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Religious Studies & Theology vocabulary · Religious Ethics and Law

Sin

Meaning in religious studies & theology, with examples

/sɪn/nounCore term

In religious studies & theology, sin means: An act, thought or failure to act that a religious tradition regards as breaking God's law or going against God's will.

In Turkish: günah

How it is used

You commit a sin, confess sins and ask forgiveness for them. Key phrases: original sin (a Christian doctrine developed especially by Augustine), mortal and venial sins (Catholic theology) and major sins (kaba'ir) in Islam. A person is a sinner; the adjective is sinful.

Example sentences

  1. Augustine's doctrine of original sin shaped Western Christian theology for centuries.

  2. Islamic ethics distinguishes major sins from minor ones.

Common collocations

  • commit a sin
  • original sin
  • forgiveness of sins
  • major sins
  • confess one's sins
  • salvationBeing saved or set free from sin, suffering or their consequences, and reaching a final state of well-being with God or ultimate reality.
  • shariaIn Islam, the divine law and guidance for all areas of life, which Muslim jurists interpret through the Qur'an, the sunna and methods of legal reasoning.
  • doctrineA belief or set of beliefs that a religious community officially teaches and expects its members to accept.
  • afterlifeExistence after death as a religious tradition describes it, for example resurrection and judgement, paradise and hell, or rebirth in a new life.

More terms: Religious Ethics and Law

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