Home›Prohibitions›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-attestedActs a tradition forbids, stated as it states them - intoxicants, usury, meat killed by another rite, tobacco. A prohibition is recorded here where the tradition frames it as a rule binding on members, as distinct from a taboo, which is framed as danger inhering in the thing itself. 2DirectoryCategoryWell-attestedBeliefs & Restrictions 1Learn MoreThe prohibitions This group gathers prohibitions, the acts a tradition forbids, the "thou shalt nots" by which it marks the boundaries of right conduct and ritual purity. Prohibitions define a community as much by what it refuses as by what it affirms. The browser will find the prohibitions the atlas gathers. The entries describe each in its own terms, noting the tradition that upholds it and the reason given for the prohibition.TraditionFilter Results16 entriesAdherents Today MaximumAll2,250,000 (1)17,887,212 (1)1,750,000,000 (1)Adherents Today MinimumAll1,760,000 (1)17,887,212 (1)1,600,000,000 (1)Bankruptcy FilingsAll1 (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 (3)Independent Survey (2)National Census (1)Scholarly or Demographic Estimate (6)Basis of the Wealth FigureAllAudited Annual Report (1)Journalistic or Scholarly Estimate (2)Regulator Filing (1)Church FamilyAllLatter Day Saint (1)Date of Separation End YearAll680 (2)740 (1)750 (1)765 (1)1830 (1)1930 (1)1966 (1)1974 (1)Date of Separation Start YearAll632 (2)657 (1)740 (1)765 (1)1830 (1)1880 (1)1889 (1)1966 (1)Defining Doctrinal PositionAllA living, present imam (1)Achintya bhedabheda: inconceivable oneness and difference (1)An inner (batin) meaning of scripture and law alongside the outward (1)An interior path (tasawwuf) pursued within the schools of law (1)Belief may be concealed where disclosure would bring harm (taqiyya) (2)In the Imam's absence a qualified jurist holds his political authority (1)In the Imam's absence the jurist guides and judges but does not rule (1)Initiation into the Khalsa and its rahit as normative (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)Non-trinitarian: the Nicene doctrine of the Trinity is not held (1)Recognises a post-prophetic messianic figure (1)Recognises a post-prophetic messianic figure (1)Restorationist: holds the apostolic church to have been lost and restored (1)Succession by divine designation in the Prophet's family (2)Succession to the Prophet settled by the community (1)Text and the reports of the earliest community above juristic reasoning (1)The imamate open to any qualified descendant of Ali who rises and claims it (1)The Imams are protected from sin and from error (ismah) (2)The practice of the first generations as the sole binding precedent (1)The Qur'an alone as the source of law; hadith not binding (1)The Qur'an is God's created speech (2)The Qur'an is God's uncreated speech (2)Vishnu as the supreme reality (1)Documented Accused CountAll1 (1)Education Facility Count As OfAll2026-03-29 (1)GovernanceAllA living imam whose office passes by descent (1)A single central governing body over the whole movement (4)An imam or caliph elected by the community or its electors (3)Authority in a living teacher and their succession (1)Authority in living jurists whom the laity choose to emulate (1)Authority in trained scholars, with no central office (4)Authority through a shaykh and an initiatic chain (1)Autonomous initiatory houses under an initiating elder (1)Delegated representation from congregations up to a general conference (1)No central authority (4)How the Expectation Is EnforcedAllCodified Obligation With Consequences (6)Customary Norm (2)Humanitarian Aid Figure As OfAll2025-12-31 (1)Liturgical LanguageAllClassical Arabic (11)Kikongo-derived ritual language (habla congo) (1)Punjabi in Gurmukhi script (1)Sanskrit (1)The vernacular (6)Membership Figure As OfAll1971-12-31 (1)1998-01-01 (1)2000-12-31 (1)2008-01-01 (1)2009-01-01 (2)2012-01-01 (1)2012-01-02 (1)2012-01-03 (1)2019-07-03 (1)2020-01-01 (1)2021-09-01 (1)2023-01-01 (1)2024-01-01 (1)2024-12-31 (1)2025-01-01 (1)2026-08-14 (1)OrdinationAllAn unpaid lay ministry rather than a professional clergy (1)Authority conferred by initiation rather than by ordination (3)Conferred by a teacher's certification of learning (1)Conferred by appointment from a higher authority (2)No ordination; authority rests on learning or on the whole body (10)Office passes by descent (1)Open to women and men (2)Restricted to men (3)Varies between provinces or member bodies (2)Origin Period End YearAll657 (1)750 (1)897 (1)900 (1)909 (1)941 (1)1200 (1)1699 (1)1744 (1)1830 (1)1889 (1)1900 (1)1930 (1)1934 (1)1966 (1)1970 (1)Origin Period Start YearAll632 (2)657 (1)680 (1)740 (1)750 (1)765 (1)1699 (1)1744 (1)1800 (1)1820 (1)1880 (2)1889 (1)1930 (1)1965 (1)Position on MarriageAllMarriage is held to be monogamous, with remarriage after divorce sanctioned under specified conditions (1)Marriage may licitly be polygynous (3)Position on SexualityAllSame-sex orientation or practice is held to bar full membership or participation (6)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 (2)Relation to the StateAllDisestablished (1)Established (3)No Establishment (2)Privileged Never Established (1)Rule Established or Last ChangedAll1838-07-08 (1)Settlement TotalAll995,000 (1)9,500,000 (1)Status TodayAllLiving tradition, practised today (16)Wealth Figure As Of YearAll1974 (1)1997 (1)2018 (1)2019 (1)2024 (1)2026 (1)Show ResultsBrowseCompareAhmadiyyaTradition2 entriesIbadismTradition2 entriesISKCON (Hare Krishna)Tradition1 entryIsmailismTradition2 entriesKhalsaTradition2 entriesKharijitesTradition2 entriesLatter-day Saints (Mormonism)Tradition1 entryNation of IslamTradition1 entryPalo MayombeTradition1 entryQuranismTradition2 entriesSalafismTradition5 entriesShia (Twelver)Tradition2 entriesSufismTradition2 entriesSunniTradition2 entriesWahhabismTradition5 entriesZaidiyyahTradition2 entriesSources1. Divinity Atlas Directory Taxonomy, First Edition Category Treetier 12. Tabootier 1Franz Steiner; edited by Laura Bohannan, preface by E. E. Evans-Pritchard, Cohen and West, 1956Divinity 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.