Home›Fasts›TraditionBrowse ByTraditionThis page groups holidays by the religion whose adherents keep them. Wikipedia notes that "a religious festival is a time of special importance marked by adherents to that religion." Browsing by tradition lets a visitor read every holiday from one religious tradition together.FactsLearn MoreTraditionSourcesComments (0)Reader Challenges (0)FactsOverviewWhat Defines This GroupingWell-attestedDays and seasons a tradition sets apart for abstention from food, drink or other pleasures as an obligation of its calendar. What is given up, and for how long, differs sharply - a daylight fast kept for a lunar month, a single day from sunset to sunset, a season of restricted diet - and a fast is not always penitential: some are mourning and some are preparation. 2StatusStanding as a Comparative CategoryWell-attestedA standard analytic category in the study of religion 2DirectoryCategoryWell-attestedHolidays & Festivals 1Learn MoreThe Fasts This group holds fasts, the days and seasons of abstinence from food, drink or other comforts, kept as acts of penitence, purification, mourning or spiritual discipline. Fasting is a widespread religious practice, from the month of Ramadan in Islam to the fast days of Judaism and Christian Lent. The browser will find the fasts the atlas gathers. The entries describe each fast's occasion, rules and meaning, noting the tradition that keeps it.TraditionFilter Results52 entriesAdherents Today MaximumAll225,776 (1)278,000 (1)368,000 (1)400,910 (1)887,000 (1)1,000,000 (1)1,500,000 (3)2,130,000 (1)3,500,000 (2)95,000,000 (1)100,000,000 (1)110,000,000 (1)260,000,000 (1)1,406,000,000 (1)Adherents Today MinimumAll225,776 (1)278,000 (1)368,000 (1)400,910 (1)887,000 (1)1,000,000 (1)1,200,000 (1)1,450,000 (1)1,500,000 (3)2,500,000 (1)3,500,000 (1)53,871,526 (1)78,000,000 (1)80,000,000 (1)220,000,000 (1)1,406,000,000 (1)Bankruptcy FilingsAll28 (1)Basis of the Education Facility CountAllThe Body's Own Published Statistics (1)Basis of the Health Facility CountAllThe Body's Own Published Statistics (1)Basis of the Membership FigureAllChurch-Reported Rolls (30)Independent Survey (14)National Census (11)Scholarly or Demographic Estimate (18)Basis of the Wealth FigureAllAudited Annual Report (6)Court-Documented Inventory (1)Journalistic or Scholarly Estimate (5)Regulator Filing (2)The Body's Own Published Statistics (3)Calendar SystemAllJulian (Old Calendar) (2)Church FamilyAllAnabaptist (3)Anglican (5)Baptist (3)Eastern Catholic (2)Eastern Orthodox (10)Evangelical (2)Lutheran (3)Methodist (8)Moravian (1)Oriental Orthodox (5)Pentecostal (1)Reformed (4)Restorationist (1)Roman Catholic (1)Date of SeparationAll2022 (1)2019-2023 (1)Date of Separation End YearAll451 (2)1204 (2)1527 (1)1555 (2)1560 (1)1561 (1)1566 (1)1571 (1)1612 (1)1712 (1)1795 (1)1850 (1)1908 (1)1914 (1)1925 (1)2019 (1)Date of Separation Start YearAll451 (4)1054 (3)1346 (1)1448 (1)1457 (1)1517 (1)1521 (1)1525 (1)1534 (2)1536 (2)1560 (1)1609 (1)1666 (1)1693 (1)1736 (1)1784 (1)1787 (1)1796 (1)1804 (1)1811 (1)1833 (1)1843 (1)1858 (1)1870 (1)1881 (1)1885 (1)1895 (1)1906 (1)1915 (1)1961 (1)1993 (1)2018 (1)Defining Doctrinal PositionAllAffirms the Filioque: the Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son (1)Chalcedonian: two natures in the one person of Christ (Chalcedon, 451) (5)Chalcedonian: two natures in the one person of Christ (Chalcedon, 451) (20)Miaphysite: one incarnate nature of the Word, divine