Home›Cosmological Beliefs›TraditionBrowse ByTraditionThis page groups beliefs by the school of thought that holds them. Wikipedia notes that "eliminativists about belief ... argue that there is no phenomenon in the natural world which corresponds to our folk psychological concept of belief," one named position among several. Browsing by tradition lets a visitor read every belief from one named school together.FactsLearn MoreTraditionSourcesComments (0)Reader Challenges (0)FactsOverviewWhat Defines This GroupingWell-attestedStatements about the structure and history of the world and its beings - creation, world ages, the shape of the cosmos, the fate of the dead - held as articles of a tradition rather than as speculation. The accounts gathered here answer different questions: an origin of the world and a recurring destruction of it are not the same kind of claim. 2StatusStanding as a Comparative CategoryWell-attestedA standard analytic category in the study of religion 2DirectoryCategoryWell-attestedBeliefs & Restrictions 1Learn MoreThe Cosmological Beliefs This group gathers cosmological beliefs, the teachings of the traditions about the structure, origin and destiny of the cosmos: how the world came to be, how it is ordered, and how it will end. Every tradition frames human life within some such account of the whole. The browser will find the cosmological beliefs the atlas gathers. The entries describe each in its own terms, reporting the tradition's own account rather than reconciling the many differing pictures.TraditionFilter Results67 entriesAdherents Today MaximumAll57,264 (1)17,887,212 (1)21,000,000 (1)22,785,195 (1)1,406,000,000 (1)Adherents Today MinimumAll57,264 (1)6,630,000 (1)9,043,460 (1)17,887,212 (1)22,785,195 (1)1,406,000,000 (1)Bankruptcy FilingsAll1 (1)28 (1)Basis of the Education Facility CountAllThe Body's Own Published Statistics (3)Basis of the Health Facility CountAllThe Body's Own Published Statistics (1)Basis of the Humanitarian Aid FigureAllThe Body's Own Published Statistics (4)Basis of the Membership FigureAllChurch-Reported Rolls (16)Independent Survey (7)National Census (3)Scholarly or Demographic Estimate (4)Basis of the Wealth FigureAllAudited Annual Report (2)Government Disclosure (1)Journalistic or Scholarly Estimate (2)Regulator Filing (2)The Body's Own Published Statistics (1)Church FamilyAllAdventist (1)Latter Day Saint (1)Restorationist (1)Roman Catholic (1)Date of Separation End YearAll200 (1)680 (1)816 (1)1202 (1)1204 (1)1207 (1)1244 (1)1271 (1)1499 (1)1600 (1)1650 (1)1830 (1)1863 (1)1925 (1)1931 (1)1966 (1)1967 (1)1968 (1)1971 (1)1974 (1)1980 (1)1995 (1)Date of Separation Start YearAll100 (1)632 (1)806 (1)1054 (1)1175 (1)1191 (1)1224 (1)1227 (1)1253 (1)1294 (1)1500 (1)1700 (1)1830 (1)1844 (1)1917 (1)1935 (1)1962 (1)1966 (1)1971 (1)1973 (1)1979 (1)1985 (1)Defining Doctrinal PositionAllA celibate renunciant discipline outside the Khalsa rahit (1)A divine pleroma above a flawed creator, with salvation through gnosis of a fallen divine spark (1)A Goddess and a God as a divine pair (3)A perfected, deathless body attained through hatha yoga (1)A staged curriculum from the first motivation to buddhahood (2)Achintya bhedabheda: inconceivable oneness and difference (1)Achintya bhedabheda: inconceivable oneness and difference (1)Advaita: the self and Brahman are not different (1)Affirms the Filioque: the Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son (1)Ahura Mazda opposed by a destructive principle, made real through good thought, word and deed (2)An inner (batin) meaning of scripture and law alongside the outward (1)An interior path (tasawwuf) pursued within the schools of law (1)Awakening as sudden and direct, outside the scriptures (1)Awakening as sudden and direct, outside the scriptures (1)Awakening by one's own effort (jiriki) (1)Awakening by one's own effort (jiriki) (1)Awakening by the Buddha's power (tariki), not one's own (2)Awakening is the ground already present, not an outcome (3)Awakening through esoteric ritual transmission (mikkyo) (1)Awakening through graded cultivation (2)Awakening through graded cultivation (1)Belief may be concealed where disclosure would bring harm (taqiyya) (3)Buddhahood realised in this very body and lifetime (1)Chalcedonian: two natures in the one person of Christ (Chalcedon, 451) (1)Dzogchen: the great perfection (1)Ethics grounded in reason and human experience, without the supernatural (2)Five deities worshipped as forms of