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Fasting, voluntary abstention from food and drink, in whole or in part, for a set time, ties to six religions in this atlas, completing the six-religion convergence tier begun by Angels and Spirits, Pilgrimage and Almsgiving and Charity elsewhere in this atlas: Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Jainism and Judaism.

Three Named by Their Own Practice

The atlas's own record names three of the six directly. Muslims fast dawn to sunset through Ramadan; Jews keep full-day fasts such as Yom Kippur; Christians fast in Lent and on other days. Forms differ, the record notes, a fast may be total or a restricted diet, but the purpose is held in common across all three: by denying bodily appetite, fasting is held to sharpen prayer, subdue the passions, focus the spirit and express repentance, and it also fosters gratitude and compassion by giving a taste of hunger.

Three Grouped Together, One Without a Named Practice

The record groups the remaining three more loosely. Hindus and Buddhists are named as fasting on holy days or as vows, without a single practice picked out the way Ramadan and Yom Kippur are for Islam and Judaism. Jainism's tie to Fasting carries no specific practice named in either one's own record; it stands on the live attested link alone, tied for this atlas's strongest open convergence candidate alongside the other five.

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• FastingAscetic PracticesThe practice itself, completing this atlas's six-religion convergence tier
• IslamAbrahamic (Monotheistic)Named directly: the Ramadan fast, dawn to sunset
• JudaismAbrahamic (Monotheistic)Named directly: full-day fasts such as Yom Kippur
• ChristianityAbrahamic (Monotheistic)Named directly: fasting in Lent and on other days
• HinduismDharmic (Polytheistic)Grouped: fasting on holy days or as vows
• BuddhismDharmic (Nontheistic)Grouped: fasting on holy days or as vows
• JainismDharmicCarries the live edge alone, with no specific practice named in either record