Home›Charitable 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-attestedGiving required or commended by a tradition - zakat, tithing, sadaqah, seva, langar. The grouping holds obligatory levies at a fixed rate with named categories of recipient alongside voluntary gifts and unpaid service, which are not the same kind of act: a legal due and a free gift differ in who may compel them and in what failing to give means. 2StatusStanding as a Comparative CategoryWell-attestedA standard analytic category in the study of religion 2DirectoryCategoryWell-attestedPractices 1Learn MoreThe charitable practices This group holds charitable practices, the acts of giving and service enjoined by the traditions as religious duty and virtue: almsgiving, care for the poor and the stranger, and generosity as a path of merit or righteousness. Charity is a central obligation in most of the world's religions. The browser will find charitable practices from across the traditions. The entries describe each practice's form and religious basis, noting the tradition that commands it.TraditionFilter Results59 entriesAdherents Today MaximumAll40,000 (1)225,776 (1)278,000 (1)380,000 (1)400,910 (1)1,000,000 (1)1,500,000 (3)2,130,000 (1)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 MinimumAll40,000 (1)225,776 (1)278,000 (1)380,000 (1)400,910 (1)1,000,000 (1)1,200,000 (1)1,450,000 (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 (30)Independent Survey (18)National Census (10)Scholarly or Demographic Estimate (19)Basis of the Wealth FigureAllAudited Annual Report (5)Court-Documented Inventory (1)Journalistic or Scholarly Estimate (6)Regulator Filing (5)The Body's Own Published Statistics (3)Calendar SystemAllJulian (Old Calendar) (2)Church FamilyAllAnabaptist (2)Anglican (5)Baptist (3)Eastern Orthodox (10)Evangelical (1)Latter Day Saint (1)Lutheran (3)Methodist (6)Moravian (1)Oriental Orthodox (5)Quaker (1)Reformed (4)Restorationist (2)Roman Catholic (1)Date of SeparationAll2022 (1)Date of Separation End YearAll451 (2)680 (1)1204 (2)1555 (1)1560 (1)1561 (1)1566 (1)1571 (1)1612 (1)1662 (1)1712 (1)1795 (1)1815 (1)1830 (1)1846 (1)1850 (1)1876 (1)1908 (1)1925 (3)2019 (1)Date of Separation Start YearAll451 (4)632 (1)1054 (3)1346 (1)1448 (1)1457 (1)1521 (1)1534 (2)1536 (2)1560 (1)1600 (1)1609 (1)1652 (1)1693 (1)1700 (1)1772 (1)1784 (1)1787 (1)1796 (1)1804 (1)1810 (2)1811 (1)1830 (1)1833 (1)1858 (1)1870 (1)1885 (1)1895 (1)1915 (1)1961 (1)1963 (1)1993 (1)2018 (1)Defining Doctrinal PositionAllA celibate renunciant discipline outside the Khalsa rahit (2)Affirms the Filioque: the Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son (1)Belief may be concealed where disclosure would bring harm (taqiyya) (1)Chalcedonian: two natures in the one person of Christ (Chalcedon, 451) (5)Chalcedonian: two natures in the one person of Christ (Chalcedon, 451) (17)Christ's Second Appearing already fulfilled in the movement's own founding (1)Ethics grounded in reason and human experience, without the supernatural (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)Halakha informative rather than binding on the individual (1)In the Imam's absence a qualified jurist holds his political authority (1)In the Imam's absence the jurist guides and judges but does not rule (1)Initiation into the Khalsa and its rahit as normative (1)Judaism as an evolving religious civilisation, God reconceived naturalistically (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)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)Requires