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Shadism: (a.k.a. colorism): A form of racism within the African American community that gives preferential treatment to light skinned persons. See also: colorism, homophobia, racism, religism, sexism, and transphobia | ||||||
| Shalom: A Hebrew word for peace; often used as a greeting and
farewell. | ||||||
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Shamanism: This is a "system of religious and medical
beliefs and practices that centers on the shaman, a specific type of
magico-religious practitioner...who specializes in contacting and
controlling the supernatural." 1 Shamans may be either male or female. Their main task
is healing. Shamanism was originally centered in central
Asia and Siberia, but is now found in all of the continents of the world. | ||||||
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Shari'ah: Four codes of Islamic law. In some cases, Shari'ah provides
for very severe punishment -- including limb amputation or execution by very painful means. Some transgressions
are viewed as serious crimes, although they are seen as minor and/or
victimless crimes in the West. | ||||||
| Shakti: (a. k.a. Chiti, Chit Shakti, Kundalini) The Creative
Principle in Hinduism. She is viewed as a female Goddess because she gives
birth to all things. Sometimes viewed as Devi in her benevolent aspect. | ||||||
| Shaytan: The Muslim name of the evil entity called Satan -- the
Devil -- in Christianity. | ||||||
| Shechitah: A Hebrew term for the ritual sacrifice of animals. | ||||||
| Sheep stealing: The practice of some Christian faith groups who
attempt to convert other Christians to membership in their denomination. | ||||||
| Shema: A Jewish prayer, customarily repeated morning, evening
and just before going to sleep. It begins: "Hear, Israel, the Lord is
our God, the Lord is One." See Deuteronomy 6:4-9 | ||||||
| Shepherding: An relationship in which an experienced Christian, a shepherd, is selected
to supervise a new convert. In some denominations, the senior person
closely controls almost every aspect of the convert's life. This has major
potential to generate spiritual abuse. | ||||||
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Shi'a (a.k.a. Shi'ite and Shiism): The smaller of the two main traditions within
Islam. Islam split into two main traditions after the death of the prophet Muhammad: Sunni and Shi'a. The main dispute was over the mechanism to be used to select his successor. The religion has remained divided, with much mutual hatred, violence, and mass murder. | ||||||
| Shinto: This is the indigenous
religion of Japan. Starting about 500 BCE (or
earlier) it was originally "an amorphous mix of nature
worship, fertility cults, divination techniques, hero worship, and
shamanism." 2 It later became the state religion
of the country. Church and state were separated just after World War
II. | ||||||
| Sheol: A Jewish underworld. A place of the dead in which good and
the evil persons alike share an energyless existence separated from God.
Mistranslated as "Hell" in the King James Version of the Bible. | ||||||
| Shiva: An mourning interval of seven days following the burial of a
family member. | ||||||
| Shoa: (a.k.a. Shoa and Sho'ah) the killing of five to seven million
European Jews by the Nazi government during World War II. Sometimes
referred to as the Holocaust, although the latter term is sometimes used
to refer to all of the ten to fourteen groups of victims, which included Jews, Roma (a.k.a.
Gypsies), Russians, Poles, other Slavs, homosexuals,
Jehovah's Witnesses, political prisoners, etc.
