Home›Dharmic (Nontheistic)›DenominationsBrowse ByDenominationsThis page groups religions by how many internal denominations or branches they have split into over time. Wikipedia notes that Protestantism alone, having separated from the Catholic Church in the Reformation, "is split into thousands of denominations." Browsing this way lets a visitor see which traditions have stayed largely unified and which have fragmented into many distinct bodies.FactsLearn MoreDenominationsSourcesComments (0)Reader Challenges (0)FactsStatusStanding as a Comparative CategoryWell-attestedContested: 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. 2OverviewWhat Defines This GroupingWell-attestedTraditions 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. 2DirectoryCategoryWell-attestedReligions 1Learn MoreDharmic 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.DenominationsFilter Results23 entriesBasis of the Education Facility CountAllThe Body's Own Published Statistics (1)Basis of the Humanitarian Aid FigureAllThe Body's Own Published Statistics (2)Basis of the Membership FigureAllChurch-Reported Rolls (11)Independent Survey (2)National Census (3)Scholarly or Demographic Estimate (3)Basis of the Wealth FigureAllJournalistic or Scholarly Estimate (1)Date of Separation End YearAll816 (1)822 (1)1202 (1)1207 (1)1244 (1)1271 (1)1499 (1)1650 (1)Date of Separation Start YearAll805 (1)806 (1)1175 (1)1191 (1)1224 (1)1227 (1)1253 (1)1294 (1)Defining Doctrinal PositionAllA staged curriculum from the first motivation to buddhahood (2)All the teachings ranked in a graded classification (panjiao) (2)Awakening as sudden and direct, outside the scriptures (2)Awakening as sudden and direct, outside the scriptures (1)Awakening by one's own effort (jiriki) (2)Awakening by one's own effort (jiriki) (1)Awakening by tantric means (Vajrayana) (1)Awakening by tantric means (Vajrayana) (1)Awakening by the Buddha's power (tariki), not one's own (2)Awakening is the ground already present, not an outcome (4)Awakening through esoteric ritual transmission (mikkyo) (2)Awakening through graded cultivation (2)Awakening through graded cultivation (1)Buddhahood realised in this very body and lifetime (3)Dzogchen: the great perfection (1)Emptiness, provisional existence and the middle held as one (2)Lamdre: the path and its fruit taught as one (1)Liberation by the path of the arhat (1)Mahamudra: the great seal (1)Mahamudra: the great seal (1)Neither self-emptiness nor other-emptiness as usually stated (1)One vehicle: every teaching leads to a single buddhahood (6)Rangtong: emptiness of self-nature (1)Rangtong: emptiness of self-nature (1)Shentong: buddha-nature empty only of what is extraneous to it (1)Shentong: buddha-nature empty only of what is extraneous to it (2)The Lotus Sutra alone as the complete teaching (1)The Lotus Sutra alone as the complete teaching (2)The present age is too degenerate for the older disciplines (mappo) (5)Universal liberation by the path of the bodhisattva (2)Documented Accused CountAll1 (1)3 (1)GovernanceAllA head temple over affiliated branch temples (9)A single central governing body over the whole movement (1)Authority in recognised reincarnate lineages (7)Authority through monastic ordination lineage and its seats (8)Autonomous local bodies under a national umbrella association (1)No central authority (4)Priestly office passing by descent (2)How the Expectation Is EnforcedAllCustomary Norm (4)Preached Expectation, Not Enforced (1)Humanitarian Aid Figure As OfAll2016-12-31 (1)2022-03-10 (1)2024-01-07 (1)2025-04-15 (1)Liturgical LanguageAllClassical Chinese (read in Sino-Japanese where used in Japan) (12)Classical Tibetan (8)Pali (1)Sanskrit (4)The vernacular (1)Membership Figure As OfAll1931-01-01 (1)1951-05-03 (1)1953-01-01 (1)1957-12-01 (1)1974-01-01 (1)1984-01-01 (3)1991-11-28 (1)1996-01-01 (1)2004-12-31 (1)2010-01-01 (2)2012-01-01 (1)2014-01-01 (1)2018-01-01 (1)2020-01-01 (1)2020-12-31 (1)2021-01-01 (4)2022-01-01 (1)2023-07-10 (1)2025-01-01 (2)2026-08-14 (1)OrdinationAllA full female ordination lineage continues (1)An unpaid lay ministry rather than a professional clergy (1)Celibacy required of the ordained (4)Married clergy permitted (9)Non-celibate tantric practitioners alongside monastics (3)Office passes by descent (2)Open to women and men (2)Ordination is into a monastic order, not to a congregation (19)Restricted to men (1)The full female ordination lineage is held lapsed; revival contested (3)Varies between provinces or member bodies (1)Origin Period End YearAll100 (1)597 (1)779 (1)800 (1)806 (1)816 (1)1073 (1)1100 (1)1150 (1)1175 (1)1193 (1)1200 (1)1202 (1)1244 (1)1253 (1)1290 (1)1361 (1)1419 (1)1499 (1)1900 (1)Origin Period Start YearAll250 BCE (1)100 BCE (1)150 (1)400 (1)500 (1)538 (1)600 (1)750 (1)755 (1)805 (1)806 (1)1050 (1)1073 (1)1100 (1)1191 (1)1224 (1)1227 (1)1253 (1)1290 (1)1294 (1)1409 (1)1930 (1)1938 (1)Position on SexualityAllSame-sex marriage is performed and LGBT clergy are ordained on equal terms with heterosexual clergy (1)Relation to the StateAllPrivileged Never Established (1)Varies by Province (1)Status TodayAllLiving tradition, practised today (23)Revived or reconstructed in the modern era (1)Wealth Figure As Of YearAll2004 (1)Show ResultsBrowseCompareGelugDenominations1 entryJodo ShinshuDenominations1 entryJonangDenominations1 entryKagyuDenominations1 entryKarma KagyuDenominations1 entryMadhyamakaDenominations1 entryMahayanaDenominations1 entryNichirenDenominations1 entryNichiren ShoshuDenominations1 entryNyingmaDenominations1 entryPure LandDenominations1 entryRinzaiDenominations1 entryRissho Kosei KaiDenominations1 entrySakyaDenominations1 entryShingonDenominations1 entrySoka GakkaiDenominations1 entrySotoDenominations1 entryTendaiDenominations1 entryTheravadaDenominations1 entryTiantaiDenominations1 entryTibetan BuddhismDenominations1 entryVajrayanaDenominations1 entryZenDenominations1 entrySources1. Divinity Atlas Directory Taxonomy, First Edition Category Treetier 12. The Foundations of Buddhismtier 1Rupert Gethin, Oxford University Press, 1998View 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.