Home›Initiatory Rituals›TraditionBrowse ByTraditionThis page groups rituals by the religious tradition that prescribes them. Wikipedia notes that rituals "may be prescribed by tradition, including religious practices, and are often characterized by formalism, traditionalism, rule-governance, and performance." Browsing by tradition lets a visitor read every ritual belonging to one faith together, rather than finding them scattered by kind.FactsLearn MoreTraditionSourcesComments (0)Reader Challenges (0)FactsOriginsWhose Classification This IsWell-attestedInitiation is treated as a species of rite of passage on van Gennep's 1909 three-stage scheme - separation, liminality, incorporation - as elaborated by Victor Turner in 1969. The scheme is a comparative frame devised by its authors, not an account any tradition gives of its own rite. 2OverviewWhat Defines This GroupingWell-attestedRites that admit a person to a status, community or degree of knowledge not previously held. The atlas records that such rites exist, who confers them and what they are held to accomplish. 2DirectoryCategoryWell-attestedRituals 1StatusStanding as a Comparative CategoryWell-attestedA standard analytic category in the study of religion 2Learn MoreThe Initiatory Rituals This group holds initiatory rituals, the ceremonies by which a person is admitted into a religion, order or degree, or consecrated to a sacred role. Initiation typically enacts a symbolic death and rebirth, marking the passage into a new spiritual state. The browser will find initiatory rituals from various traditions. The entries describe each rite's form and meaning, noting the tradition and the admission or elevation it enacts.TraditionFilter Results70 entriesAdherents Today MaximumAll40,000 (1)225,776 (1)278,000 (1)400,910 (1)887,000 (1)1,000,000 (1)1,500,000 (3)2,000,000 (1)2,130,000 (1)3,500,000 (2)17,887,212 (1)95,000,000 (1)100,000,000 (1)110,000,000 (1)260,000,000 (1)Adherents Today MinimumAll40,000 (1)225,776 (1)278,000 (1)400,910 (1)887,000 (1)1,000,000 (1)1,200,000 (1)1,450,000 (1)1,500,000 (3)1,700,000 (1)2,500,000 (1)3,500,000 (1)17,887,212 (1)53,871,526 (1)78,000,000 (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 (1)Basis of the Membership FigureAllChurch-Reported Rolls (31)Independent Survey (18)National Census (9)Scholarly or Demographic Estimate (21)Basis of the Wealth FigureAllAudited Annual Report (4)Court-Documented Inventory (1)Journalistic or Scholarly Estimate (4)Regulator Filing (4)The Body's Own Published Statistics (3)Calendar SystemAllJulian (Old Calendar) (1)Church FamilyAllAfrican Initiated Church (2)Anabaptist (3)Anglican (5)Baptist (3)Church of the East (1)Eastern Catholic (1)Eastern Orthodox (6)Evangelical (1)Latter Day Saint (1)Lutheran (3)Methodist (6)Moravian (1)Oriental Orthodox (5)Reformed (4)Restorationist (2)Date of SeparationAll2022 (1)Date of Separation End YearAll451 (2)1204 (1)1527 (1)1555 (1)1560 (1)1561 (1)1566 (1)1571 (1)1612 (1)1712 (1)1795 (1)1815 (1)1830 (1)1846 (1)1850 (1)1876 (1)1908 (1)1913 (1)1968 (1)Date of Separation Start YearAll451 (4)1054 (2)1457 (1)1521 (1)1525 (1)1534 (2)1536 (2)1560 (1)1609 (1)1666 (1)1693 (1)1736 (1)1772 (1)1784 (1)1787 (1)1796 (1)1804 (1)1810 (2)1811 (1)1830 (1)1833 (1)1858 (1)1870 (1)1881 (1)1883 (1)1895 (1)1906 (1)1915 (1)1935 (1)1961 (1)1963 (1)1993 (1)Defining Doctrinal PositionAllA founding prophet's teaching and healing ministry held central to the church's identity (2)Chalcedonian: two natures in the one person of Christ (Chalcedon, 451) (4)Chalcedonian: two natures in the one person of Christ (Chalcedon, 451) (15)Ethics grounded in reason and human experience, without the supernatural (1)Halakha binding and not subject to historical revision (2)Halakha binding, but developing through scholarship (1)Halakha binding, with secular education, work and civic participation