Items

• universalism (theological)

  The belief that all people will ultimately be saved.
• utopia (theological concept)

  The ideal or perfect society envisioned in Christian theology.
• Vatican declaration

  Church pronouncements made by the Vatican on doctrinal or moral issues.
• Vatican II

  The Second Vatican Council (1962-1965), which modernized many aspects of Catholic Church practice and doctrine.
• vaticinium

  A prophetic utterance or prediction in Christian theology.
• veneration of saints

  The respectful honor given to saints in many Christian traditions.
• verbal inspiration

  The belief that every word of the Bible is inspired by God.
• vicarious atonement

  The doctrine that Jesus died as a substitute for sinners, bearing their punishment.
• virtue ethics

  A moral philosophy focusing on development of good character traits or virtues.
• word of God

  The revelation of God to humanity, especially through Scripture and Jesus Christ.
• word-faith movement

  A movement emphasizing the power of spoken faith to manifest blessings and healing.
• worldview (theological)

  A comprehensive perspective through which one interprets the meaning of life and reality.
• Yahweh

  The personal name of God revealed to Moses in the Old Testament.
• Yom Kippur

  The Jewish Day of Atonement, a solemn day of fasting and repentance.
• zeal

  Passionate enthusiasm for God’s law or cause.
• zealot

  From the Greek word “zelotes’ which means one who is “zealous” or “an enthusiast, devoted follower.
• Zechariah

  A prophet in the Old Testament known for visions and prophecies of restoration.
• zionism (theological aspect)

  The religious and political movement supporting the return of Jews to their ancestral homeland.
• zoroastrianism (theological impact)

  The influence of ancient Persian religion on Jewish and Christian ideas of good and evil.
• achieved status

  A social position attained through personal effort, skills, or accomplishments rather than assigned at birth. Examples: graduate, doctor, athlete (Thinking Sociologically Glossary; Luo, 2019).
• affirmative action

  Policies favoring groups historically subjected to discrimination, intended to counteract past exclusion and promote diversity and equal opportunity (Vue, Haslerig & Allen, 2017).
• alienation

  In Marxism, the process by which workers become estranged from their labor, products, fellow workers, and human potential under capitalism. More broadly, a problematic separation between a self and something that belongs to it (Thinking Sociologically Glossary; Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy).
• anomie

  Refers to a social condition characterised by the breakdown of norms governing social interaction (The Penguin Dictionary of Sociology, 1984).
• anthropocene

  A proposed geological epoch in which human activity has become a dominant force shaping Earth systems and environmental change (Peša, 2022).
• ascribed status

  A social position assigned at birth or involuntarily, based on sex, race, ethnicity, or family background. Defined by Ralph Linton as "assigned to individuals without reference to their innate differences or abilities" (Foladare, 1968; Thinking Sociologically Glossary).