» Student Worksheet

1) Born-again Christian: [n] "a Christian who has experienced a dramatic conversion to faith in Jesus" [Source: http://www.hyperdictionary.com/dictionary/born-again+Christian]

Christian: [n] "1. One who professes belief in Jesus as Christ or follows the religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus. 2. One who lives according to the teachings of Jesus." [Source: http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=christian]

2) Executive Order: [n]
"An executive order is a legally binding edict issued by a member of the executive branch of government, usually the head of that branch." (In the United States, the President is the head of the executive branch.)

The executive branch enforces or executes laws. The power of the executive branch in the United States is limited by the separation of powers with the legislative branch and the judicial branch.

Executive orders have legal force unless they are in conflict with a law approved by the legislature. Under the United States Constitution, this power is given to Congress. Many critics have accused presidents of abusing executive orders, both to make new laws without Congressional approval, and to move existing laws away from their original mandates. Large policy changes with wide-ranging effects have been passed into law through executive order, including the integration of the Armed Forces. Likewise, the Congress may overturn an executive order by passing legislation in conflict with it or refusing to approve funding to enforce it.

[Source: http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/]

3) Evangelical: [adj] 1: "relating to or being a Christian church believing in personal conversion and the inerrancy of the Bible especially the four Gospels;

Evangelical Christianity: [n] "an ultraconservative evangelical message" 2: "of or pertaining to or in keeping with the Christian gospel especially as in the first four books of the New Testament 3: marked by ardent or zealous enthusiasm for a cause [syn: evangelistic]" [Source: http://www.hyperdictionary.com/search.aspx?define=evangelical]

4) First Amendment: [n] "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances." [Source: http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data/constitution/amendment01/]

5) In God We Trust: "The motto IN GOD WE TRUST was placed on United States coins largely because of the increased religious sentiment existing during the Civil War." [Source: http://www.ustreas.gov/education/fact-sheets/currency/in-god-we-trust.html]

6) Pilgrims: [n] "The Pilgrims were English Separatists who founded Plymouth Colony in New England in 1620. In the first years of the 17th century, small numbers of English Puritans broke away from the Church of England because they felt that it had not completed the work of the Reformation. They committed themselves to a life based on the Bible. The Pilgrims founded the first permanent European settlement in New England. Most of these Separatists were farmers, poorly educated and without social or political standing." [Source: http://pilgrims.net/plymouth/history/index.htm]

7) Pluralism: [n] 1. a. "A condition in which numerous distinct ethnic, religious, or cultural groups are present and tolerated within a society.
b. The belief that such a condition is desirable or socially beneficial."
2. Philosophy. a. "The doctrine that reality is composed of many ultimate substances. b. The belief that no single explanatory system or view of reality can account for all the phenomena of life." [Source: http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=pluralism]

8) Proselytize: [v] intr.1. "To induce someone to convert to one's own religious faith. 2. To induce someone to join one's own political party or to espouse one's doctrine." v. tr. "To convert (a person) from one belief, doctrine, cause, or faith to another." [Source: http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=proselytize]

9) Secular: [adj] 1. "Worldly rather than spiritual."
2. "Not specifically relating to religion or to a religious body: secular music." [Source: http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=secular]

10) Separation of Church and State: This phrase first appeared in a letter that President Thomas Jefferson wrote in 1802 to a group of Baptists in Danbury, Connecticut. The phrase has been a contentious one, involved in many court cases and public debates, in the years that have followed. [Source: http://www.loc.gov/loc/lcib/9806/danpre.html]

11) Theocracy: [n] "A government ruled by or subject to religious authority." "Government of a state by the immediate direction or administration of God; hence, the exercise of political authority by priests as representing the Deity."
n. 1. "A political unit governed by a deity (or by officials thought to be divinely guided) 2: the belief in government by divine guidance" [Source: http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=theocracy]

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