Home›Devotional Practices›TraditionBrowse ByTraditionThis page groups practices by the culture that gives them their inherited meaning. Wikipedia notes that Roman religious cultus was "an activity fundamental to Roman identity even when Rome as a political center had become fully urbanized." Browsing by tradition lets a visitor read every practice belonging to one culture together, rather than finding them scattered by category.FactsLearn MoreTraditionSourcesComments (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.TraditionFilter Results107 entriesAdherents Today MaximumAll40,000 (1)278,000 (1)400,910 (1)887,000 (1)1,500,000 (2)2,250,000 (1)3,500,000 (1)17,887,212 (1)21,000,000 (1)100,000,000 (1)110,000,000 (1)260,000,000 (1)Adherents Today MinimumAll40,000 (1)278,000 (1)400,910 (1)887,000 (1)1,200,000 (1)1,500,000 (2)1,760,000 (1)2,500,000 (1)9,043,460 (1)17,887,212 (1)53,871,526 (1)80,000,000 (1)220,000,000 (1)Basis of the Education Facility CountAllThe Body's Own Published Statistics (1)Basis of the Humanitarian Aid FigureAllThe Body's Own Published Statistics (3)Basis of the Membership FigureAllChurch-Reported Rolls (25)Independent Survey (13)National Census (11)Scholarly or Demographic Estimate (20)Basis of the Wealth FigureAllAudited Annual Report (4)Court-Documented Inventory (1)Government Disclosure (1)Journalistic or Scholarly Estimate (4)Regulator Filing (4)The Body's Own Published Statistics (4)Calendar SystemAllJulian (Old Calendar) (1)Church FamilyAllAfrican Initiated Church (2)Anabaptist (2)Anglican (5)Baptist (1)Church of the East (1)Eastern Orthodox (6)Evangelical (2)Latter Day Saint (1)Lutheran (2)Methodist (5)Oriental Orthodox (4)Reformed (3)Restorationist (2)Date of SeparationAll2022 (1)Date of Separation End YearAll451 (1)750 (1)900 (1)1204 (1)1527 (1)1566 (1)1571 (1)1600 (1)1612 (1)1712 (1)1815 (1)1830 (1)1850 (1)1879 (1)1908 (1)1913 (1)1931 (1)1967 (1)1971 (1)1974 (1)1995 (1)Date of Separation Start YearAll451 (3)657 (1)760 (1)1054 (2)1500 (1)1525 (1)1534 (2)1536 (1)1609 (1)1693 (1)1772 (1)1787 (1)1796 (1)1804 (1)1811 (1)1830 (1)1833 (1)1858 (1)1870 (1)1879 (1)1881 (1)1883 (1)1889 (1)1895 (1)1917 (1)1962 (1)1963 (1)1971 (1)1985 (1)1993 (1)Defining Doctrinal PositionAllA founding prophet's teaching and healing ministry held central to the church's identity (2)A Goddess and a God as a divine pair (2)Ahura Mazda opposed by a destructive principle, made real through good thought, word and deed (1)An inner (batin) meaning of scripture and law alongside the outward (1)Belief may be concealed where disclosure would bring harm (taqiyya) (1)Chalcedonian: two natures in the one person of Christ (Chalcedon, 451) (3)Chalcedonian: two natures in the one person of Christ (Chalcedon, 451) (13)Ethics grounded in reason and human experience, without the supernatural (1)Halakha binding and not subject to historical revision (1)Halakha binding, but developing through scholarship (1)Initiation into the Khalsa and its rahit as normative (1)Judaism as an evolving religious civilisation, God reconceived naturalistically (1)Leadership by the community's election of the most qualified, without descent (1)Miaphysite: one incarnate nature of the Word, divine and human united (1)Miaphysite: one incarnate nature of the Word, divine and human united (3)No fixed pantheon or liturgy; each practitioner composes their own (2)Non-trinitarian: the Nicene doctrine of the Trinity is not held (3)Recognises