Home›Ascetic Practices›TraditionBrowse ByTraditionThis page groups practices by the culture that gives them their inherited meaning. Wikipedia notes that Roman religious cultus was "an activity fundamental to Roman identity even when Rome as a political center had become fully urbanized." Browsing by tradition lets a visitor read every practice belonging to one culture together, rather than finding them scattered by category.FactsLearn MoreTraditionSourcesComments (0)Reader Challenges (0)FactsOverviewWhat Defines This GroupingWell-attestedDisciplines that withhold something the body wants - food, sleep, comfort, sexual activity, company - undertaken for a religious end. The ends differ: Jain sallekhana, Christian and Buddhist monastic renunciation and Islamic itikaf are not one impulse, and the older reading of asceticism as world-denial has been displaced by treatments that read it as the making of a self. 2StatusStanding as a Comparative CategoryWell-attestedA standard analytic category in the study of religion 2DirectoryCategoryWell-attestedPractices 1Learn MoreThe Ascetic Practices This group gathers ascetic practices: disciplines of self-denial and renunciation undertaken for spiritual ends: fasting, celibacy, solitude, poverty, and the mortification of the body. Asceticism appears across the religious world as a means of purification, detachment and the pursuit of holiness. The browser will find ascetic practices from various traditions. The entries describe each practice's form and rationale, noting the tradition that prescribes it and the goal it serves.TraditionFilter Results67 entriesAdherents Today MaximumAll225,776 (1)887,000 (1)1,500,000 (3)3,500,000 (2)17,887,212 (1)95,000,000 (1)100,000,000 (1)110,000,000 (1)260,000,000 (1)1,406,000,000 (1)Adherents Today MinimumAll225,776 (1)887,000 (1)1,200,000 (1)1,500,000 (3)2,500,000 (1)3,500,000 (1)17,887,212 (1)53,871,526 (1)78,000,000 (1)80,000,000 (1)220,000,000 (1)1,406,000,000 (1)Bankruptcy FilingsAll28 (1)Basis of the Education Facility CountAllThe Body's Own Published Statistics (2)Basis of the Health Facility CountAllThe Body's Own Published Statistics (1)Basis of the Humanitarian Aid FigureAllThe Body's Own Published Statistics (1)Basis of the Membership FigureAllChurch-Reported Rolls (28)Independent Survey (16)National Census (12)Scholarly or Demographic Estimate (21)Basis of the Wealth FigureAllAudited Annual Report (5)Court-Documented Inventory (1)Journalistic or Scholarly Estimate (6)Regulator Filing (4)The Body's Own Published Statistics (3)Calendar SystemAllJulian (Old Calendar) (2)Church FamilyAllAfrican Initiated Church (2)Anabaptist (1)Anglican (5)Baptist (3)Church of the East (1)Eastern Catholic (1)Eastern Orthodox (9)Evangelical (1)Latter Day Saint (1)Lutheran (3)Methodist (6)Oriental Orthodox (5)Reformed (4)Roman Catholic (1)Date of SeparationAll2022 (1)Date of Separation End YearAll200 (1)451 (2)900 (1)1204 (2)1527 (1)1555 (1)1560 (1)1566 (1)1571 (1)1612 (1)1653 (1)1795 (1)1815 (1)1830 (1)1850 (1)1876 (1)1908 (1)1925 (2)Date of Separation Start YearAll100 (1)451 (4)760 (1)1054 (3)1346 (1)1448 (1)1521 (1)1525 (1)1534 (2)1536 (1)1560 (1)1599 (1)1609 (1)1666 (1)1700 (1)1736 (1)1772 (1)1784 (1)1787 (1)1796 (1)1810 (1)1811 (1)1830 (1)1833 (1)1858 (1)1870 (1)1881 (1)1885 (1)1895 (1)1915 (1)1961 (1)1993 (1)Defining Doctrinal PositionAllA celibate renunciant discipline outside the Khalsa rahit (1)A founding prophet's teaching and healing ministry held central to the church's identity (2)Affirms the