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Lesson 15

The Catholic Church and Other Religious Groups in America

New Age Spirituality is an eclectic combination of beliefs and practices, some of which resemble Hinduism and Buddhism, as well as certain ancient Christian heresies such as Gnosticism.

Lesson Vocabulary

  • New Religious Movements
    :
    (n.): The general term for relatively new religious traditions that do not play a dominant part in the broader culture.
  • Mormonism
    :
    (n.): A faith tradition founded by Joseph Smith and centered on the Book of Mormon, which purports to contain the record of a new revelation of Jesus Christ in North America. Also known as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- day Saints (LDS).
  • The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
    :
    (n.): The title Mormons give to their assembly. (Catholics would not refer to it as a “church” because of its lack of apostolic succession, valid Sacraments, and other reasons.)
  • Book of Mormon
    :
    (n.): The core text of the LDS tradition, which presents itself as “Another Testament of Jesus Christ” and was produced by Jospeh Smith who claimed to have translated it from golden plates buried in New York.
  • Restorationist
    :
    (adj.): A term describing religious movements dedicated to bringing back into existence (that is, restoring) what they believe is Christ’s original Church.
  • Quorum of Twelve Apostles
    :
    (n.): The second highest governing body of the LDS church under the First Presidency. One of their roles is to choose a new president of the LDS church upon the death of the current one.
  • First Presidency
    :
    (n.): The highest office in the LDS church, composed of the president and his counselors (usually two).
  • Jehovah's Witnesses
    :
    (n.): The Restorationist movement founded by Charles Taze Russell in the 1870s.
  • Jehovah
    :
    (n.): The name Witnesses believe is God’s proper name, which is necessary for proper worship.
  • Governing Body
    :
    (n.): Group of elders who lead the Jehovah’s Witnesses community, establishing doctrine through the members’ interpretation of the Bible.
  • Watch Tower Society
    :
    (n.): The entity in charge of directing and disseminating doctrine for the world’s Witnesses.
  • Armageddon
    :
    (n.): The final battle between God and the armies of darkness hinted at in the Book of Revelation.
  • The Watchtower
    :
    (n.): The illustrated magazine publication of the Watch Tower Society, containing analysis of world events from the perspective of Jehovah’s Witnesses’ interpretation of the Bible.
  • Seventh-day Adventist Church
    :
    (n.): Faith tradition distinguished by its observance of Saturday Sabbath, various health-related dietary laws, and an emphasis on the imminent Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
  • New Age Spirituality
    :
    (n.): The general term for a range of beliefs and practices that developed in the Western world during the 1970s.
  • Gnosticism
    :
    (n.): The name given to a heresy of the early Church that taught, among other things, that Jesus was not fully human, the material world was evil, and salvation was achieved through secret knowledge, or gnosis.
  • Gnosis
    :
    (n.): The Greek word for knowledge. New age spirituality generally calls for humans to ascend to higher spheres of knowledge, which they call gnosis.
  • Centering
    :
    (n.): A form of new age meditation focused on blanking the mind, sometimes involving the selection of a sacred word that is repeated.
  • Reincarnation
    :
    (n.): The rebirth of souls who have died into new bodies.
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