a post-prophetic messianic figure (1)Rejects the Filioque: the Spirit proceeds from the Father (1)Rejects the Filioque: the Spirit proceeds from the Father (6)Restorationist: holds the apostolic church to have been lost and restored (3)Satan as a symbol, not a being (1)Strict dyophysite: two distinct natures held in two qnome (concrete hypostases), not Chalcedon's two natures in one hypostasis (1)Succession by divine designation in the Prophet's family (1)The Goddess alone (1)The Imams are protected from sin and from error (ismah) (1)The Qur'an is God's created speech (1)The tzaddik or rebbe as spiritual intermediary and head of the community (2)The tzaddik or rebbe as spiritual intermediary and head of the community (2)The written Torah alone; the rabbinic Oral Torah not accepted (1)The written Torah alone; the rabbinic Oral Torah not accepted (1)Trinitarian: one God in three persons (14)Trinitarian: one God in three persons (10)Documented Accused CountAll1 (2)5 (1)6 (1)390 (1)1006 (1)Education Facility Count As OfAll2026-03-29 (1)GovernanceAllA federation of autonomous member organisations (6)A single central governing body over the whole movement (7)An imam or caliph elected by the community or its electors (2)Authority in trained scholars, with no central office (2)Autonomous covens, authority conferred by initiation (4)Congregational: each congregation self-governing (3)Connexional: congregations bound in a conference with itinerant ministry (5)Delegated representation from congregations up to a general conference (3)Episcopal: governed by bishops (7)Lay boards or trusts govern, alongside the priesthood (1)No central authority (9)Presbyterian: governed by elders in graded courts (3)Priestly office passing by descent (3)Self-governing churches under patriarchs, deciding in synod (10)Synodal: governed by synods of clergy and lay delegates (2)How the Expectation Is EnforcedAllCodified Obligation With Consequences (5)Codified Obligation, Ruled Unenforceable (1)Customary Norm (9)Obligation to Support, No Set Rate (3)Preached Expectation, Not Enforced (7)Humanitarian Aid Figure As OfAll2012-06-30 (1)2025-12-31 (1)Liturgical LanguageAllAramaic (1)Avestan (1)Church Slavonic (1)Classical Arabic (3)Classical Armenian (Grabar) (1)Classical Syriac (1)Coptic (1)Early Modern German (the Luther Bible) (1)Geez (3)Georgian (1)Greek (liturgical) (5)Hebrew (6)Punjabi in Gurmukhi script (1)The vernacular (37)Membership Figure As OfAll1868-01-01 (1)1876-01-01 (1)1910-01-01 (1)1912-01-01 (1)1923-01-01 (1)1924-01-01 (1)1936-01-01 (1)1958-01-01 (1)1964-01-01 (1)1970-01-01 (2)1971-12-31 (1)1972-01-01 (1)1988-12-31 (1)1990-01-01 (1)1991-05-25 (1)1992-01-01 (1)1994-01-01 (1)1996-01-01 (1)1998-01-01 (1)2000-04-01 (1)2000-08-31 (1)2000-12-31 (1)2004-01-01 (1)2005-01-01 (1)2006-01-01 (3)2007-01-01 (3)2008-01-01 (2)2008-09-01 (1)2009-01-01 (1)2010-01-01 (5)2011-01-01 (4)2013-01-01 (4)2014-01-01 (4)2015-01-01 (3)2016-01-01 (3)2016-12-31 (1)2017-01-01 (1)2018-01-01 (2)2019-01-01 (1)2020-01-01 (4)2021-01-01 (2)2021-03-21 (1)2022-01-01 (8)2022-05-03 (1)2023-01-01 (3)2023-04-29 (1)2023-07-01 (1)2023-08-08 (1)2023-12-31 (1)2024-01-01 (6)2024-03-01 (1)2024-08-31 (1)2024-12-31 (3)2025-01-01 (5)2026-02-01 (1)2026-04-10 (1)2026-08-14 (1)2026-08-16 (1)OrdinationAllAn unpaid lay ministry rather than a professional clergy (3)Authority conferred by initiation rather than by ordination (5)Celibacy required of the ordained (1)Conferred