Filioque: the Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son (1)Chalcedonian: two natures in the one person of Christ (Chalcedon, 451) (5)Chalcedonian: two natures in the one person of Christ (Chalcedon, 451) (18)Full mendicancy requires the abandonment of clothing (1)Halakha binding and not subject to historical revision (2)Halakha binding, with secular education, work and civic participation affirmed rather than merely tolerated (1)Liberation is attained only from a man's birth (1)Miaphysite: one incarnate nature of the Word, divine and human united (2)Miaphysite: one incarnate nature of the Word, divine and human united (3)Neidan: the refinement of body and spirit as the path (1)Non-trinitarian: the Nicene doctrine of the Trinity is not held (1)Rejects the Filioque: the Spirit proceeds from the Father (1)Rejects the Filioque: the Spirit proceeds from the Father (9)Restorationist: holds the apostolic church to have been lost and restored (1)Sikh scripture read through Sanskrit and Vedantic learning (1)Strict dyophysite: two distinct natures held in two qnome (concrete hypostases), not Chalcedon's two natures in one hypostasis (1)The original canon held to have been lost (1)The tzaddik or rebbe as spiritual intermediary and head of the community (2)The tzaddik or rebbe as spiritual intermediary and head of the community (2)The written Torah alone; the rabbinic Oral Torah not accepted (1)The written Torah alone; the rabbinic Oral Torah not accepted (1)Trinitarian: one God in three persons (19)Trinitarian: one God in three persons (11)Documented Accused CountAll1 (1)5 (1)6 (1)19 (1)21 (1)237 (1)390 (1)800 (1)1670 (1)1880 (1)2900 (1)4392 (1)Education Facility Count As OfAll2023-12-31 (1)2026-03-29 (1)GovernanceAllA federation of autonomous member organisations (3)A single central governing body over the whole movement (3)Authority in trained scholars, with no central office (3)Authority through monastic ordination lineage and its seats (3)Autonomous local bodies under a national umbrella association (2)Congregational: each congregation self-governing (3)Connexional: congregations bound in a conference with itinerant ministry (6)Delegated representation from congregations up to a general conference (1)Episcopal: governed by bishops (12)Lay boards or trusts govern, alongside the priesthood (1)No central authority (8)Presbyterian: governed by elders in graded courts (4)Priestly office passing by descent (1)Self-governing churches under patriarchs, deciding in synod (15)Synodal: governed by synods of clergy and lay delegates (3)Universal primacy of a single bishop (1)Health Facility Count As OfAll2023-12-31 (1)How the Expectation Is EnforcedAllCodified Obligation With Consequences (5)Codified Obligation, Ruled Unenforceable (1)Customary Norm (8)Obligation to Support, No Set Rate (3)Preached Expectation, Not Enforced (8)Humanitarian Aid Figure As OfAll2025-12-31 (1)Liturgical LanguageAllAramaic (3)Church Slavonic (4)Classical Arabic (1)Classical Armenian (Grabar) (2)Classical Chinese (read in Sino-Japanese where used in Japan) (1)Classical Syriac (4)Coptic (2)Geez (4)Georgian (1)Greek (liturgical) (5)Hebrew (7)Jain Shauraseni Prakrit (1)Latin (1)Punjabi in Gurmukhi script (1)Sanskrit (2)The vernacular (30)Membership Figure As OfAll1629-01-01 (1)1868-01-01 (1)1876-01-01 (1)1910-01-01 (1)1912-01-01 (2)1917-01-01 (1)1923-01-01 (1)1924-01-01 (1)1964-01-01 (1)1970-01-01 (2)1971-12-31 (1)1972-01-01 (1)1988-12-31 (1)1991-01-01 (1)1991-05-25 (1)1996-01-01 (1)2000-04-01 (1)2000-12-31 (1)2002-01-01 (1)2003-01-01 (1)2004-01-01 (1)2005-01-01 (1)2006-01-01 (3)2007-01-01 (3)2008-01-01 (1)2008-09-01 (1)2009-01-01 (1)2010-01-01 (6)2011-01-01 (7)2013-01-01 (5)2014-01-01 (4)2015-01-01 (4)2016-01-01 (4)2016-12-31 (1)2017-01-01 (2)2017-10-30 (1)2017-11-08 (1)2018-01-01 (4)2019-01-01 (2)2020-01-01 (7)2021-01-01 (3)2021-03-21 (1)2021-05-11 (1)2021-05-12 (1)2021-12-31 (1)2022-01-01 (10)2022-05-03 (1)2022-12-31 (1)2023-01-01 (2)2023-04-29 (1)2023-07-01 (1)2023-08-08 (1)2023-12-31 (1)2024-01-01 (6)2024-03-01 (1)2024-12-31 (3)2025-01-01 (5)2026-02-01 (1)2026-04-10 (1)2026-08-14 (2)2026-08-16 (1)OrdinationAllAn unpaid lay ministry rather than a professional clergy (1)Celibacy required of the ordained (4)Married clergy permitted (19)No ordination; authority rests on learning or on the whole body (1)No successor by deliberate choice (1)Office passes by descent (2)Open to women and men (16)Ordination is into a monastic order, not to a congregation (4)Restricted to men (23)The full female ordination lineage is held lapsed; revival contested (2)Varies between provinces or member bodies (9)Origin Period End YearAll52 (1)200 (1)301 (1)337 (1)340 (2)410 (1)431 (1)451 (2)600 (1)900 (1)1100 (1)1170 (1)1204 (1)1219 (1)1448 (1)1527 (2)1530 (1)1559 (2)1560 (1)1571 (2)1592 (1)1600 (1)1612 (1)1667 (1)1700 (1)1772 (1)1784 (1)1789 (1)1797 (1)1810 (1)1816 (1)1821 (1)1830 (1)1850 (2)1860 (1)1867 (1)1870 (1)1881 (1)1908 (1)1915 (1)1921 (1)1961 (1)1988 (1)2022 (1)Origin Period Start YearAll30 (3)42 (1)49 (1)52 (1)100 (1)295 (1)320 (2)326 (1)390 (1)431 (1)760 (1)988 (1)1167 (1)1219 (1)1300 (1)1517 (1)1525 (1)1527 (1)1534 (3)1536 (1)1560 (2)1571 (1)1609 (1)1652 (1)1686 (1)1738 (1)1740 (1)1775 (1)1787 (1)1789 (1)1796 (1)1800 (2)1802 (1)1820 (1)1850 (1)1860 (1)1870 (1)1880 (1)1881 (1)1895 (1)1920 (1)1921 (1)1961 (1)1988 (1)2022 (1)Position on JustificationAllFaith Alone (3)No Communion Wide Standard (1)Position on MarriageAllMarriage is held to be a lifelong, monogamous, indissoluble union; remarriage after divorce is not sanctioned while a spouse lives (1)Marriage is held to be monogamous, with remarriage after divorce sanctioned under specified conditions (5)No single uniform teaching on marriage's terms holds across the body (1)Position on PredestinationAllDouble Predestination (1)Election Affirmed Reprobation Unstated (1)Single Predestination (1)Unsettled (1)Position on SexualityAllSame-sex marriage is performed and LGBT clergy are ordained on equal terms with heterosexual clergy (4)Same-sex orientation or practice is held to bar full membership or participation (2)Same-sex sexual relationships are held contrary to teaching; LGBT individuals are welcomed as members but not ordained, and same-sex unions are not blessed (16)Same-sex unions may be blessed, but ordination is not extended to partnered LGBT clergy (1)The body holds no single settled position; the question is actively and openly contested within it (5)Position on the EucharistAllNo Communion Wide Definition (1)Sacramental Union (1)Spiritual Reception by Faith (2)Position on UsuryAllInterest is permitted but bound by ethical constraints against exploiting the poor (1)Principle of WorshipAllNormative (3)Regulative (1)Relation to the StateAllDisestablished (5)Established (3)No Establishment (15)Privileged Never Established (11)Varies by Province (10)Rule Established or Last ChangedAll1838-07-08 (1)2000-01-01 (1)2007-11-28 (1)2010-10-24 (1)2019-01-01 (1)Sacraments RecognisedAllTwo (4)Settlement TotalAll500,000 (1)995,000 (1)137,300,000 (1)1,500,000,000 (1)5,590,000,000 (1)Standard Rate ExpectedAllFive percent. (1)Ten percent. (6)Standing as a Comparative CategoryAllA standard analytic category in the study of religion (1)Standing of Holy OrdersAllHistoric Episcopate (1)Historic Episcopate Locally Adapted (1)Historic Episcopate Received Not Required (1)Ministry by Lawful Call (1)Status TodayAllDissolved; the community wound itself up (1)In active religious use (1)Living tradition, practised today (56)Wealth Figure As Of YearAll1997 (1)2007 (1)2008 (1)2009 (1)2014 (1)2016 (2)2018 (1)2019 (1)2023 (1)2024 (7)2025 (3)2026 (1)Show ResultsBrowseCompareAfrican Methodist Episcopal ChurchTradition1 entryAfrican Methodist Episcopal Zion ChurchTradition1 entryAladuraTradition1 entryAnabaptismTradition1 entryAnglican CommunionTradition2 entriesAnglicanismTradition2 entriesArmenian Apostolic ChurchTradition2 entriesAssyrian Church of the EastTradition1 entryBaptistTradition1 entryBeta IsraelTradition1 entryBreslov HasidismTradition1 entryCalvinism (Reformed)Tradition1 entryChabad-LubavitchTradition1 entryChristian Methodist Episcopal ChurchTradition1 entryChurch of CyprusTradition2 entriesChurch of EnglandTradition2 entriesChurch of God (Anderson, Indiana)Tradition1 entryChurch of GreeceTradition2 entriesChurch of IrelandTradition2 entriesChurch of ScotlandTradition1 entryChurch of SwedenTradition1 entryChurch of the NazareneTradition1 entryCoptic OrthodoxyTradition2 entriesDigambaraTradition2 entriesDutch Reformed ChurchTradition1 entryEastern OrthodoxyTradition2 entriesEcumenical Patriarchate of ConstantinopleTradition2 entriesThe Episcopal ChurchTradition2 entriesEritrean Orthodox Tewahedo ChurchTradition2 entriesEthiopian Orthodox Tewahedo ChurchTradition2 entriesEvangelical Lutheran Church in AmericaTradition1 entryFree Methodist ChurchTradition1 entryGeorgian Orthodox ChurchTradition2 entriesGlobal Methodist ChurchTradition1 entryGreek Orthodox ChurchTradition2 entriesHaredi JudaismTradition1 entryHasidic JudaismTradition1 entryKaraite JudaismTradition1 entryKimbanguist ChurchTradition1 entryLatter-day Saints (Mormonism)Tradition1 entryLutheranismTradition1 entryMaronite ChurchTradition2 entriesMethodismTradition1 entryModern Orthodox JudaismTradition1 entryNational Baptist Convention of AmericaTradition1 entryNirmalaTradition1 entryOld BelieversTradition1 entryOriental OrthodoxyTradition2 entriesOrthodox JudaismTradition1 entryPresbyterianismTradition1 entryProgressive National Baptist ConventionTradition1 entryQuanzhen (Complete Reality)Tradition1 entryRoman CatholicismTradition3 entriesRomanian Orthodox ChurchTradition2 entriesRussian Orthodox ChurchTradition2 entriesSaint Thomas ChristiansTradition1 entrySerbian Orthodox ChurchTradition2 entriesShakersTradition1 entryShingonTradition1 entrySvetambaraTradition2 entriesTheravadaTradition2 entriesUdasiTradition1 entryUkrainian Greek Catholic ChurchTradition1 entryUkrainian Orthodox ChurchTradition2 entriesThe United Methodist ChurchTradition1 entryVajrayanaTradition1 entryWesleyan ChurchTradition1 entrySources1. Divinity Atlas Directory Taxonomy, First Edition Category Treetier 12. Asceticismtier 1Vincent L. Wimbush and Richard Valantasis (eds.), Oxford University Press, 1995View the SourceDivinity Atlas Directory Prose, First Edition Category Descriptionstier 1Comments (0)No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.Sign in to join the discussion.Reader Challenges (0)No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.