| Amulet | Any object worn or carried around to ward off evil, disease, etc. |
| Centrifugal forces | Diversifying forces of local, popular religion as evidenced in the rise of proprietary churches and highly localized saints |
| Centripetal forces | Centralizing, top-down forces aimed at homogenizing religious practice |
| Humorism | The belief, of Greek origin, that bodily well-being is governed by a balance of four fluids or “humours”: blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile |
| Middle practices | Karen Jolly’s term to describe medical and religious practices that combine elements of Christian and non-Christian origin, e.g. charms using Christian words or rituals |
| Sympathetic medicine | The application of ingredients resembling the cause, symptoms, or body parts in question |