| a cappella | choral singing without instrumental accompaniment
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| abbot | (Latin, "father") the superior of an abbey or monastery for men; the female equivalent in a convent of nuns is called an "abbess"
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| ambulatory | a covered walkway, outdoors or indoors
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| antiphonal | a type of music in which two or more groups of voices or instruments alternate with one another
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| apostle | disciple
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| arabesque | in the visual arts, a type of linear ornamentation featuring plant and flower forms; in ballet, a position in which the dancer stands on one leg with the other extended behind and one or both arms held to create the longest line possible from one extremity of the body to the other
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| ascetic | one who practices strict self-denial and self-discipline
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| avatar | (Sanskrit, "incarnation") the incarnation of a Hindu deity
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| bodhisattva | (Sanskrit, "one whose essence is enlightenment") a being who has postponed his or her own entry into nirvana in order to assist others in reaching that goal; worshipped as a deity in Mahayana Buddhism
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| caliph | the official successor to Muhammad and theocratic ruler of an Islamic state
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| canon law | the ecclesiastical law that governs the Christian Church
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| canonic | authoritative
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| cantor | the official in Judaism who sings or chants the liturgy; the official in medieval Christianity in charge of music at a cathedral, later a choir leader and soloist for the responsorial singing
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| catacomb | a subterranean complex consisting of burial chambers and galleries with recesses for tombs
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| chatra | an umbrellalike shape that signifies the sacred tree under which the Buddha reached nirvana
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| clerestory | (also, "clerestory") the upper part of the nave, whose walls contain openings for light
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| covenant | contract; the bond between the Hebrew people and their God
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| Diaspora | (Greek, "scattering") the dispersion of the Jews after the Babylonian Captivity
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| Dogma | a prescribed body of doctrines concerning faith or morals, formally stated and authoritatively proclaimed
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| ecumenical | worldwide in extent; representing the unity of Christian churches
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| gallery | the area between the clerestory and the nave arcade, usually adorned with mosaics in early Christian churches
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| hajj | pilgrimage to Mecca, the fifth Pillar of the Faith in Islam
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| hijra | (Arabic, "migration" or "flight") Muhammad's journey from Mecca to Medina in 622 C.E.
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| icon | (Greek, "likeness") the image of a saint or other religious figure
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| iconoclast | one who opposes the use of images in religious worship
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| iconography | the study, identification, and interpretation of subject matter in art; also the visual imagery that conveys specific concepts and ideas
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| imam | a Muslim prayer leader
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| infidel | a nonbeliever
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| jihad | (Arabic, "struggle" [to follow God's will]) the struggle to lead a virtuous life and to further the universal mission of Islam through teaching, preaching, and when necessary, warfare
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| Kaaba | (Arabic, "cube") a religious sanctuary in Mecca; a square temple containing the sacred Black Stone thought to have been delivered to Abraham by the Angel Gabriel
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| liturgy | the prescribed rituals or body of rites for public worship
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| mandala | a diagrammatic map of the universe used as a visual aid to meditation and as a ground plan for Hindu and Buddhist temples shrines
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| melismatic | having many notes of music to one syllable
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| menorah | a seven-branched candelabrum
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| Messiah | (Hebrew, "anointed") the promised and expected deliverer or savior of the Jewish people; in Greek, Christos
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| mihrab | a special niche in the wall of a mosque that indicated the direction of Mecca
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| minaret | a tall, slender tower usually attached to a mosque and surrounded by a balcony from which the muezzin summons Muslims to prayer
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| minbar | a stepped pulpit in a mosque
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| mosque | the Muslim house of worship
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| mudra | (Sanskrit, "sign") a symbolic gesture commonly used in Buddhist art
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| muezzin | a "crier" who calls the hours of Muslim prayer five times a day
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| mullah | a Muslim trained in Islamic law and doctrine
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| narthex | a porch or vestibule at the main entrance of a church
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| nave | the central aisle of a church between the altar and the apse, usually demarcated from the side aisles by columns or piers
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| neume | a mark or symbol indicated the direction of the voice in the early notation of Gregorian chant
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| prophet | (Greek, "one who speaks for another") a divinely inspired teacher
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| rabbi | a teacher and master trained in the Jewish law
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| regular clergy | (Latin regula, meaning "rule") those who have taken vows to obey the rules of a monastic order, as opposed to "secular clergy"
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| responsorial | a type of music in which a single voice answers another voice or a chorus
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| secular clergy | (Latin speculum, meaning "in the world") those ordained to serve the Christian Church in the world
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| sharia | the body of Muslim law based on the Qur'an and the Hadith
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| shofar | the ram's horn used to call the Hebrews to prayer
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| stupa | a hemispherical mound that serves as a Buddhist shrine
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| syllabic | having one note of music per syllable
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| synagogue | a Jewish house of worship
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| Torah | (Hebrew, "instruction," "law," or "teaching") the first five books of the Hebrew Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy
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| transept | the part of a basilican-plan church that runs perpendicular to the nave
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| Trinity | the Christian doctrine of the union of the Father, the Son (Jesus), and the Holy Ghost in a single divine Godhead
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| Vulgate | a version of the Bible in vernacular ("vulgar") Latin, translated by Saint Jerome; it became the official Bible of the Roman Catholic Church
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