Religions

South Asians practice a wide variety of religions including Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, Judaism, Sikhism, and Zoroastrianism. Many are also atheists and agnostics.

Reservists

Often former active-duty service members providing and maintaining trained units for active duty in Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard reserve forces. Reservists are stationed near their homes and only deployed internationally if called up for active duty. They can be deployed as individuals or units (every three years, on average).

Resource Families

Those who provide homes and nurture children removed from their living situations. Whether they are fostering, adopting, or kin providing care, they must undergo training and background checks to become licensed.

Reunification

As it relates to foster care, reunification is the return of a child to their family of origin after involvement in the child welfare system. Reunification is the most common goal for children in foster care, and the process should place the needs of the child first (e.g., trauma-informed, culturally-responsive, family-centered approaches). For more.

Same-Gender-Loving

(SGL) A term coined by activist Cleo Manago in the 1990s to describe African Americans or Black people with same-gender attractions. SGL is used as a culturally affirming identity without relying on Eurocentric terms and symbols of attraction and orientation.

Sanctuary City

A city that limits its cooperation with national government efforts to enforce detention and deportation of residents. Allows migrants of any immigration status to report crimes without fear of deportation.

Sapphic

A term to describe women and non-binary people who are attracted to women, especially those assigned female at birth. This can include women and non-binary people of any sexual orientation (e.g., lesbians, bisexual non-binary femmes, pansexual women, wlw, etc.). The term is derived from the name of the Greek poet Sappho of the Greek Island, Lesbos, whose writing famously portrays love and desire among women. For more.

School-to-Prison Pipeline

The tendency for non-white, poor, and disadvantaged youth and young adults to become incarcerated because of harsh disciplinary and over-policing practices within schools.

Senior Citizen

Synonym for an older person, typically one who is retired or living on a pension.

Sex Characteristics

Biological traits such as genitals, gonads (i.e., ovaries, testes), hormone production, hormone response, chromosomes, and reproductive organs. Secondary sex characteristics are features that may appear during puberty or exposure to hormones, including breast growth, deepening voice, facial hair, and body hair.

Sexual Fluidity

When one’s sexual orientation isn’t fixed, meaning who they are sexually attracted to can change over time (sometimes influenced by their relationship, situation, or environment). Sexual fluidity is not the same as bi+ identity and doesn’t negate sexual orientations. Instead, it captures the idea of a spectrum or fluidity among the orientations.

Sexual Orientation

An identity or embodied part of a person that describes how someone experiences romantic and/or sexual attraction, if they do at all. A person’s sexual orientation is a part of who they are, no matter their relationship status or sexual/romantic experience(s).

Sharia

Sharia literally means “the clear, well-trodden path to water.” It’s a code of conduct for all aspects of Muslim life, derived from the Quran and Hadiths (Islamic text about the Prophet Mohammed’s life). Sharia is not a set of laws to infiltrate America.

Sheik

An honorific title in the Arabic language. It commonly designates a tribal chief or royal family member, also can often refer to a Muslim religious scholar. Transliterations include shaik, shaikh, shayk, shaykh, sheekh, sheikh, shekh, and sheyikh.

Shia

The smaller of Islam’s two main branches, followed especially in Iran, that rejects the first three Sunni caliphs and regards Ali, the fourth caliph, as Muhammad's first true successor. Shia Muslims believe that just as God alone appoints His prophet, only God can appoint the successor to His prophet. They believe God chose Ali to be Muhammad's successor, Islam’s infallible, first caliph (khalifah, head of state). Sunni Muslims believe that human beings’ redemption depends on faith in Allah, His prophets, acceptance of Muhammad as the final prophet, and belief in righteous deeds as explained in the Koran.

Sikh

A subscriber to the world’s 5th-largest organized religion Sikhism and a word meaning “Seeker of Truth.” Sikhism teaches all paths lead to one God, all people are equal, and all can experience freedom through loving and serving others. More than .5 million Sikhs live in the U.S. and 99% of those wearing turbans in America are Sikhs. Sikhs have lived in the U.S. for 150+ years, helping to build the Transcontinental Railroad, serving in every major world war, standing at the forefront of civil rights, and were among the first responders on 9/11. For more.

Small Island Developing States (SIDS)

A group of small island countries that share many of the same sustainable development challenges (e.g., poverty, climate change, justice). There are three SIDS regions with their own cooperation bodies: the Caribbean Community (the Caribbean), Pacific Islands Forum (the Pacific), and the Indian Ocean Commission (Africa, Indian Ocean, Mediterranean, and South China Sea).

Social Determinants of Health (SDoH)

The conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work, and age. These are shaped by the distribution of money, power, and resources at global, national, and local levels. Conditions (e.g., social, economic, physical) in these various environments and settings (e.g., school, church, workplace, neighborhood) have been referred to as “place.” In addition to the more material aspects of “place,” patterns of social engagement and sense of security and well-being are also affected by where people live.

Resources that enhance quality of life can have a significant influence on population health outcomes (e.g., safe and affordable housing, availability of healthy foods, toxin-free environments). How population groups experience “place” directly impacts the specific social components of SDoH (e.g., access to educational, economic, and job opportunities; public safety; language and literacy) and public components of SDoH (e.g., natural environments, built environments). See here for more details.

Social Security

An insurance program that provides retirement, disability, and survivors benefits run by the U.S. Social Security Administration. Find more about Social Security here and here.

Special Operations Forces

Units of armed forces that undertake covert, counterterrorist, and other specialized operations (including but not limited to Delta Force, Navy SEALs, Army Green Berets, Rangers, and Marine Force Reconnaissance, among other elite units).