Divinity Atlas

Sacred Correspondences
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Living, and practised in varied local forms

This page groups religions by whether they are open to anyone who wishes to join or reserved for a closely defined community. Wikipedia notes that while some religions claim to be universal, "others are intended to be practiced only by a closely defined or localized group." Browsing this way separates missionary faiths that actively seek converts from traditions that restrict who may take part.

Facts
Status
Standing as a Comparative Category
Contested: non-theistic is accurate about a creator god and misleading about everything else. Buddhas, bodhisattvas and devas are central to most practice, and the label describes a comparison with monotheism rather than the tradition itself. 2
Overview
What Defines This Grouping
Traditions of Indian origin that work within dharma, karma and rebirth without a creator god: liberation comes through practice, discipline and insight, and where gods appear they are inside the cycle of rebirth rather than above it. 2
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Category
Religions 1
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Dharmic Traditions Without a Creator God

This group gathers Dharmic religions of a nontheistic character, Indian-origin traditions that operate within the karma-and-rebirth framework without a creator god at the centre. Buddhism and Jainism are the classic examples, seeking liberation through insight and ethical discipline rather than divine grace.

The browser will find the traditions the atlas classes here. The entries describe each, noting that the absence of a creator does not mean the absence of the sacred, the venerated or the transcendent goal.

Living, and practised in varied local forms
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Buddhism

Living, and practised in varied local forms
Sources
1. Divinity Atlas Directory Taxonomy, First Edition Category Tree
2. The Foundations of Buddhism
Rupert Gethin, Oxford University Press, 1998View the Source
Divinity Atlas Directory Prose, First Edition Category Descriptions
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