Data source: Gina A. Zurlo and Todd M. Johnson, eds., World Christian Database (Leiden/Boston: Brill, 2024).
| Glossary item | Definition |
|---|---|
| salvation religion | A religion offering its devotees salvation (e.g. Christianity, Omoto-kyo (Japan), etc.). |
| Salvationists | Soldiers or officers of the Salvation Army, a Protestant tradition begun ex Methodists in Britain, 1865. |
| salvific | In Catholic usage, saving or with intent to save or impart salvation. |
| Samaritans | Children of Israel (Bene-Yisrael) or Shamerim (Observant Ones), a small Jewish sect. Total adherents: (AD 2000) 500. |
| samizdat | (Russian). Self-publishing (qv). |
| sample | A small segment or quantity taken as evidence of the quality or character of the whole; a very small part of the population used for purposes of investigation and comparing properties. |
| samsara | (Sanskrit). In Hinduism and Buddhism, successive reincarnations, the indefinitely-repeated cycles of birth, misery and death caused by karma. |
| Sanatanists | (Sanskrit: Old Ways; or Idol-Worshippers). The vast bulk (98%) of all Hindus, consisting of Vaishnavites, Saivites, and Saktists (qv). |
| sanatorium | A medical establishment for therapy, rest and recuperation, or for chronic illnesses; see medical centers. |
| Sansei | (Japanese: third-generation). A Japanese-American of Nisei or Kibei parents, and born and educated in the Americas. |
| saturated | In evangelization, used of a population completely penetrated by the gospel. |
| saturation evangelism | See in-depth evangelism. |
| saturation point | The situation in a country or area when the markets for copies of the scriptures have become saturated, or the point at which such saturation occurs. |
| scenario | A tool for studying the future: a series of events that we imagine happening in the future. |
| scenario | A description of one possible future situation with regard to a church or agency or person or population or country, developed by detailed compilation of likely trends and statistics. The study of the future of any such situation is best conducted by drawing up a range of 2 or 3 such scenarios, termed possible alternate futures, ranging from optimistic to pessimistic and covering all possible eventualities, good or bad. |
| schedule | A census schedule (qv). |
| scheduled castes | Official term in India (after 1949) for low caste persons, or persons outside the traditional Indian caste system, previously called Outcastes, Untouchables, or Harijans (Children of God). |
| schism | A form of division or separation in the Christian church or from a church or religious body; a division, separation, secession, split, break-off faction, clique, etc. |
| schismatic | Used of a body or sect that has broken off or seceded from an existing Christian church denomination. |
| scholarly societies | Total of all societies important at international and national levels: 250. |
| school of evangelism | A local course in evangelistic method sponsored by a church or parish. |
| school-age children, school-age population | Those persons in the population who are ages 5-14 years old. |
| schools, Catholic | World totals (1996): 84,027 elementary schools (25,020,462 pupils), 34,277 secondary schools (9,522,274 pupils), and over 1.5 million students in universities and colleges. Of all pupils, 16% are non- Catholics. |
| Scripture (with capital ‘S’) | Holy Scripture, the Christian Scriptures, the Bible. |
| scripture (with small ‘s’) | Printed copy or copies of the Bible, New Testament, Gospel, Portion, New Reader Portion, or any other Book (all the foregoing being capitalized to distinguish them from less specialized varieties of book or publication); or selection of Scripture texts. |
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.