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| Shofar: A ram's horn used in some Jewish services. | ||||||
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Shrine: Derived from the Old French word "escrim" which referred to a box or case. A sacred place that holds a collection of objects representing a deity, saint, hero, ancestor, martyr, or similar figure of great religious significance. | ||||||
| Shul: A Yiddish word for a Jewish synagogue. | ||||||
| Shunning: (a.k.a. Disfellowshipping): This is a method of
disciplining or punishing a member who strays from the group's expected
behavior or belief. Other members --often including friends and family --
are expected to have no contact with the shunned individual. In a high
intensity faith group where a believer's entire support network is
composed of fellow members, this can have disastrous consequences; some
have been moved to commit suicide. Various forms of shunning are practiced
by Amish, Jehovah's
Witnesses, and other conservative religious groups as a means of forcing
conformity of belief and behavior. | ||||||
| Sikhism: Although religious scholars
generally view Sikhism as a blend of Hinduism and Islam, most Sikhs believe
that their religion is unique without precursors, originating from a series of
ten gurus, starting with Guru Nanak. Sikhs believe in a single deity, and
reject class differences. There are about 18 million Sikhs in the world; most
are concentrated in the Punjab region in northwest India. | ||||||
| Simply Green: A South African secular term referring to
a local response to save money, avoid wasting energy and water, minimize
damage to the environment and protect endangered habitats and species. | ||||||
| Sin: In the Bible, the Hebrew and Greek words which are
translated as sin mean failing to hit the target or missing the mark. Most
conservative Christians believe that, since God is pure and just, that a
person who sins just once cannot come into God's presence unless they
first attain salvation. | ||||||
| Sins, The Seven Deadly: The seven deadly sins are: sloth,
covetousness, anger, lust, gluttony, envy, and pride. | ||||||
| Six directions: A Buddhist collection of paths: north, south,
east, west, up and down. Wiccan, other Neopagan traditions, Native
American spirituality and other Aboriginal religions recognize variations
of this -- sometimes including center, and the four points on the compass
that lie between the cardinal directions. | ||||||
| Skandas: In Buddhism, the five principal components of the
personality: form, sensation, perception, impulse, and consciousness. | ||||||
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Slain in the spirit: (a.k.a. "falling under the Spirit's power,"
"falling before the Lord," resting in the spirit." A religious
phenomenon, generally in Pentecostal or
Charismatic meetings in which a person loses motor control over their body,
and falls to the floor. It has variously been attributed to religious
hysteria by mental health professionals and to a personal encounter with God
by fellow believers. Its origins can be traced back to Methodist churches in
the late 18th century and to the Azusa Street Revival in the early 20th century. | ||||||
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Social Darwinism: An attempt to apply Charles Darwin natural
selection principles to human society, thus producing a culture that
embraces the "survival of the fittest" and practices neglect
for those who are less healthy or poor. This is based on a
misunderstanding of Darwin's theories. Natural selection, when applied to
a society, also includes such factors as organizational ability, talent to
inspire others, getting groups to cooperate, creativity, perseverance, mental flexibility, etc., in
addition to physical fitness. | ||||||
| Sodomite:
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| Sola Scriptura: (Latin for "by scripture alone"). This was a
slogan of the Protestant Reformation that is still active among Protestant
faith groups. It is the belief that the Holy Bible is:
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Solstice: The date and time when the sun reaches its
northernmost or southernmost extreme. On the summer solstice, the
interval of daylight is at its maximum and the nighttime interval
is at its minimum for the year. The reverse occurs at the winter solstice. The
solstices happen about June 21 and December 21 in the Northern Hemisphere. Many religious holy
days are synchronized to the solstices. Wiccans, other
Neopagans,
Native Americans, followers of many aboriginal religions worldwide,
and some Atheists
celebrate the solstices. | ||||||
| Sorcery: There are two quite different meanings to this term:
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| Soteriology: From the Greek words "soteria" -- salvation, and
"logos" -- word or reason . The theological study of salvation. | ||||||
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Soul: Equivalent to the Greek word "psuche" -- breath
and the Hebrew word "nephesh" . This word has a
variety of meanings, including: the seat of personality, the individual or
person themselves, the immaterial component of a human, etc. Among
Christians, dichotomists
believe that a person is composed of a body and soul; trichotomists
believe that a person consists of a body, soul, and spirit. Both derive their beliefs from biblical passages. | ||||||
| Soul Freedom: Freedom of conscience (a.k.a. freedom of thought)
as applied to Bible interpretation. This is the concept that an individual has the right and privilege to
interpret Scripture for themselves in the context of their religious community, using the best
available scholarship. Robert Bellah wrote, in 1997: "What was so
important about the Baptists, and other sectarians such as the Quakers, was the absolute centrality of religious
freedom, of the sacredness of individual conscience in matters of religious
belief." 4 | ||||||
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Soul sleep: The belief that, after death, one's soul sleeps -- and thus the person is unconscious --
until the day of resurrection. | ||||||
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Spell: a prayer, or verbal direction of magickal energies toward the accomplishment of some goal. 5 Wiccans and other Pagans often use spells, but are not permitted to use them to dominate, manipulate, control or harm another person. For example, a Wiccan is not permitted to cast a love spell to motivate another person to feel attraction towards them. |
| Spiritism: See necromancy. |
| Spiritualism: See necromancy. |
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Spirituality: from the Latin word "spiritus," which means "wind" or "breath." This term is defined quite differently by monotheists, polytheists, humanists, followers of new age, Native Americans, secularists, etc. Some common meanings are:
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Srivatsa (a.k.a. Swastika in German and English): A cross symbol with equal arms bent at a right angle:
This is an ancient positive symbol used by many religions around the world
-- e.g. Hinduism,
Buddhism, Jainism,
Christianity, Judaism, and by the ancient
Greeks, Germanic tribes, and Native Americans.
