Home›Moral Precepts›TraditionBrowse ByTraditionThis page groups beliefs by the school of thought that holds them. Wikipedia notes that "eliminativists about belief ... argue that there is no phenomenon in the natural world which corresponds to our folk psychological concept of belief," one named position among several. Browsing by tradition lets a visitor read every belief from one named school together.FactsLearn MoreTraditionSourcesComments (0)Reader Challenges (0)FactsOverviewWhat Defines This GroupingWell-attestedRules of conduct a tradition states as binding on its members - commandments, precepts, vows, training rules. Each is given as the tradition frames it, because the force of a rule differs with its frame: a Buddhist precept undertaken as a training rule is not a commandment, and a monastic vow is not a law binding on the laity. 2StatusStanding as a Comparative CategoryWell-attestedA standard analytic category in the study of religion 2DirectoryCategoryWell-attestedBeliefs & Restrictions 1Learn MoreThe Moral Precepts This group holds the moral precepts of the traditions, the ethical rules and principles by which a religion directs conduct: commandments, precepts and codes that set out how the faithful should live toward God and one another. The browser will find the moral precepts the atlas gathers. The entries describe each in its own terms, noting the tradition that teaches it and how it is understood within that tradition.TraditionFilter Results90 entriesAdherents Today MaximumAll40,000 (1)278,000 (1)400,910 (1)887,000 (1)2,000,000 (1)2,130,000 (1)2,250,000 (1)95,000,000 (1)110,000,000 (1)260,000,000 (1)Adherents Today MinimumAll40,000 (1)278,000 (1)400,910 (1)887,000 (1)1,450,000 (1)1,700,000 (1)1,760,000 (1)6,630,000 (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 (2)Basis of the Membership FigureAllChurch-Reported Rolls (20)Independent Survey (13)National Census (9)Scholarly or Demographic Estimate (22)Basis of the Wealth FigureAllAudited Annual Report (3)Journalistic or Scholarly Estimate (3)Regulator Filing (1)The Body's Own Published Statistics (3)Calendar SystemAllJulian (Old Calendar) (1)Church FamilyAllAnabaptist (3)Anglican (4)Church of the East (1)Eastern Catholic (1)Eastern Orthodox (6)Latter Day Saint (1)Lutheran (2)Methodist (2)Oriental Orthodox (4)Pentecostal (1)Restorationist (2)Date of Separation End YearAll200 (1)451 (1)750 (1)765 (1)900 (1)1204 (1)1527 (1)1555 (1)1561 (1)1571 (1)1712 (1)1795 (1)1815 (1)1850 (1)1876 (1)1913 (1)1967 (1)1971 (1)1974 (1)1995 (1)Date of Separation Start YearAll100 (1)451 (3)657 (1)760 (1)765 (1)1054 (2)1521 (1)1525 (1)1534 (2)1536 (1)1666 (1)1693 (1)1736 (1)1772 (1)1784 (1)1804 (1)1811 (1)1833 (1)1844 (1)1873 (1)1881 (1)1883 (1)1889 (1)1906 (1)1962 (1)1963 (1)1971 (1)1985 (1)1993 (1)Defining Doctrinal PositionAllA Goddess and a God as a divine pair (2)A living, present imam (1)Ahura Mazda opposed by a destructive principle, made real through good thought, word and deed (1)An inner (batin) meaning of scripture and law alongside the outward (1)Belief may be concealed where disclosure would bring harm (taqiyya) (1)Chalcedonian: two natures in the one person of Christ (Chalcedon, 451) (3)Chalcedonian: two natures in the one person of Christ (Chalcedon, 451) (11)Ethical practice held prior to and independent of theological agreement (1)Ethics grounded in reason and human experience, without the supernatural (3)Ethics grounded in reason and human experience, without the supernatural (1)Full mendicancy requires the abandonment of clothing (1)Halakha binding and not subject