This page groups religions by broad type, such as whether scholars classify them as a universal religion actively seeking converts or an ethnic religion identified with one people. Wikipedia describes universal religions as those that "seek worldwide acceptance and actively look for new converts, such as the BaháΚΌí Faith, Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, and Jainism," in contrast to ethnic religions tied to a single group. Browsing by kind of tradition lets a visitor compare missionary faiths against traditions bound to one culture.
Facts
Overview
What Defines This GroupingChinese traditions built on a philosophical account of how the world works - the Dao, the interplay of yin and yang, the movement of qi - which developed alongside it a full religious apparatus of deities, liturgy, ordained priesthood and alchemical practice. 2 Status
Standing as a Comparative CategoryContested: the division of Daoism into a philosophical strand and a religious one is a later convention that specialists now largely reject as a way of splitting the tradition, which did not develop as two things. 3 Learn More
Chinese philosophical-religious tradition
This group gathers a Chinese tradition classed as philosophical-religious, one that began as a philosophy of the natural way and developed into an organised religion with deities, priesthood and liturgy. Taoism is the paradigm, spanning the classic texts of the Dao and the later temple religion alike.
The browser will find the tradition the atlas classes here. The entries describe it across both dimensions, philosophical and religious, which the tradition itself holds together.
Kind of Tradition
Sources
1. Divinity Atlas Directory Taxonomy, First Edition Category Tree
2. Daoism Handbook
Livia Kohn (ed.), Brill, 2000
3. The Encyclopedia of Taoism
Fabrizio Pregadio (ed.), Routledge, 2008s.v. Daojia; s.v. DaojiaoView the Source Divinity Atlas Directory Prose, First Edition Category Descriptions
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