6. It was distorted and adopted by the Nazi regime in
Germany. Since the 1930s it has been considered a profoundly evil symbol
throughout the West. |
| Star of David: A Jewish symbol consisting of a six-pointed star. |
| Stewardship: In general usage, stewardship is the wise management
and use of resources, whether by an individual, corporation, government,
etc. Among many religious conservatives it is the concept that God owns
everything and has entrusted certain resources to individual believers who
will eventually be held accountable for what they accomplished with those
resources. |
| Stereotype: A process of generalization by which an entire
group is found to be at fault because of the actions of a few of their
members. One example is to blame all homosexuals for child molestation
because of the actions of NAMBLA, a homosexual pedophile group which is
composed of a handful of members. The term is sometimes used to refer to the condemnation
of an entire group because of events that never happened. One
example was the German Nazi government who blamed the loss of World War I
on the German Jews -- a very small minority at the time, numbering less than 1% of its citizens.
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Stigmata: the presence of wounds on a person's body (usually a woman) in the
places where Jesus is believed to have been injured at his crucifixion. Wound's usually
appear on the palms of the person even though during his crucifixion, Jesus was
either pierced through his wrists or his arms were tied to the crossbar. A nail through the palm of the hand would tear out due to the weight of the body. |
| Suffragan bishop: An assistant or subordinate bishop of an diocese
-- generally in the Roman Catholic Church or Anglican Communion. |
| Stupa: A Buddhist term that refers to a burial monument that
stands for the Buddha and his attainment of enlightenment. |
| Subliminal Messages: Visual or audible
messages shown in a way that prevents the conscious mind from recognizing
them. Visual messages may be flashed on a screen too fast for the person
to sense; audible messages may be played at too low a volume to be
detected. Controlled tests have shown that they are completely
ineffective. Some people still believe that such messages can enter the
individual's subconscious mind and motivate them to take certain actions.
See also backmasking. |
| Subordinationism: An early Christian heresy that Jesus is
eternally subordinated to God the Father. This contrasts with the
traditional Christian view that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are
co-eternal, interdependent, one in substance, and without any form of hierarchy, order or ranking. The heresy has been adopted by many Evangelical
Christians in recent decades and used to support the belief that a woman's role
is to be submissive to other males -- in particular to her husband. |
| Subordination of the Son, Eternal: See
Eternal Subordination of the Son |
| Substance dualism: The concept that the brain and mind are
separate entities: the brain is a physical entity controlled by chemical
and electrical processes; the mind is not physical. |
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Succubus: A female demon who would visit sleeping men at night and
engage in sexual activity. This belief was commonly held during the late
Middle Ages and Renaissance. There were also corresponding male demons, called incubi
who were believed to visit women. |
| Suffragan bishop: an assistant bishop in a diocese. |
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Sufiism: "Sufism or tasawwuf, as it is called in
Arabic, is generally understood by scholars and Sufis to be the inner,
mystical, or psycho-spiritual dimension of Islam." Some Muslims reject the concept
that Sufism is part of Islam. 7 |
| Sunnat: A Muslim term for an act that is desirable but
not obligatory. |
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Sunni: The larger of the two main tradition within Islam. Islam split into two main traditions after the death of the prophet Muhammad: Sunni and Shi'a (a.k.a. Shiism). The main dispute was over the mechanism to be used to select his successor. The religion remains divided, with much mutual hatred, violence and mass murder. |
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Sunyata: A Sanskrit term for "emptiness." It is a
Buddhist term that asserts that "... everything one encounters in life is
empty of absolute identity, permanence, or 'self'. This is because
everything is inter-related and mutually dependent - never wholly
self-sufficient or independent. 8 |
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Supercessionism: (a.k.a. Replacement Theology). This is the theological concept that,
because the vast majority of Jews in the first century CE did not accept Jesus as their Messiah, God
unilaterally terminated his covenants with the Jewish people and transferred them to the followers of Christianity.
It relegates Judaism to an inferior position and recognizes Christianity as
the 'true' or 'spiritual' Israel. This concept was first developed by Justin
Martyr (circa 100 to 165 CE) and Irenaeus of Lyon (circa 130 to 200 CE). It was largely
accepted within the church by the 4th century. It has led to a great deal of
persecution of Jews by Christians. Many conservative
Protestants still believe in this principle. In opposition to
supercessionism is the dual covenant theory -- that God has a different and separate covenant with both Jews and Christians. |
| Sura: (a.k.a. Surah): one of the 114 chapters in the
Qur'an. They are generally sorted in decreasing length. |
| Sutra: A Buddhist scripture that includes a te |