to historical revision (1)Halakha binding, but developing through scholarship (1)Halakha binding, with secular education, work and civic participation affirmed rather than merely tolerated (1)Judaism as an evolving religious civilisation, God reconceived naturalistically (1)Leadership by the community's election of the most qualified, without descent (1)Leadership by the community's election of the most qualified, without descent (1)Liberation is attained only from a man's birth (1)Miaphysite: one incarnate nature of the Word, divine and human united (1)Miaphysite: one incarnate nature of the Word, divine and human united (3)Neidan: the refinement of body and spirit as the path (1)No fixed pantheon or liturgy; each practitioner composes their own (2)One vehicle: every teaching leads to a single buddhahood (1)Perfectionist (1)Recognises a post-prophetic messianic figure (1)Rejects the Filioque: the Spirit proceeds from the Father (1)Rejects the Filioque: the Spirit proceeds from the Father (7)Religious claims assessed, and rejected, on evidential grounds (1)Restorationist: holds the apostolic church to have been lost and restored (2)Satan as a symbol, not a being (1)Shiva as the supreme reality (1)Strict dyophysite: two distinct natures held in two qnome (concrete hypostases), not Chalcedon's two natures in one hypostasis (1)Succession by divine designation in the Prophet's family (1)The Goddess alone (1)The Imams are protected from sin and from error (ismah) (1)The original canon held to have been lost (1)The Qur'an is God's created speech (1)The tzaddik or rebbe as spiritual intermediary and head of the community (1)The tzaddik or rebbe as spiritual intermediary and head of the community (2)The written Torah alone; the rabbinic Oral Torah not accepted (1)The written Torah alone; the rabbinic Oral Torah not accepted (1)Trinitarian: one God in three persons (9)Trinitarian: one God in three persons (9)Universal liberation by the path of the bodhisattva (1)Documented Accused CountAll5 (1)6 (1)390 (1)Education Facility Count As OfAll1878-12-31 (1)GovernanceAllA federation of autonomous member organisations (8)A living imam whose office passes by descent (1)A single central governing body over the whole movement (3)An imam or caliph elected by the community or its electors (3)Authority in monastic seats (mathas) and their heads (1)Authority in trained scholars, with no central office (2)Authority through monastic ordination lineage and its seats (2)Autonomous covens, authority conferred by initiation (4)Autonomous local bodies under a national umbrella association (1)Business decided by the gathered meeting seeking unity, without clergy (1)Congregational: each congregation self-governing (5)Connexional: congregations bound in a conference with itinerant ministry (2)Delegated representation from congregations up to a general conference (1)Episcopal: governed by bishops (7)Lay boards or trusts govern, alongside the priesthood (2)No central authority (11)Priestly office passing by descent (2)Self-governing churches under patriarchs, deciding in synod (11)Synodal: governed by synods of clergy and lay delegates (3)How the Expectation Is EnforcedAllCodified Obligation With Consequences (3)Codified Obligation, Ruled Unenforceable (1)Customary Norm (9)Obligation to Support, No Set Rate (5)Preached Expectation, Not Enforced (7)Humanitarian Aid Figure As OfAll1877-12-31 (1)Liturgical LanguageAllAramaic (2)Avestan (1)Church Slavonic (2)Classical Arabic (5)Classical Armenian (Grabar) (1)Classical Chinese (read in Sino-Japanese where used in