Monastic Lineage Polity

Monastic lineage polity is the governance form recorded in this atlas for religious bodies whose authority runs through monastic ordination lineages and the monastic seats that hold them, rather than through elected councils or a central office. Wikipedia describes Buddhist monasticism as one of the earliest surviving forms of organized monasticism and one of the fundamental institutions of Buddhism, which is the setting where this form is most familiar. In this atlas the entity stands for the governance form itself, so denominations, religious orders and societies governed this way can be grouped and compared under it, while each member entry keeps its own governance facts and sources.