GCSE Religious Studies Short Course 8061 Section B - Subject Specific Vocabulary - October 2025 Version 1.1

Oct 20, 2026

A glossary of subject-specific vocabulary for GCSE Religious Studies Short Course (8061) Section B thematic studies. Terms are grouped into Theme A on relationships and families, covering concepts such as cohabitation, compassion, contraception, divorce, family planning, and types of families including nuclear and extended family. Theme B focuses on religion, peace and conflict, explaining key ideas including conflict, forgiveness, holy war, justice and just war, nuclear deterrence and weapons of mass destruction, pacifism and peace making, protest and reconciliation, plus violence, war, terrorism, retaliation, and victims of war. Version 1.1 dated October 2025.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages4

Reading Time10 min

AccessFree to download

Theme A: Relationships and families

Theme B: Religion, peace and conflict

Subject specific vocabulary The following subject specific vocabulary provides definitions of key Section B: thematic studies terms used in our GCSE Religious Studies Short Course (8061) specification. Your learners should be familiar with, and gain understanding from, all these terms. Theme A: Relationships and families Cohabitation A couple living together without being married/in civil partnership. Compassion Sympathy and concern for the suffering of others. Contraception Precautions taken to prevent pregnancy and to protect against contracting or transmitting sexually transmitted infections (STIs) . Divorce The legal ending of a marriage. Extended family Family unit comprising parents and their children, but also grandparents, cousins etc. Family planning Planning when to have a family and how big a family to have by use of birth control practicesand/or contraception. Gender discrimination Acting on prejudices against someone because of their gender. Gender equality Belief that both genders have equal status and value, so discrimination against either is wrong. Gender prejudice Negative thoughts, feelings or beliefs about a person or group based on their sex or gender identity. Commonly associated with beliefs about the differing status of men and women. Heterosexuality Being physically/sexually attracted to persons of the opposite sex. Nuclear family Family unit made up of two parents and their child(ren) . Polygamy The practice of having multiple spouses (wives and/or husbands) . Procreation Having a child; seen as a duty in many religions. Remarriage Marriage for the second time, after divorce ending an earlier marriage. Same-sex relationship Being in a physical/sexual relationship with someone of the same sex, commonly referred to as lesbian or gay relationships. Vows Promises made during a marriage ceremony. Theme B: Religion, peace and conflict Conflict Dispute between sides, can be between individuals, groups or nations. Forgiveness Letting go of blame against a person for wrongs they have done; moving on. Holy war Fighting for a religious cause or God, to defend the religion and belief. Believed to be sanctioned by God. Justice Bringing fairness back to a situation. Just war Set of rules for fighting a war in a way believed to be justified and acceptable to God. Nuclear deterrence Having nuclear weapons with the aim of deterring/preventing other states attacking for fear of retaliation and nuclear war (possibly leading to mutually assured destruction) . Nuclear weapons/war A weapon of mass destruction which causes widespread damage and loss of life. Nuclear war would be a war fought using these weapons. Pacifism The belief of people who refuse to take part in war and any other form of violence Peace The opposite of war; harmony between all in society. Peace making Trying to get rid of the causes of tension that lead to conflict; working to bring about peace and reconciliation. Protest A statement or action to express disagreement; can be an organised event to demonstrate disagreement with a policy or political action Reconciliation Restoring harmony after relationships have broken down. Retaliation To pay someone back for their harmful actions. Terrorism Use of violence and threats to intimidate others; used for political purposes to build fear in the ordinary population and to secure demands from Government. Victims of war Those who are harmed during a war, for example those killed, injured or left homeless. Violence Behaviour involving physical force which intends to hurt, kill or cause damage. War Armed conflict between two or more sides. Weapons of mass destruction Weapons which cause widespread, indiscriminate damage (e.g. nuclear, chemical, biological etc) . Version 1.1 October 2025

FAQs

What is Theme A in this vocabulary list?

Theme A focuses on relationships and families, defining terms such as cohabitation, divorce, family planning, and family types like nuclear and extended families.

What topics are covered in Theme B?

Theme B covers religion, peace and conflict, including conflict, forgiveness, holy war, justice and just war, pacifism, peace making, reconciliation, and protest.

Which kinds of weapons and war-related concepts are defined?

The list defines nuclear deterrence, nuclear weapons/war, weapons of mass destruction, and related ideas such as violence, war, terrorism, retaliation, and victims of war.

Oct 20, 2026

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