Home›Left-Hand Path›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)FactsStatusStatus TodayWell-attestedLiving: the movements grouped here are current organisations with members, published doctrine and a documented history, and are described here in the present tense. 4Standing as a Comparative CategoryWell-attestedContested: left-hand path is used both as a self-designation by the groups themselves and as a label applied from outside, and the two uses do not pick out the same set. 2OverviewWhat Defines This GroupingWell-attestedCurrents that take the self, rather than submission to a god or dissolution into a greater whole, as the aim of practice, and that deliberately invert the symbols of the surrounding religion. They differ sharply over whether their central figures are real beings or chosen symbols. 2DirectoryCategoryWell-attestedReligions 1OriginsOrigin of the NameWell-attestedBorrowed from Indian Tantra, where vamachara, the left-hand practice, names rites using substances and acts the orthodox path forbids. It was applied to Western currents much later and carries none of the Tantric context. 3Learn MoreLeft-Hand-Path Traditions This group gathers left-hand-path traditions, a modern category for spiritual currents that deliberately set themselves against mainstream religious norms, emphasising self-deification, individual will and the transgression of taboo rather than submission to a higher order. The browser will find the traditions the atlas classes here. The entries describe each in its own stated terms, distinguishing a considered philosophical stance from the popular caricatures often attached to the label.DenominationsFilter Results4 entriesBasis of the Membership FigureAllChurch-Reported Rolls (1)Independent Survey (1)Scholarly or Demographic Estimate (2)Date of Separation End YearAll1975 (1)Date of Separation Start YearAll1975 (1)Defining Doctrinal PositionAllSatan as a symbol, not a being (2)Satan or Set held to be a real being (2)GovernanceAllA single central governing body over the whole movement (3)Congregational: each congregation self-governing (1)No central authority (1)How the Expectation Is EnforcedAllObligation to Support, No Set Rate (1)Liturgical LanguageAllThe vernacular (4)Membership Figure As OfAll1999-01-01 (2)2005-01-01 (1)2013-01-01 (1)2019-01-01 (1)2023-05-26 (1)OrdinationAllAuthority conferred by initiation rather than by ordination (3)Open to women and men (3)Origin Period End YearAll1966 (1)1975 (1)1980 (1)2013 (1)Origin Period Start YearAll1966 (1)1974 (1)1975 (1)2013 (1)Position on SexualityAllSame-sex marriage is performed and LGBT clergy are ordained on equal terms with heterosexual clergy (2)Relation to the StateAllNo Establishment (2)Status TodayAllLiving tradition, practised today (4)Show ResultsBrowseCompareChurch of SatanDenominations1 entryOrder of Nine AnglesDenominations1 entryThe Satanic TempleDenominations1 entryTemple of SetDenominations1 entrySources1. Divinity Atlas Directory Taxonomy, First Edition Category Treetier 12. The Devil's Party: Satanism in Modernitytier 1Per Faxneld and Jesper Aa. Petersen (eds.), Oxford University Press, 20133. The Origins of Yoga and Tantra: Indic Religions to the Thirteenth Centurytier 1Geoffrey Samuel, Cambridge University Press, 20084. Satanism: A Social Historytier 1Massimo Introvigne, Brill, 2016View 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.