and human united (2)Miaphysite: one incarnate nature of the Word, divine and human united (3)Rejects the Filioque: the Spirit proceeds from the Father (1)Rejects the Filioque: the Spirit proceeds from the Father (10)Restorationist: holds the apostolic church to have been lost and restored (1)Trinitarian: one God in three persons (26)Trinitarian: one God in three persons (14)Documented Accused CountAll5 (1)19 (1)21 (1)237 (1)390 (1)800 (1)1670 (1)1880 (1)2900 (1)4392 (1)Education Facility Count As OfAll2023-12-31 (1)GovernanceAllA federation of autonomous member organisations (4)Autonomous local bodies under a national umbrella association (2)Congregational: each congregation self-governing (5)Connexional: congregations bound in a conference with itinerant ministry (8)Delegated representation from congregations up to a general conference (1)Episcopal: governed by bishops (12)No central authority (7)Presbyterian: governed by elders in graded courts (4)Self-governing churches under patriarchs, deciding in synod (15)Synodal: governed by synods of clergy and lay delegates (4)Universal primacy of a single bishop (1)Health Facility Count As OfAll2023-12-31 (1)How the Expectation Is EnforcedAllCodified Obligation With Consequences (5)Customary Norm (11)Obligation to Support, No Set Rate (3)Preached Expectation, Not Enforced (10)Liturgical LanguageAllChurch Slavonic (6)Classical Arabic (1)Classical Armenian (Grabar) (2)Classical Syriac (2)Coptic (2)Early Modern German (the Luther Bible) (1)Geez (3)Georgian (1)Greek (liturgical) (5)Latin (1)The vernacular (36)Membership Figure As OfAll1868-01-01 (1)1876-01-01 (1)1900-01-01 (1)1910-01-01 (1)1912-01-01 (2)1917-01-01 (1)1923-01-01 (1)1924-01-01 (1)1939-01-01 (1)1958-01-01 (1)1968-01-01 (2)1970-01-01 (2)1972-01-01 (1)1988-12-31 (1)1991-01-01 (1)1992-01-01 (1)1996-01-01 (1)2002-01-01 (1)2004-01-01 (1)2006-01-01 (2)2007-01-01 (4)2008-01-01 (2)2009-01-01 (1)2010-01-01 (8)2011-01-01 (6)2013-01-01 (2)2014-01-01 (5)2015-01-01 (4)2016-01-01 (5)2016-12-31 (1)2017-01-01 (2)2017-10-30 (1)2017-11-08 (1)2018-01-01 (4)2019-01-01 (3)2020-01-01 (6)2021-01-01 (3)2021-03-21 (1)2021-12-31 (1)2022-01-01 (13)2022-12-31 (2)2023-01-01 (3)2023-04-29 (1)2023-07-01 (1)2023-08-08 (1)2023-12-31 (1)2024-01-01 (5)2024-03-01 (1)2024-12-31 (2)2025-01-01 (5)2026-02-01 (1)2026-08-14 (2)2026-08-16 (1)OrdinationAllAn unpaid lay ministry rather than a professional clergy (1)Celibacy required of the ordained (2)Married clergy permitted (19)Open to women and men (19)Restricted to men (20)The full female ordination lineage is held lapsed; revival contested (1)Varies between provinces or member bodies (12)Origin Period End YearAll52 (1)301 (1)337 (1)340 (2)410 (1)431 (1)451 (2)988 (1)1100 (1)1204 (1)1219 (1)1448 (1)1467 (1)1527 (2)1530 (1)1555 (1)1559 (2)1560 (1)1561 (1)1571 (2)1592 (1)1596 (1)1612 (1)1667 (1)1712 (1)1745 (1)1784 (1)1789 (1)1816 (1)1821 (1)1832 (1)1850 (1)1860 (1)1867 (1)1870 (1)1881 (1)1906 (1)1908 (1)1915 (1)1961 (1)1968 (2)1988 (1)2022 (1)Origin Period Start YearAll30 (3)42 (1)49 (1)295 (1)320 (2)326 (1)390 (1)431 (1)988 (2)1219 (1)1457 (1)1517 (2)1525 (1)1527 (1)1534 (3)1536 (2)1560 (2)1571 (1)1596 (1)1609 (1)1652 (1)1693 (1)1734 (1)1738 (1)1787 (1)1789 (1)1796 (1)1801 (1)1850 (1)1860 (1)1870 (1)1880 (1)1881 (1)1895 (1)1901 (1)1961 (1)1968 (2)1988 (1)2022 (1)Position on JustificationAllFaith Alone (3)No Communion Wide Standard (1)Position on MarriageAllMarriage is held to be a