one Brahman (1)Full mendicancy requires the abandonment of clothing (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)Lamdre: the path and its fruit taught as one (1)Liberation is attained only from a man's birth (1)Mahamudra: the great seal (1)Mahamudra: the great seal (1)Neidan: the refinement of body and spirit as the path (1)Neidan: the refinement of body and spirit as the path (1)Neither self-emptiness nor other-emptiness as usually stated (1)No fixed pantheon or liturgy; each practitioner composes their own (3)No fixed pantheon or liturgy; each practitioner composes their own (1)Non-trinitarian: the Nicene doctrine of the Trinity is not held (2)One vehicle: every teaching leads to a single buddhahood (4)Rangtong: emptiness of self-nature (1)Rangtong: emptiness of self-nature (1)Religious claims assessed, and rejected, on evidential grounds (1)Restorationist: holds the apostolic church to have been lost and restored (3)Revealed scriptures and inner visualisation (1)Samkhya: purusha and prakriti as two irreducible principles, with no god as either, distinct from the dvaita-dual value's God-and-soul dualism (1)Shentong: buddha-nature empty only of what is extraneous to it (1)Shentong: buddha-nature empty only of what is extraneous to it (2)Shiva as the supreme reality (1)Shiva as the supreme reality (2)Sikh scripture read through Sanskrit and Vedantic learning (1)Succession by divine designation in the Prophet's family (2)The Goddess alone (1)The Goddess as the supreme reality (1)The Goddess as the supreme reality (1)The Imams are protected from sin and from error (ismah) (2)The Lotus Sutra alone as the complete teaching (1)The Lotus Sutra alone as the complete teaching (2)The original canon held to have been lost (1)The present age is too degenerate for the older disciplines (mappo) (5)Trinitarian: one God in three persons (2)Universal liberation by the path of the bodhisattva (1)Vishishtadvaita: non-duality qualified by real distinctions (1)Vishnu as the supreme reality (1)Documented Accused CountAll1 (3)19 (1)21 (1)237 (1)800 (1)1006 (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 head temple over affiliated branch temples (7)A single central governing body over the whole movement (6)Authority in a living teacher and their succession (4)Authority in living jurists whom the laity choose to emulate (1)Authority in monastic seats (mathas) and their heads (4)Authority in recognised reincarnate lineages (5)Authority through a shaykh and an initiatic chain (2)Authority through monastic ordination lineage and its seats (9)Autonomous covens, authority conferred by initiation (4)Autonomous initiatory houses under an initiating elder (1)Business decided by the gathered meeting seeking unity, without clergy (1)Congregational: each congregation self-governing (1)Delegated representation from congregations up to a general conference (3)Episcopal: governed by bishops (1)Lay boards or trusts govern, alongside the priesthood (3)No central authority (12)Priestly office passing by descent (5)Universal primacy of a single bishop (1)Health Facility Count As OfAll2023-12-31 (1)How the Expectation Is EnforcedAllCodified Obligation With Consequences (2)Customary Norm (6)Obligation to Support, No Set Rate (1)Preached Expectation, Not Enforced (1)Humanitarian Aid Figure As OfAll2012-06-30 (1)2021-12-31 (1)2022-03-10 (1)2022-12-31 (1)2024-01-07 (1)2025-04-15 (1)2025-12-31 (1)Liturgical LanguageAllAvestan (2)Classical Arabic (3)Classical Chinese (read in Sino-Japanese where used in Japan) (12)Classical Tibetan (6)Hebrew (1)Jain Shauraseni Prakrit (1)Kikongo-derived ritual language (habla congo) (1)Latin (1)Punjabi in Gurmukhi script (2)Sanskrit (15)The vernacular (22)Membership Figure As OfAll1922-01-01 (1)1923-01-01 (1)1931-01-01 (1)1941-01-01 (1)1951-05-03 (1)1957-12-01 (1)1970-12-31 (1)1971-12-31 (1)1974-01-01 (1)1984-01-01 (2)1991-11-28 (1)1996-01-01 (1)2000-08-31 (1)2000-12-31 (2)2007-01-01 (1)2009-01-01 (1)2010-12-01 (1)2011-01-01 (2)2012-01-01 (1)2012-01-02 (1)2012-01-03 (1)2013-10-01 (1)2014-01-01 (2)2015-01-01 (1)2016-12-31 (1)2018-01-01 (1)2019-01-01 (1)2019-07-03 (1)2020-01-01 (1)2020-12-31 (1)2021-01-01 (2)2022-12-31 (1)2023-07-10 (1)2024-01-01 (2)2024-08-31 (1)2024-12-31 (2)2025-01-01 (1)2026-08-16 (1)OrdinationAllA full female ordination lineage continues (1)An unpaid lay ministry rather than a professional clergy (4)Authority conferred by initiation rather than by ordination (14)Celibacy required of the