by election (1)Married clergy permitted (11)No ordination; authority rests on learning or on the whole body (5)No successor by deliberate choice (1)Office passes by descent (4)Open to women and men (22)Ordination is into a monastic order, not to a congregation (1)Restricted to men (16)Restricted to women (1)The full female ordination lineage is held lapsed; revival contested (1)Varies between provinces or member bodies (7)Origin Period End YearAll52 (1)301 (1)337 (1)340 (2)431 (1)451 (1)750 (1)900 (1)1204 (1)1527 (2)1559 (2)1560 (1)1571 (2)1600 (2)1612 (1)1699 (1)1712 (1)1745 (1)1772 (1)1789 (1)1797 (1)1800 (1)1810 (1)1816 (1)1821 (1)1830 (1)1832 (1)1850 (1)1860 (1)1867 (1)1870 (1)1879 (1)1881 (1)1889 (1)1908 (1)1913 (1)1921 (1)1931 (1)1954 (1)1960 (1)1963 (1)1966 (1)1967 (1)1971 (1)1988 (1)1995 (1)2022 (1)Origin Period Start YearAll30 (1)42 (1)49 (1)295 (1)320 (2)326 (1)431 (1)651 (1)680 (1)760 (1)1200 (1)1300 (1)1525 (1)1527 (1)1534 (3)1536 (1)1560 (1)1571 (1)1609 (1)1693 (1)1699 (1)1734 (1)1740 (1)1775 (1)1787 (1)1789 (1)1796 (1)1800 (1)1801 (1)1802 (1)1820 (1)1845 (1)1850 (1)1860 (1)1866 (1)1870 (2)1881 (1)1889 (1)1895 (1)1920 (1)1921 (1)1940 (1)1946 (1)1962 (1)1963 (1)1966 (1)1971 (1)1985 (1)1988 (1)2022 (1)Position on JustificationAllFaith Alone (3)No Communion Wide Standard (1)Position on MarriageAllMarriage is held to be monogamous, with remarriage after divorce sanctioned under specified conditions (5)Marriage may licitly be polygynous (1)No single uniform teaching on marriage's terms holds across the body (1)Position on PredestinationAllDouble Predestination (1)Election Affirmed Reprobation Unstated (1)Single Predestination (1)Unsettled (1)Position on SexualityAllSame-sex marriage is performed and LGBT clergy are ordained on equal terms with heterosexual clergy (7)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 (14)Same-sex unions may be blessed, but ordination is not extended to partnered LGBT clergy (1)The body holds no single settled position; the question is actively and openly contested within it (3)Position on the EucharistAllNo Communion Wide Definition (1)Sacramental Union (1)Spiritual Reception by Faith (2)Principle of WorshipAllNormative (3)Regulative (1)Relation to the StateAllDisestablished (5)Established (3)No Establishment (8)Privileged Never Established (8)Varies by Province (6)Rule Established or Last ChangedAll1838-07-08 (1)2000-01-01 (1)2019-01-01 (1)Sacraments RecognisedAllTwo (4)Settlement TotalAll500,000 (1)995,000 (1)4,016,152.39 (1)137,300,000 (1)Standing as a Comparative CategoryAllA standard analytic category in the study of religion (1)Standing of Holy OrdersAllHistoric Episcopate (1)Historic Episcopate Locally Adapted (1)Historic Episcopate Received Not Required (1)Ministry by Lawful Call (1)Status TodayAllDissolved; the community wound itself up (1)Living tradition, practised today (56)Wealth Figure As Of YearAll1997 (1)2008 (1)2010 (1)2016 (2)2018 (1)2019 (1)2022 (1)2023 (1)2024 (6)2025 (4)2026 (1)Show ResultsBrowseCompareAfrican Methodist Episcopal ChurchTradition5 entriesAfrican Methodist Episcopal Zion ChurchTradition5 entriesAhmadiyyaTradition1 entryAladuraTradition2 entriesAlevismTradition2 entriesAlexandrian WiccaTradition2 entriesAmishTradition1 entryAnabaptismTradition1 entryAnglican CommunionTradition11 entriesAnglicanismTradition11 entriesArmenian Apostolic ChurchTradition11 entriesAssyrian Church of the EastTradition1 entryBaptistTradition3 