Home›Devotional Practices›Solitary or Communal›Performed alone or togetherBrowse ByPerformed alone or togetherThis page groups practices by whether they are carried out alone or with others. Wikipedia distinguishes "communal rites, whether of worship, where a community comes together to worship" from "rites of personal devotion, where an individual worships, including prayer and pilgrimages." Browsing this way lets a visitor separate a group ceremony from a practice one person performs alone.FactsLearn MorePerformed alone or togetherSourcesComments (0)Reader Challenges (0)FactsOverviewWhat Defines This GroupingWell-attestedThe 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. 2StatusStanding as a Comparative CategoryWell-attestedA standard analytic category in the study of religion 2DirectoryCategoryWell-attestedPractices 1ComparisonPrimary Academic DisciplineWell-attestedComparative Religion 3Learn MoreThe 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.Performed alone or togetherFilter Results61 entriesOrigin Period Start YearAll-3000 (1)-1500 (1)-1000 (3)-500 (3)-400 (3)-300 (3)70 (4)100 (1)150 (1)200 (1)375 (1)600 (1)610 (7)700 (1)1100 (2)1200 (1)1253 (1)1400 (2)1894 (1)1965 (1)1966 (1)TraditionAllAfrican Methodist Episcopal Church (2)African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church (2)Ahmadiyya (1)Aladura (1)Anglican Communion (6)Anglicanism (6)Armenian Apostolic Church (7)Assyrian Church of the East (1)Baptist (2)Beta Israel (2)Breslov Hasidism (10)Calvinism (Reformed) (2)Chabad-Lubavitch (10)Christian Methodist Episcopal Church (2)Christian Science (1)Church of Cyprus (12)Church of England (6)Church of God (Anderson, Indiana) (1)Church of Greece (12)Church of Ireland (6)Church of Satan (1)Church of Scotland (2)Church of Sweden (6)Church of the Nazarene (2)Conservative Judaism (6)Coptic Orthodoxy (8)Disciples of Christ (1)Dutch Reformed Church (2)Eastern Orthodoxy (14)Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople (12)Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church (7)Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (7)Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (6)Free Methodist Church (2)Georgian Orthodox Church (12)Global Methodist Church (2)Greek Orthodox Church (12)Haredi Judaism (10)Hasidic Judaism (10)Humanistic Judaism (2)Ibadism (1)Karaite Judaism (2)Kimbanguist Church (1)Latter-day Saints (Mormonism) (1)Lutheranism (6)Maronite Church (1)Methodism (2)Modern Orthodox Judaism (10)Moravian Church (1)National Baptist Convention of America (2)Nichiren (1)Old Believers (2)Oriental Orthodoxy (7)Orthodox Judaism (10)Presbyterianism (2)Progressive National Baptist Convention (2)Pure Land (1)Quakerism (Religious Society of Friends) (1)Reconstructionist Judaism (3)Reform Judaism (6)Roman Catholicism (19)Romanian Orthodox Church (12)Russian Orthodox Church (12)Saint Thomas Christians (1)Serbian Orthodox Church (12)Seventh-day Adventism (1)Shaivism (2)Shaktism (1)Shia (Twelver) (3)Shrine Shinto (1)Smartism (1)Sufism (2)Sunni (1)The Episcopal Church (6)The United Methodist Church (2)Theravada (1)Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (3)Ukrainian Orthodox Church (12)Vaishnavism (3)Vajrayana (1)Wesleyan Church (2)Zaidiyyah (1)Zion Christian Church (1)Category of PracticeAllDevotional (23)Devotional, addressed to the worshipper's own inner head (1)Devotional, and divinatory in the same act (1)Who Performs ItAllAll adherents of the tradition (48)Clergy or ordained officiants (9)Lay people (4)Practice StatusAllHistorical; not practised continuously (2)Living tradition, practised today (55)Scholarly StandingAllA standard analytic category in the study of religion (61)CadenceAllAnnual (3)As the occasion requires (10)Daily (33)Seasonal, at set points in the year (1)Weekly (2)ObligationAllObligatory (23)Obligatory on those who meet its conditions (5)Optional and voluntary (5)Recommended and meritorious, not required (3)Offered ToAllThe Orishas (1)In GroupAllAncient and Historical Religious Practices (1)Buddhist Devotional Practices (4)Christian Devotional Practices (17)Hindu Devotional Practices (7)Islamic Devotional Practices (8)Jewish Devotional Practices (9)New Religious Movement Practices (2)Traditional African and Diaspora Practices (2)Zoroastrian Devotional Practices (5)Show ResultsBrowseCompareSelect all 61AgpeyaPerformed alone or togetherAiwisruthrem GahPerformed alone or togetherAparche (First Fruits Offering)Performed alone or togetherAsrPerformed alone or togetherBhakti (devotion)Performed alone or togetherCandle and lamp lightingPerformed alone or togetherChanting / MantraPerformed alone or togetherChanting HUPerformed alone or togetherChanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyoPerformed alone or togetherComplinePerformed alone or togetherDarshanPerformed alone or togetherDhikr (remembrance of God)Performed alone or togetherDhuhrPerformed alone or togetherEucharistic adorationPerformed alone or togetherFajrPerformed alone or togetherFamily History ResearchPerformed alone or togetherGreater and Lesser MagicPerformed alone or togetherHavan GahPerformed alone or togetherIncense offeringPerformed alone or togetherIshaPerformed alone or togetherKever AvotPerformed alone or togetherKola Nut OfferingPerformed alone or togetherLaudsPerformed alone or togetherLiturgy of the HoursPerformed alone or togetherMaarivPerformed alone or togetherMaghribPerformed alone or togetherMatinsPerformed alone or togetherMerit-making (punya)Performed alone or togetherMinchaPerformed alone or togetherMusafPerformed alone or togetherNembutsu (reciting Amitabha's name)Performed alone or togetherNone (Ninth Hour)Performed alone or togetherNovenaPerformed alone or togetherObserving the SabbathPerformed alone or togetherOri VenerationPerformed alone or togetherPesukei DezimraPerformed alone or togetherPradakshinaPerformed alone or togetherPrayerPerformed alone or togetherPraying the RosaryPerformed alone or togetherPrimePerformed alone or togetherProstrationsPerformed alone or togetherPuja (daily worship)Performed alone or togetherRapithwin GahPerformed alone or togetherSefirat HaOmerPerformed alone or togetherSextPerformed alone or togetherShacharitPerformed alone or togetherShrine offerings and worshipPerformed alone or togetherStations of the CrossPerformed alone or togetherTercePerformed alone or togetherThanksgiving (gratitude)Performed alone or togetherThe Five PillarsPerformed alone or togetherTilakaPerformed alone or togetherUshahin GahPerformed alone or togetherUzerin GahPerformed alone or togetherVeneration of iconsPerformed alone or togetherVeneration of saints and MaryPerformed alone or togetherVespersPerformed alone or togetherVrataPerformed alone or togetherWitrPerformed alone or togetherWorship of the lingamPerformed alone or togetherYahrzeitPerformed alone or togetherSources1. Divinity Atlas Directory Taxonomy, First Edition Category Treetier 12. Encyclopedia of Religiontier 1Mircea Eliade (ed.); Lindsay Jones (ed., 2nd ed.), Macmillan Reference, 2005s.v. Worship and Devotional LifeView the Source3. Wikipedia: Comparative religiontier 2WikipediaComparative religion, opening definitionQuote, Comparative religion, opening definitionComparative religion is the branch of religious studies that systematically compares the doctrines, practices, themes and impacts (including migration) of the worlds religions.View 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.