a.k.a. Tefillin): Small black leather boxes worn by Orthodox Jewish males on their forehead head and non-dominant arm at weekday morning prayer. They contain passages from the Torah.
	Physico-theology: A 17th and 18th century approach to the belief in God derived from observations of physics in nature. William Derhamwrote a book with the same name in 1711. He said: "Let us ransack all the globe, let us with the greatest accuracy inspect every part thereof...pry into them with all our microscopes and most exquisite instruments, till we find them to bear testimony to their infinite workman."
	Pietism: "...a religious reawakening in the Lutheran and Reformed churches in Germany and the Anglican church in England during the 17th and 18th centuries. Pietism stresses conversion and a personal experience of salvation, Bible study, devotional life, evangelical witness and a continuous openness to new light. There is also an emphasis on Christian social responsibility..." 3
	Pluralism: In a religious sense, the term has two quite different meanings: The belief that all religions and secular world views are legitimate and valid. Each is "true" when viewed from within its own culture. Other common views of religions are exclusivism and inclusivism. The fact that religious diversity exists within in a country or the world. Unfortunately, it is sometimes not obvious from the context which definition an author or speaker is using. This makes dialog on pluralism rather difficult.  More details.
	Plurality: In a religious sense: A situation in which many different religions or world views exist in a country.
	Pneumatology: The study of spiritual beings and phenomena. Within Christianity, the theological study of the Holy Spirit -- one person within the Christian Trinity.
	Progrom: From the Russian word for "devastation." Christian attacks on Jews, generally in Europe and Russia. Unlike the Holocaust, they were sporadic not systematic. They lasted for centuries.
	Polemics: A systematic defense of a religious belief system from attacks from within the same religion. See Apologetics.
	Politically correct: Treating other people's religion, culture, etc. with sensitivity. Normally used as a term of denigration.
	Polyandry: The extremely rare practice in which a woman is married to more than one husband.
	Polygamy: An umbrella term encompassing both polyandry and polygyny.
	Polygyny: The practice whereby a man has more than one wife. This was seen in many places in the Bible. It is still practiced in predominately Muslim countries where a man can generally be married to up to four wives -- but only if he can treat them equally. This is seen in many Western U.S. states among some fundamentalist Mormon denominations. It is legal -- sort of -- in British Columbia, Canada.
	Polytheist: one who believes in the existence of more than one deity. A polytheist often believes in both Gods and Goddesses. Often confused with "henotheist."
	Porajmos (a.k.a. Porrajmos): Romani word for "the Devouring." The systematic extermination of about 400,000 Roma (a.k.a. Gypsies) during World War II by the Nazi German regime. The total Nazi extermination program, totaled ten to fourteen million humans, included Jews, Roma, Russians, Poles, other Slavs, homosexuals, Jehovah's Witnesses etc. .
	Positive Confession: (a.k.a. Word of Faith movement, Health & Wealth Gospel, Name it and Claim it, and Faith-formula). A group of conservative Protestant para-church ministries which focus on "anointed" ministers and the health, wealth, and success of their viewers and donors. MinistryWatch estimates that their total income is in excess of a half billion dollars annually. 2
	Positive Discrimination: Giving special privileges to a historically disadvantaged group -- often defined by race. Preferential access to education offered to African Americans in the U.S., and reservation of a minimum quota of civil service jobs for Dalits (the untouchable caste) in India are two examples. Sometimes, legislation that guarantees equal treatment of persons of all sexual orientations is incorrectly described as giving special privileges to homosexuals.
	Positivism: The philosophical system created by August Comte (1798�1857) in France. The only truths are those that can conclude by direct observation or by experimentation. It lowers theology, religious revelation and metaphysics to the level of mere speculation.
	Post Conservatism: Within Evangelical Christianity, this is a loosely defined reform movement that may include such topics as an open concept of God, major changes to the doctrines of revelation and the authority of the Bible, an end to strict roles for men and women, and an inclusive belief of salvation that includes people who have no knowledge of Christ.
	Postmillennialism: (aka Post-millennialism): The belief that we are now living in the Millennium period. After this is over, Jesus will return to earth and conduct the final judgment. This was the near universal belief system of Protestants during the 17th and 18th century. It has since been replaced by Pre-millennialism among conservative Christians.
	Post Modernism: (a.k.a. Postmodernism): The term means different things to different people. Some use it as a general purpose "snarl" word to attack all religiously liberal thought. Others define it as a belief that there are no absolute social/religious/cultural truths. Relative truths exist, but they are only valid for a given culture at a given time. Other traditions, religions, eras, races, genders, cultures, and groups believe/believed in other, often conflicting, truths. All of these alternative "truths" are valid, at least to the group that follows them. Postmodernism has been adopted by some liberal Christians, but is regarded as a serious error by all or essentially all conservative Christians who firmly believe that absolute truths exist.

See elsewhere for terms
starting with letters PR to PY.

References and comments:

1. We recommend that the term never be used in speech or written form unless it is carefully pre-defined. Otherwise mass confusion will occur. We suggest that you use the actual name of the religious group that you are referring to: e.g. Hindu, Animist, Wiccan, Neopagan, etc. to avoid ambiguity.
2. "A critical look at the 'Word of Faith' ministries," Ministry Watch Reflections, 2003-OCT, at: http://www.ministrywatch.com/ This is a PDF file. You may require software to read it. Software can be obtained free from: 
3. Wayne Sutton, "Frequently Asked Questions," Church of the Brethren, at: http://www.cob-net.org/

Copyright © 1996 to 2009 by Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Originally published on: 1996-MAR-11
Last update: 2009-FEB-156
Author: B.A. Robinson

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