lifelong, monogamous, indissoluble union; remarriage after divorce is not sanctioned while a spouse lives (2)Marriage is held to be monogamous, with remarriage after divorce sanctioned under specified conditions (4)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 (6)Same-sex orientation or practice is held to bar full membership or participation (2)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 (7)Position on the EucharistAllNo Communion Wide Definition (1)Sacramental Union (1)Spiritual Reception by Faith (2)Position on UsuryAllInterest is permitted but bound by ethical constraints against exploiting the poor (1)Principle of WorshipAllNormative (3)Regulative (1)Relation to the StateAllDisestablished (5)Established (3)No Establishment (19)Privileged Never Established (9)Varies by Province (13)Rule Established or Last ChangedAll2000-01-01 (1)2007-11-28 (1)2010-10-24 (1)2019-01-01 (1)Sacraments RecognisedAllTwo (4)Settlement TotalAll500,000 (1)137,300,000 (1)1,500,000,000 (1)5,590,000,000 (1)Standard Rate ExpectedAllFive percent. (1)Ten percent. (6)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 (51)Wealth Figure As Of YearAll2007 (1)2008 (1)2009 (1)2014 (1)2016 (2)2023 (1)2024 (8)2025 (3)Show ResultsBrowseCompareAfrican Methodist Episcopal ChurchTradition3 entriesAfrican Methodist Episcopal Zion ChurchTradition3 entriesAmishTradition1 entryAnabaptismTradition1 entryAnglican CommunionTradition3 entriesAnglicanismTradition3 entriesArmenian Apostolic ChurchTradition1 entryBaptistTradition1 entryCalvinism (Reformed)Tradition1 entryChristian Methodist Episcopal ChurchTradition3 entriesChurch of CyprusTradition3 entriesChurch of EnglandTradition3 entriesChurch of God (Anderson, Indiana)Tradition1 entryChurch of GreeceTradition3 entriesChurch of IrelandTradition3 entriesChurch of ScotlandTradition1 entryChurch of SwedenTradition3 entriesChurch of the NazareneTradition1 entryCoptic OrthodoxyTradition1 entryDisciples of ChristTradition1 entryDutch Reformed ChurchTradition1 entryEastern OrthodoxyTradition3 entriesEcumenical Patriarchate of ConstantinopleTradition3 entriesThe Episcopal ChurchTradition3 entriesEritrean Orthodox Tewahedo ChurchTradition1 entryEthiopian Orthodox Tewahedo ChurchTradition1 entryEvangelical Lutheran Church in AmericaTradition2 entriesEvangelicalismTradition1 entryFree Methodist ChurchTradition1 entryGeorgian Orthodox ChurchTradition3 entriesGlobal Methodist ChurchTradition3 entriesGreek Orthodox ChurchTradition3 entriesLutheranismTradition3 entriesMaronite ChurchTradition1 entryMennonitesTradition1 entryMethodismTradition3 entriesMoravian ChurchTradition1 entryNational Baptist Convention of AmericaTradition1 entryOld BelieversTradition3 entriesOriental OrthodoxyTradition1 entryPentecostalismTradition1 entryPresbyterianismTradition1 entryProgressive National Baptist ConventionTradition1 entryProtestantismTradition1 entryRoman CatholicismTradition3 entriesRomanian Orthodox ChurchTradition3 entriesRussian Orthodox ChurchTradition3 entriesSerbian Orthodox ChurchTradition3 entriesUkrainian Greek Catholic ChurchTradition3 entriesUkrainian Orthodox ChurchTradition3 entriesThe United Methodist ChurchTradition3 entriesWesleyan ChurchTradition1 entrySources1. Divinity Atlas Directory Taxonomy, First Edition Category Treetier 12. Encyclopedia of Religiontier 1Mircea Eliade (ed.); Lindsay Jones (ed., 2nd ed.), Macmillan Reference, 2005s.v. FastingView 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.