no subscription to a creed (1)Restorationist: holds the apostolic church to have been lost and restored (2)Sikh scripture read through Sanskrit and Vedantic learning (1)Succession by divine designation in the Prophet's family (1)The godhead confessed as both Father and Mother (1)The Imams are protected from sin and from error (ismah) (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)Trinitarian: one God in three persons (20)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 (5)A single central governing body over the whole movement (3)Authority in living jurists whom the laity choose to emulate (1)Authority in trained scholars, with no central office (2)Authority through monastic ordination lineage and its seats (2)Autonomous local bodies under a national umbrella association (2)Business decided by the gathered meeting seeking unity, without clergy (1)Congregational: each congregation self-governing (6)Connexional: congregations bound in a conference with itinerant ministry (6)Delegated representation from congregations up to a general conference (3)Episcopal: governed by bishops (11)No central authority (6)Presbyterian: governed by elders in graded courts (4)Self-governing churches under patriarchs, deciding in synod (14)Synodal: governed by synods of clergy and lay delegates (4)Universal primacy of a single bishop (1)Health Facility Count As OfAll2023-12-31 (1)How the Expectation Is EnforcedAllCodified Obligation With Consequences (7)Codified Obligation, Ruled Unenforceable (1)Customary Norm (12)Obligation to Support, No Set Rate (5)Preached Expectation, Not Enforced (8)Humanitarian Aid Figure As OfAll2025-12-31 (1)Liturgical LanguageAllAramaic (3)Church Slavonic (4)Classical Arabic (2)Classical Armenian (Grabar) (2)Classical Syriac (1)Coptic (2)Early Modern German (the Luther Bible) (1)Geez (3)Georgian (1)Greek (liturgical) (5)Hebrew (7)Latin (1)Punjabi in Gurmukhi script (3)Sanskrit (1)The vernacular (35)Membership Figure As OfAll1840-01-01 (1)1868-01-01 (1)1876-01-01 (1)1900-01-01 (1)1910-01-01 (1)1912-01-01 (1)1923-01-01 (1)1924-01-01 (1)1958-01-01 (1)1970-01-01 (2)1971-12-31 (1)1972-01-01 (1)1988-12-31 (1)1991-01-01 (1)1992-01-01 (1)1994-01-01 (1)1996-01-01 (1)2000-04-01 (1)2000-12-31 (1)2002-01-01 (1)2004-01-01 (1)2006-01-01 (3)2007-01-01 (3)2008-01-01 (2)2009-01-01 (3)2010-01-01 (5)2011-01-01 (6)2013-01-01 (6)2014-01-01 (4)2015-01-01 (4)2016-01-01 (5)2016-12-31 (1)2017-01-01 (1)2017-10-30 (1)2017-11-08 (1)2018-01-01 (4)2019-01-01 (3)2020-01-01 (6)2021-01-01 (3)2021-03-21 (1)2021-05-11 (1)2021-05-12 (1)2021-12-31 (1)2022-01-01 (12)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)2025-08-01 (1)2026-02-01 (1)2026-08-14 (2)2026-08-16 (1)OrdinationAllAn unpaid lay ministry rather than a professional clergy (2)Celibacy required of the ordained (4)Conferred by a teacher's certification of learning (1)Married clergy permitted (16)No ordination; authority rests on learning or on the whole body (3)No successor by deliberate choice (1)Office passes by descent (2)Open to women and men (20)Ordination is into a monastic order, not to a congregation (2)Restricted to men (24)The full female ordination lineage is held lapsed; revival contested (1)Varies between provinces or member bodies (10)Origin Period End YearAll52 (1)301 (1)337 (1)340 (2)431 (1)451 (2)941 (1)988 (1)1100 (1)1204 (1)1219 (1)1448 (1)1467 (1)1527 (1)1530 (1)1559 (2)1560 (1)1561 (1)1571 (2)1592 (1)1612 (1)1652 (1)1699 (1)1700 (2)1712 (1)1772 (1)1784 (1)1789 (1)1797 (1)1810 (1)1816 (1)1821 (1)1830 (1)1832 (1)1846 (1)1850 (2)1860 (1)1867 (1)1870 (1)1908 (1)1915 (1)1961 (1)1963 (1)1988 (1)2022 (1)Origin Period Start YearAll30 (3)42 (1)49 (1)295 (1)320 (2)326 (1)431 (1)632 (1)988 (2)1219 (1)1457 (1)1517 (1)1527 (1)1534 (3)1536 (2)1550 (1)1560 (2)1571 (1)1609 (1)1647 (1)1686 (1)1693 (1)1699 (1)1738 (1)1740 (1)1747 (1)1775 (1)1787 (1)1789 (1)1796 (1)1800 (2)1801 (1)1802 (1)1810 (1)1820 (1)1850 (1)1860 (1)1870 (1)1880 (1)1895 (1)1961 (1)1963 (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 (6)Marriage may licitly be polygynous (1)No single uniform teaching on marriage's terms holds across the body (2)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 (7)Same-sex orientation or practice is held to bar full membership or participation (5)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 (8)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 (4)No Establishment (17)Privileged Never Established (10)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)Twenty percent. (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 (8)2025 (3)2026 (1)Show ResultsBrowseCompareAfrican Methodist Episcopal ChurchTradition1 entryAfrican Methodist Episcopal Zion ChurchTradition1 entryAmishTradition1 entryAnglican CommunionTradition1 entryAnglicanismTradition1 entryArmenian Apostolic ChurchTradition1 entryBaptistTradition2 entriesBreslov HasidismTradition2 entriesCalvinism (Reformed)Tradition1 entryChabad-LubavitchTradition2 entriesChristian Methodist Episcopal ChurchTradition1 entryChurch of CyprusTradition1 entryChurch of EnglandTradition1 entryChurch of GreeceTradition1 entryChurch of IrelandTradition1 entryChurch of ScotlandTradition1 entryChurch of SwedenTradition1 entryChurch of the NazareneTradition1 entryCoptic OrthodoxyTradition1 entryDisciples of ChristTradition1 entryDutch Reformed ChurchTradition1 entryEastern OrthodoxyTradition1 entryEcumenical Patriarchate of ConstantinopleTradition1 entryThe Episcopal ChurchTradition1 entryEritrean Orthodox Tewahedo ChurchTradition1 entryEthiopian Orthodox Tewahedo ChurchTradition1 entryEvangelical Lutheran Church in AmericaTradition1 entryFree Methodist ChurchTradition1 entryGeorgian Orthodox ChurchTradition1 entryGlobal Methodist ChurchTradition1 entryGreek Orthodox ChurchTradition1 entryHaredi JudaismTradition2 entriesHasidic JudaismTradition2 entriesHumanistic JudaismTradition1 entryKhalsaTradition1 entryLatter-day Saints (Mormonism)Tradition1 entryLutheranismTradition1 entryMennonitesTradition1 entryMethodismTradition1 entryModern Orthodox JudaismTradition2 entriesMoravian ChurchTradition1 entryNational Baptist Convention of AmericaTradition2 entriesNirmalaTradition1 entryOriental OrthodoxyTradition1 entryOrthodox JudaismTradition2 entriesPresbyterianismTradition1 entryProgressive National Baptist ConventionTradition2 entriesQuakerism (Religious Society of Friends)Tradition1 entryReform JudaismTradition1 entryRoman CatholicismTradition1 entryRomanian Orthodox ChurchTradition1 entryRussian Orthodox ChurchTradition1 entrySerbian Orthodox ChurchTradition1 entryShakersTradition1 entryShia (Twelver)Tradition1 entryUdasiTradition1 entryUkrainian Orthodox ChurchTradition1 entryThe United Methodist ChurchTradition1 entryWesleyan ChurchTradition1 entrySources1. Divinity Atlas Directory Taxonomy, First Edition Category Treetier 12. Encyclopedia of Religiontier 1Mircea Eliade (ed.); Lindsay Jones (ed., 2nd ed.), Macmillan Reference, 2005s.v. AlmsgivingView 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.