Divinity Atlas

Sacred Correspondences
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State Recognition

This page groups religions by whether a government formally recognizes them, a status distinct from how many people actually practice the faith. Wikipedia notes that "most Muslim-majority countries adopt various aspects of sharia, the Islamic law," with the practice affecting "up to 23% of the global population." Browsing by state recognition lets a visitor separate official standing from ordinary religious life.

Facts
Overview
What Defines This Grouping
Religions founded in the modern era, usually around a living founder and a new revelation or a new reading of an old one. The label describes age and origin and passes no judgement on legitimacy. 2
Status
Standing as a Comparative Category
A standard category in the sociology of religion, adopted deliberately from the 1970s in place of cult, which had come to deliver a verdict rather than a description. 2
Directory
Category
Religions 1
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New religious movements

This group gathers new religious movements: religions and spiritual movements that emerged in the modern period, typically in the nineteenth, twentieth or twenty-first centuries, often around a founder, a new revelation or a fresh synthesis of older sources.

The browser will find a varied set of movements, ranging from established faiths to small and sometimes controversial groups. The atlas describes each in its own terms, records its documented history, and notes controversy where it is well attested, without either endorsing or dismissing.

State Recognition
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Sources
1. Divinity Atlas Directory Taxonomy, First Edition Category Tree
2. New Religious Movements: A Practical Introduction
Eileen Barker, HMSO, 1989View the Source
Divinity Atlas Directory Prose, First Edition Category Descriptions
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