affirmed rather than merely tolerated (1)Halakha informative rather than binding on the individual (2)Judaism as an evolving religious civilisation, God reconceived naturalistically (2)Miaphysite: one incarnate nature of the Word, divine and human united (2)Miaphysite: one incarnate nature of the Word, divine and human united (3)Non-trinitarian: the Nicene doctrine of the Trinity is not held (1)One vehicle: every teaching leads to a single buddhahood (1)Rejects the Filioque: the Spirit proceeds from the Father (1)Rejects the Filioque: the Spirit proceeds from the Father (7)Restorationist: holds the apostolic church to have been lost and restored (3)Strict dyophysite: two distinct natures held in two qnome (concrete hypostases), not Chalcedon's two natures in one hypostasis (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)Trinitarian: one God in three persons (21)Trinitarian: one God in three persons (11)Universal liberation by the path of the bodhisattva (1)Documented Accused CountAll1 (1)5 (1)6 (1)390 (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 (3)Authority in trained scholars, with no central office (2)Autonomous local bodies under a national umbrella association (2)Congregational: each congregation self-governing (8)Connexional: congregations bound in a conference with itinerant ministry (6)Delegated representation from congregations up to a general conference (4)Episcopal: governed by bishops (10)No central authority (9)Presbyterian: governed by elders in graded courts (4)Self-governing churches under patriarchs, deciding in synod (12)Synodal: governed by synods of clergy and lay delegates (4)How the Expectation Is EnforcedAllCodified Obligation With Consequences (4)Codified Obligation, Ruled Unenforceable (1)Customary Norm (11)Obligation to Support, No Set Rate (4)Preached Expectation, Not Enforced (8)Humanitarian Aid Figure As OfAll2025-12-31 (1)Liturgical LanguageAllAramaic (3)Church Slavonic (2)Classical Arabic (1)Classical Armenian (Grabar) (2)Classical Chinese (read in Sino-Japanese where used in Japan) (1)Classical Syriac (3)Coptic (2)Early Modern German (the Luther Bible) (1)Geez (3)Georgian (1)Greek (liturgical) (5)Hebrew (9)Sanskrit (1)The vernacular (37)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)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)1992-01-01 (1)1994-01-01 (1)1996-01-01 (1)2000-04-01 (1)2000-12-31 (1)2004-01-01 (1)2005-01-01 (1)2006-01-01 (3)2007-01-01 (2)2008-01-01 (1)2008-09-01 (1)2009-01-01 (1)2010-01-01 (6)2011-01-01 (4)2013-01-01 (7)2013-10-01 (1)2014-01-01 (3)2015-01-01 (4)2016-01-01 (4)2016-12-31 (1)2017-01-01 (2)2018-01-01 (4)2019-01-01 (2)2020-01-01 (10)2021-01-01 (2)2021-03-21 (1)2021-05-11 (1)2021-05-12 (1)2021-12-31 (1)2022-01-01 (11)2022-05-03 (1)2022-12-31 (1)2023-01-01 (2)2023-04-29 (1)2023-07-01 (1)2023-08-08 (1)2023-12-31 (1)2024-01-01 (6)2024-03-01 (1)2024-12-31 (3)2025-01-01 (5)2026-02-01 (1)2026-04-10 (1)2026-08-14 (2)2026-08-16 (1)OrdinationAllA full female ordination lineage continues (1)An unpaid lay ministry rather than a professional clergy (2)Celibacy required of the ordained (2)Married clergy permitted (14)No successor by deliberate choice (1)Office passes by descent (2)Open to women and men (21)Ordination is into a monastic order, not to a congregation (1)Restricted to men (21)The full female ordination lineage is held lapsed; revival contested (1)Varies between provinces or member bodies (10)Origin Period End YearAll52 (1)100 (1)301 (1)337 (1)340 (2)410 (1)431 (1)451 (2)1204 (1)1467 (1)1527 (2)1530 (1)1559 (2)1560 (1)1561 (1)1571 (2)1592 (1)1612 (1)1667 (1)1712 (1)1772 (1)1784 (1)1789 (1)1797 (1)1810 (1)1816 (1)1821 (1)1830 (1)1832 (1)1846 (1)1850 (2)1860 (1)1867 (1)1870 (1)1881 (1)1906 (1)1908 (1)1913 (1)1915 (1)1921 (1)1961 (1)1963 (1)1968 (1)1988 (1)2022 (1)Origin Period Start YearAll100 BCE (1)30 (2)42 (1)49 (1)295 (1)320 (2)326 (1)390 (1)431 (1)1457 (1)1517 (1)1525 (1)1527 (1)1534 (3)1536 (2)1560 (2)1571 (1)1609 (1)1652 (1)1693 (1)1738 (1)1740 (1)1775 (1)1787 (1)1789 (1)1796 (1)1800 (2)1801 (2)1802 (1)1810 (1)1820 (1)1845 (1)1850 (1)1860 (1)1870 (1)1880 (1)1881 (1)1895 (1)1920 (1)1921 (1)1922 (1)1961 (1)1963 (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 (6)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 (8)Same-sex orientation or practice is held to bar full membership or participation (3)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 (15)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 (8)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 (18)Privileged Never Established (10)Varies by Province (9)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)137,300,000 (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 (56)Wealth Figure As Of YearAll1997 (1)2008 (1)2016 (2)2018 (1)2019 (1)2023 (1)2024 (6)2025 (3)2026 (1)Show ResultsBrowseCompareAfrican Methodist Episcopal ChurchTradition3 entriesAfrican Methodist Episcopal Zion ChurchTradition3 entriesAladuraTradition1 entryAmishTradition1 entryAnabaptismTradition1 entryAnglican CommunionTradition3 entriesAnglicanismTradition3 entriesArmenian Apostolic ChurchTradition4 entriesAssyrian Church of the EastTradition1 entryBaptistTradition2 entriesBreslov HasidismTradition2 entriesCalvinism (Reformed)Tradition2 entriesChabad-LubavitchTradition2 entriesChristian Methodist Episcopal ChurchTradition3 entriesChurch of CyprusTradition4 entriesChurch of EnglandTradition4 entriesChurch of God (Anderson, Indiana)Tradition1 entryChurch of GreeceTradition4 entriesChurch of IrelandTradition3 entriesChurch of ScotlandTradition2 entriesChurch of SwedenTradition3 entriesChurch of the NazareneTradition3 entriesChurches of ChristTradition1 entryConservative JudaismTradition2 entriesCoptic OrthodoxyTradition4 entriesDisciples of ChristTradition1 entryDutch Reformed ChurchTradition2 entriesEastern OrthodoxyTradition5 entriesEcumenical Patriarchate of ConstantinopleTradition4 entriesThe Episcopal ChurchTradition3 entriesEritrean Orthodox Tewahedo ChurchTradition4 entriesEthiopian Orthodox Tewahedo ChurchTradition4 entriesEvangelical Lutheran Church in AmericaTradition3 entriesFree Methodist ChurchTradition3 entriesGeorgian Orthodox ChurchTradition4 entriesGlobal Methodist ChurchTradition3 entriesGreek Orthodox ChurchTradition4 entriesHaredi JudaismTradition2 entriesHasidic JudaismTradition2 entriesHumanistic JudaismTradition1 entryKimbanguist ChurchTradition1 entryLatter-day Saints (Mormonism)Tradition1 entryLutheranismTradition3 entriesMahayanaTradition1 entryMaronite ChurchTradition3 entriesMennonitesTradition1 entryMethodismTradition3 entriesModern Orthodox JudaismTradition2 entriesMoravian ChurchTradition2 entriesNational Baptist Convention of AmericaTradition2 entriesOld BelieversTradition1 entryOriental OrthodoxyTradition4 entriesOrthodox JudaismTradition2 entriesPresbyterianismTradition2 entriesProgressive National Baptist ConventionTradition2 entriesReconstructionist JudaismTradition1 entryReform JudaismTradition2 entriesRoman CatholicismTradition4 entriesRomanian Orthodox ChurchTradition4 entriesRussian Orthodox ChurchTradition4 entriesSaint Thomas ChristiansTradition1 entrySerbian Orthodox ChurchTradition4 entriesSeventh-day AdventismTradition1 entrySufismTradition1 entryTheravadaTradition2 entriesUkrainian Greek Catholic ChurchTradition3 entriesUkrainian Orthodox ChurchTradition4 entriesThe United Methodist ChurchTradition3 entriesWesleyan ChurchTradition3 entriesZion Christian ChurchTradition1 entrySources1. Divinity Atlas Directory Taxonomy, First Edition Category Treetier 12. Ritual: Perspectives and Dimensionstier 1Catherine Bell, Oxford University Press, 1997Basic Genres of Ritual ActionView 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.