entriesBeta IsraelTradition2 entriesBreslov HasidismTradition16 entriesCalvinism (Reformed)Tradition3 entriesChabad-LubavitchTradition16 entriesChristian Methodist Episcopal ChurchTradition5 entriesChristian ScienceTradition2 entriesChurch of CyprusTradition18 entriesChurch of EnglandTradition11 entriesChurch of God (Anderson, Indiana)Tradition2 entriesChurch of GreeceTradition18 entriesChurch of IrelandTradition11 entriesChurch of SatanTradition1 entryChurch of ScotlandTradition3 entriesChurch of SwedenTradition9 entriesChurch of the NazareneTradition5 entriesConservative JudaismTradition7 entriesCoptic OrthodoxyTradition12 entriesDianic WiccaTradition2 entriesDisciples of ChristTradition1 entryDutch Reformed ChurchTradition3 entriesEastern OrthodoxyTradition21 entriesEclectic Solitary WiccaTradition2 entriesEcumenical Patriarchate of ConstantinopleTradition18 entriesThe Episcopal ChurchTradition11 entriesEritrean Orthodox Tewahedo ChurchTradition12 entriesEthiopian Orthodox Tewahedo ChurchTradition12 entriesEvangelical Lutheran Church in AmericaTradition9 entriesEvangelicalismTradition1 entryFeri TraditionTradition1 entryFree Methodist ChurchTradition5 entriesGardnerian WiccaTradition2 entriesGeorgian Orthodox ChurchTradition18 entriesGlobal Methodist ChurchTradition5 entriesGreek Orthodox ChurchTradition18 entriesHaredi JudaismTradition16 entriesHasidic JudaismTradition16 entriesHumanistic JudaismTradition2 entriesIbadismTradition1 entryIrani ZoroastrianismTradition1 entryJehovah's WitnessesTradition1 entryKaraite JudaismTradition2 entriesKhalsaTradition1 entryKimbanguist ChurchTradition1 entryLatter-day Saints (Mormonism)Tradition3 entriesLutheranismTradition9 entriesMahayanaTradition1 entryMaronite ChurchTradition2 entriesMennonitesTradition1 entryMethodismTradition5 entriesModern Orthodox JudaismTradition16 entriesMoravian ChurchTradition2 entriesNational Baptist Convention of AmericaTradition3 entriesNichirenTradition1 entryOld BelieversTradition2 entriesOriental OrthodoxyTradition12 entriesOrthodox JudaismTradition16 entriesParsi ZoroastrianismTradition1 entryPentecostalismTradition2 entriesPresbyterianismTradition3 entriesProgressive National Baptist ConventionTradition3 entriesPure LandTradition1 entryQuakerism (Religious Society of Friends)Tradition2 entriesQuanzhen (Complete Reality)Tradition1 entryReclaimingTradition1 entryReconstructionist JudaismTradition4 entriesReform JudaismTradition7 entriesRoman CatholicismTradition27 entriesRomanian Orthodox ChurchTradition18 entriesRussian Orthodox ChurchTradition18 entriesSaint Thomas ChristiansTradition2 entriesSeax-WicaTradition1 entrySect ShintoTradition1 entrySerbian Orthodox ChurchTradition18 entriesSeventh-day AdventismTradition2 entriesShaivismTradition2 entriesShaktismTradition1 entryShangqing (Highest Clarity)Tradition1 entryShia (Twelver)Tradition6 entriesShrine ShintoTradition2 entriesSmartismTradition1 entrySufismTradition5 entriesSunniTradition2 entriesTheravadaTradition1 entryTibetan BuddhismTradition3 entriesUkrainian Greek Catholic ChurchTradition4 entriesUkrainian Orthodox ChurchTradition18 entriesThe United Methodist ChurchTradition5 entriesVaishnavismTradition3 entriesVajrayanaTradition2 entriesWesleyan ChurchTradition5 entriesZaidiyyahTradition1 entryZenTradition1 entryZhengyi (Orthodox Unity)Tradition2 entriesZion Christian ChurchTradition3 entriesSources1. 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.