Divinity Atlas

Sacred Correspondences
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10th century BCE

This page groups practices by the year their recorded history begins. Wikipedia notes that "the term 'cult' first appeared in English in 1617," even though the underlying Latin concept is far older. Browsing by start year lets a visitor see how far back a practice's documented use in its own language reaches.

Facts
Overview
What Defines This Grouping
The sustained acts by which adherents attend to a deity, ancestor or holy figure - prayer at fixed hours, recitation and chant, offerings at a shrine or home altar, veneration of saints and images, pilgrimage. It is the widest and loosest of these groupings and holds acts that are obligatory in one tradition and freely optional in another. 2
Status
Standing as a Comparative Category
A standard analytic category in the study of religion 2
Directory
Category
Practices 1
Comparison
Primary Academic Discipline
Comparative Religion 3
Learn More
The Devotional Practices

This group gathers devotional practices, the acts by which the faithful express love, reverence and dependence toward the divine: prayer, worship, praise, offering, the reciting of names and the observance of daily and seasonal devotion. It is the largest practice grouping in the atlas, reflecting how central devotion is to religious life.

The browser will find devotional practices from across the world's traditions. The entries describe each practice's form, purpose and setting, noting the tradition to which it belongs and how it is performed.

10th century BCE
Filter Results5 entries

Candle and lamp lighting

10th century BCE

Observing the Sabbath

10th century BCE

Pradakshina

10th century BCE

Sandhyavandanam

10th century BCE

Tending the sacred fire

10th century BCE
Sources
1. Divinity Atlas Directory Taxonomy, First Edition Category Tree
2. Encyclopedia of Religion
Mircea Eliade (ed.); Lindsay Jones (ed., 2nd ed.), Macmillan Reference, 2005s.v. Worship and Devotional LifeView the Source
3. Wikipedia: Comparative religion
WikipediaComparative religion, opening definition
Quote, Comparative religion, opening definition
Comparative religion is the branch of religious studies that systematically compares the doctrines, practices, themes and impacts (including migration) of the worlds religions.
View the Source
Divinity Atlas Directory Prose, First Edition Category Descriptions
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