ordained (6)Conferred by a teacher's certification of learning (2)Conferred by appointment from a higher authority (1)Married clergy permitted (8)No ordination; authority rests on learning or on the whole body (7)Non-celibate tantric practitioners alongside monastics (3)Office passes by descent (10)Open to women and men (12)Ordination is into a monastic order, not to a congregation (17)Restricted to men (12)Restricted to women (1)The full female ordination lineage is held lapsed; revival contested (2)Varies between provinces or member bodies (4)Origin Period End YearAll100 (1)200 (1)370 (1)400 (1)600 (1)816 (1)900 (2)941 (1)1000 (1)1073 (1)1100 (2)1137 (1)1150 (1)1170 (1)1175 (1)1193 (1)1200 (3)1202 (1)1244 (1)1253 (1)1290 (1)1300 (1)1361 (1)1419 (1)1499 (1)1534 (1)1600 (1)1699 (1)1700 (1)1800 (1)1830 (1)1863 (1)1900 (1)1931 (1)1941 (1)1952 (1)1954 (1)1960 (1)1966 (1)1967 (1)1968 (1)1971 (1)1974 (1)1980 (1)1995 (1)2007 (1)Origin Period Start YearAll800 BCE (1)100 BCE (1)30 (1)100 (1)150 (1)300 (1)364 (1)400 (2)632 (1)651 (1)700 (2)750 (2)800 (2)806 (1)900 (2)1000 (1)1050 (1)1073 (1)1100 (2)1167 (1)1191 (1)1200 (2)1224 (1)1227 (1)1253 (1)1290 (1)1294 (1)1409 (1)1486 (1)1686 (1)1699 (1)1800 (1)1820 (1)1844 (1)1870 (1)1922 (1)1930 (2)1940 (1)1941 (1)1946 (1)1952 (1)1962 (1)1965 (1)1971 (1)1973 (1)1979 (1)1985 (1)2004 (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 (3)Marriage may licitly be polygynous (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 (4)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 (3)Position on UsuryAllInterest is permitted but bound by ethical constraints against exploiting the poor (1)Relation to the StateAllEstablished (1)No Establishment (4)Privileged Never Established (4)Varies by Province (1)Rule Established or Last ChangedAll1838-07-08 (1)Settlement TotalAll995,000 (1)4,016,152.39 (1)9,500,000 (1)1,500,000,000 (1)5,590,000,000 (1)Standard Rate ExpectedAllTen percent. (2)Twenty percent. (1)Status TodayAllAccess restricted by its custodians or by law (1)Historical; not practised continuously (2)In active religious use (1)Living tradition, practised today (56)Revived or reconstructed in the modern era (1)Traditional CountAllTen Mahavidyas, the ten great wisdoms (1)Wealth Figure As Of YearAll1997 (1)2004 (1)2016 (1)2018 (1)2019 (1)2022 (1)2023 (1)2024 (2)2025 (1)2026 (1)Show ResultsBrowseCompareAlawitesTradition2 entriesAlevismTradition1 entryAlexandrian WiccaTradition1 entryAmerican Humanist AssociationTradition2 entriesDianic WiccaTradition1 entryDigambaraTradition1 entryDragon GateTradition1 entryEclectic Solitary WiccaTradition1 entryFeri TraditionTradition1 entryGardnerian WiccaTradition1 entryGaudiya VaishnavismTradition3 entriesGelugTradition10 entriesHumanists InternationalTradition2 entriesIrani ZoroastrianismTradition1 entryISKCON (Hare Krishna)Tradition3 entriesJehovah's WitnessesTradition2 entriesJodo ShinshuTradition6 entriesJonangTradition9 entriesKagyuTradition8 entriesKarma KagyuTradition8 entriesKashmir ShaivismTradition4 entriesKhalsaTradition2 entriesLatter-day Saints (Mormonism)Tradition1 entryLingayatismTradition3 entriesMadhyamakaTradition7 entriesMahayanaTradition6 entriesNath SampradayaTradition3 entriesNew AtheismTradition2 entriesNichirenTradition7 entriesNichiren ShoshuTradition6 entriesNirmalaTradition2 entriesNyingmaTradition8 entriesPalo MayombeTradition1 entryParsi ZoroastrianismTradition1 entryPure LandTradition6 entriesQuanzhen (Complete Reality)Tradition1 entryReclaimingTradition1 entryReconstructionist JudaismTradition1 entryRinzaiTradition6 entriesRoman CatholicismTradition1 entrySakyaTradition9 entriesSamkhyaTradition4 entriesSeax-WicaTradition1 entrySeicho-no-IeTradition1 entrySethianismTradition1 entrySeventh-day AdventismTradition2 entriesShaivismTradition3 entriesShaktismTradition3 entriesShangqing (Highest Clarity)Tradition1 entryShia (Twelver)Tradition1 entryShingonTradition6 entriesShri VidyaTradition3 entriesSmartismTradition4 entriesSoka GakkaiTradition6 entriesSotoTradition6 entriesSri VaishnavismTradition3 entriesSufismTradition2 entriesSvetambaraTradition1 entryTendaiTradition7 entriesTheravadaTradition5 entriesTiantaiTradition7 entriesTibetan BuddhismTradition8 entriesUdasiTradition2 entriesVaishnavismTradition4 entriesVajrayanaTradition6 entriesZenTradition6 entriesZhengyi (Orthodox Unity)Tradition1 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. CosmologyView 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.