Japan) (2)Classical Syriac (2)Coptic (1)Early Modern German (the Luther Bible) (1)Geez (3)Georgian (1)Greek (liturgical) (5)Hebrew (6)Jain Shauraseni Prakrit (1)Sanskrit (2)The vernacular (27)Membership Figure As OfAll1848-01-01 (1)1850-02-01 (1)1852-01-01 (1)1878-01-01 (1)1900-01-01 (1)1910-01-01 (1)1912-01-01 (2)1914-01-01 (1)1917-01-01 (1)1923-01-01 (1)1924-01-01 (1)1930-01-01 (1)1958-01-01 (1)1970-01-01 (1)1985-01-01 (1)1988-12-31 (1)1990-01-01 (1)1991-05-25 (1)1992-01-01 (1)1994-01-01 (1)1996-01-01 (1)1998-01-01 (1)1999-01-01 (1)2005-01-01 (1)2007-01-01 (2)2008-01-01 (2)2009-01-01 (1)2010-01-01 (5)2011-01-01 (3)2013-01-01 (6)2014-01-01 (3)2015-01-01 (4)2016-12-31 (1)2017-01-01 (1)2018-01-01 (3)2019-01-01 (2)2020-01-01 (5)2021-01-01 (2)2021-03-21 (1)2022-01-01 (6)2022-05-03 (1)2022-12-31 (1)2023-01-01 (3)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)2025-08-04 (1)2026-02-01 (1)2026-08-14 (1)2026-08-16 (2)OrdinationAllA full female ordination lineage continues (1)An unpaid lay ministry rather than a professional clergy (1)Authority conferred by initiation rather than by ordination (5)Celibacy required of the ordained (2)Married clergy permitted (13)No ordination; authority rests on learning or on the whole body (9)No successor by deliberate choice (1)Office passes by descent (4)Open to women and men (17)Ordination is into a monastic order, not to a congregation (4)Restricted to men (20)Restricted to women (1)The full female ordination lineage is held lapsed; revival contested (2)Varies between provinces or member bodies (5)Origin Period End YearAll52 (1)100 (1)200 (1)301 (1)337 (1)340 (2)410 (1)431 (1)451 (1)657 (1)750 (1)900 (1)909 (1)1204 (1)1527 (1)1530 (1)1559 (1)1561 (1)1571 (1)1600 (1)1667 (1)1712 (1)1784 (1)1789 (1)1797 (1)1800 (1)1810 (1)1832 (1)1848 (1)1850 (1)1860 (1)1867 (1)1876 (1)1881 (1)1889 (1)1906 (1)1913 (1)1914 (1)1941 (1)1952 (1)1954 (1)1960 (1)1963 (1)1966 (1)1967 (1)1971 (1)1988 (1)1995 (1)2007 (1)2022 (1)Origin Period Start YearAll100 BCE (1)30 (1)42 (1)49 (1)100 (1)295 (1)320 (2)326 (1)390 (1)431 (1)651 (1)657 (1)680 (1)760 (1)765 (1)1100 (1)1200 (1)1300 (1)1517 (1)1525 (1)1534 (3)1536 (1)1652 (1)1693 (1)1738 (1)1775 (1)1789 (1)1800 (1)1801 (2)1802 (1)1845 (1)1848 (1)1850 (1)1860 (1)1876 (1)1881 (1)1889 (1)1914 (1)1940 (1)1941 (1)1946 (1)1952 (1)1962 (1)1963 (1)1966 (1)1971 (1)1985 (1)1988 (1)2004 (1)2022 (1)Position on JustificationAllFaith Alone (1)No Communion Wide Standard (1)Position on MarriageAllMarriage is held to be monogamous, with remarriage after divorce sanctioned under specified conditions (4)Marriage may licitly be polygynous (1)No single uniform teaching on marriage's terms holds across the body (1)Position on PredestinationAllSingle Predestination (1)Unsettled (1)Position on SexualityAllSame-sex marriage is performed and LGBT clergy are ordained on equal terms with heterosexual clergy (9)Same-sex orientation or practice is held to bar full membership or participation (4)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 (9)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 (5)Position on the EucharistAllNo Communion Wide Definition (1)Sacramental Union (1)Principle of WorshipAllNormative (2)Relation to the StateAllDisestablished (3)Established (2)No Establishment (16)Privileged Never Established (6)Varies by Province (6)Rule Established or Last ChangedAll2019-01-01 (1)Sacraments RecognisedAllTwo (2)Settlement TotalAll500,000 (1)137,300,000 (1)Standing as a Comparative CategoryAllA standard analytic category in the study of religion (1)Standing of Holy OrdersAllHistoric Episcopate Locally