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Religious Studies & Theology vocabulary · Philosophy of Religion

Transcendent

Meaning in religious studies & theology, with examples

/trænˈsendənt/adjectiveCommon term

In religious studies & theology, transcendent means: Existing beyond the physical world and the limits of human experience and understanding; often used to describe God or ultimate reality.

In Turkish: aşkın, müteal

How it is used

Usually contrasted with immanent, meaning present within the world. Many theologies describe God as both transcendent and immanent. The noun is transcendence. In Islamic theology, the related idea of God's being beyond all likeness is called tanzih.

Example sentences

  1. Islamic theology stresses that God is transcendent and unlike any created thing.

  2. Many mystics describe an encounter with something transcendent that words cannot express.

Common collocations

  • a transcendent God
  • transcendent reality
  • transcendent and immanent
  • divine transcendence
  • divineRelating to God or a god, or coming from God; as a noun, the divine refers to God or the ultimate sacred reality in general terms.
  • theismBelief in a personal God who created the world and remains active in it; in philosophy of religion, the view that such a God exists.
  • mysticismThe pursuit of direct, personal experience of God or ultimate reality, often through prayer, contemplation and spiritual discipline, found in many religious traditions.
  • agnosticismThe view that it is not known, or cannot be known, whether God or any ultimate reality exists.

More terms: Philosophy of Religion

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