Data source: Gina A. Zurlo and Todd M. Johnson, eds., World Christian Database (Leiden/Boston: Brill, 2024).
| Glossary item | Definition |
|---|---|
| Shintoists | Followers of the indigenous religion of Japan, a collective of native beliefs and mythology dating back to 660 BCE and includes worship at public shrines in devotion to a number of gods. |
| short-service missionaries | Foreign missionary personnel serving abroad for a single period of from 6 to 24 months only. |
| short-term (short-service) missionary | Persons serving abroad as foreign missionary personnel under a recognized mission agency for a single period of from 3 to 24 months only. |
| short-term personnel | Short-service missionaries (qv). |
| short-wave broadcasting | Wireless communication, usually over long distances, using wavelengths of 60 meters or less (frequencies of 500 kilohertz or more). |
| Shroud of Christ | See sindonology. |
| sib, sibling | A brother or sister. |
| Sikhs | Followers of the Sikhism, founded by Guru Nanak in the 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent. Traditions include Akali, Khalsa, Nanapanthi, Nirmali, Sewapanthi, and Udasi. |
| silence, churches of | See crypto-Christians. |
| simpatizante | (Spanish). Asympathizer, person interested in Protestantism in Latin America but unable to make public profession or seek church membership. |
| simultaneous audible prayer | Prayer in tongues (glossolalia) by a number of individuals, independently and on unrelated topics, aloud and at the same time during worship services. |
| sindonology | The science of the study of Christ’s sindon (Holy Shroud) as preserved in Turin cathedral, Italy. |
| single congregation | A single autonomous worship center, completely independent and unaffiliated to any denomination, nor claiming to be a denomination. |
| Sis | Cilicia (qv). |
| sister | A female church worker; a religious sister, nun; a female fellow-Christian. |
| sisterhood | A community or society of sisters. |
| skeptic | A skeptic (qv). |
| skeptic | (skeptic). An unbeliever, agnostic. |
| skepticism | The doctrine that any true knowledge is impossible or that all knowledge is uncertain especially in matters of religion; agnosticism. |
| Slav | A European ethnolinguistic family. |
| Slavonic | Eastern Orthodox liturgical tradition followed in Russia, Bulgaria, et alia discontinued in the 1980s. |
| Slovak rite | Used by Byzantine Catholics in Czechoslovakia. |
| slumdwellers | Persons residing in make-shift dwellings on the streets of the world’s cities. |
| small communities | See basic communities. |
| small-group evangelism | Personal evangelism undertaken within the context of small study groups, house churches, et alia. |
Data on 18 categories of religion, including non-religious, by country, province, and people.
Data on all religions, Christian activities, and trends.
Membership data, year begun, and rates of change.
Population and religion data on all major cities & provinces.
Detailed information covering religion, culture, and geography.
A repository of historical data, including a chronology of Christianity from the 1st to 21st centuries.