Adapted (1)Historic Episcopate Received Not Required (1)Status TodayAllDissolved; the community wound itself up (1)Living tradition, practised today (56)Wealth Figure As Of YearAll2008 (1)2016 (1)2024 (5)2025 (2)Show ResultsBrowseCompareAhmadiyyaTradition2 entriesAlexandrian WiccaTradition1 entryAmerican Humanist AssociationTradition4 entriesAmishTradition3 entriesAnabaptismTradition3 entriesAnglican CommunionTradition1 entryAnglicanismTradition1 entryArmenian Apostolic ChurchTradition1 entryAssemblies of GodTradition1 entryAssyrian Church of the EastTradition1 entryBeta IsraelTradition1 entryBreslov HasidismTradition2 entriesChabad-LubavitchTradition2 entriesChurch of CyprusTradition1 entryChurch of EnglandTradition1 entryChurch of God (Anderson, Indiana)Tradition1 entryChurch of GreeceTradition1 entryChurch of SatanTradition1 entryChurches of ChristTradition1 entryCommunity of ChristTradition1 entryConservative JudaismTradition1 entryCoptic OrthodoxyTradition1 entryDianic WiccaTradition1 entryDigambaraTradition2 entriesDisciples of ChristTradition1 entryDragon GateTradition1 entryEastern OrthodoxyTradition1 entryEclectic Solitary WiccaTradition1 entryEcumenical Patriarchate of ConstantinopleTradition1 entryThe Episcopal ChurchTradition1 entryEritrean Orthodox Tewahedo ChurchTradition2 entriesEthical CultureTradition4 entriesEthiopian Orthodox Tewahedo ChurchTradition2 entriesEvangelical Lutheran Church in AmericaTradition1 entryFeri TraditionTradition1 entryGardnerian WiccaTradition1 entryGeorgian Orthodox ChurchTradition1 entryGlobal Methodist ChurchTradition1 entryGreek Orthodox ChurchTradition1 entryHaredi JudaismTradition1 entryHumanistic JudaismTradition1 entryHumanists InternationalTradition4 entriesIbadismTradition2 entriesIrani ZoroastrianismTradition1 entryIsmailismTradition2 entriesKaraite JudaismTradition1 entryKharijitesTradition2 entriesLingayatismTradition1 entryLutheranismTradition1 entryMahayanaTradition1 entryMaronite ChurchTradition1 entryMennonitesTradition3 entriesMethodismTradition1 entryModern Orthodox JudaismTradition1 entryNew AtheismTradition1 entryOld BelieversTradition1 entryOneida CommunityTradition2 entriesOrder of Nine AnglesTradition1 entryOriental OrthodoxyTradition1 entryOrthodox JudaismTradition1 entryParsi ZoroastrianismTradition1 entryPresbyterian Church (U.S.A.)Tradition1 entryProgressive National Baptist ConventionTradition1 entryQuakerism (Religious Society of Friends)Tradition2 entriesQuanzhen (Complete Reality)Tradition1 entryQuranismTradition2 entriesReclaimingTradition1 entryRoman CatholicismTradition2 entriesRomanian Orthodox ChurchTradition1 entryRussian Orthodox ChurchTradition1 entrySalafismTradition2 entriesThe Satanic TempleTradition1 entrySeax-WicaTradition1 entrySerbian Orthodox ChurchTradition1 entrySeventh-day AdventismTradition2 entriesShakersTradition3 entriesShangqing (Highest Clarity)Tradition1 entryShia (Twelver)Tradition2 entriesSouthern Baptist ConventionTradition1 entrySufismTradition2 entriesSunniTradition2 entriesSvetambaraTradition2 entriesTheravadaTradition2 entriesUkrainian Greek Catholic ChurchTradition1 entryUkrainian Orthodox ChurchTradition1 entryUnited Church of ChristTradition1 entryThe United Methodist ChurchTradition1 entryWahhabismTradition2 entriesZaidiyyahTradition2 entriesZhengyi (Orthodox Unity)Tradition1 entrySources1. Divinity Atlas Directory Taxonomy, First Edition Category Treetier 12. Encyclopedia of Religiontier 1Mircea Eliade (ed.); Lindsay Jones (ed., 2nd ed.), Macmillan Reference, 2005View 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.