Home›Purificatory Practices›Scholarly Standing›A standard analytic category in the study of religionBrowse ByA standard analytic category in the study of religionThis page groups practices by how settled their scholarly classification is. Wikipedia notes that "starting about 1920, 'cult' acquired an additional six or more positive and negative definitions," a term whose meaning has shifted considerably. Browsing this way lets a visitor see which practices scholars describe consistently and which remain genuinely contested.FactsLearn MoreA standard analytic category in the study of religionSourcesComments (0)Reader Challenges (0)FactsOverviewWhat Defines This GroupingWell-attestedPractices undertaken to remove a condition the tradition treats as impurity and to restore fitness for worship or for ordinary life - ablution before prayer, bathing, confession, the sweeping out of leaven, exorcism, purification by smoke. Impurity here is a ritual status rather than dirt or sin, and its causes and remedies are set by each tradition's own law. 2Contested UseContested or Appropriated Modern UseWell-attestedSourced to the subject's own accountTwo practices grouped here, smudging and the sweat lodge, are English names for ceremonies belonging to particular Native American nations, several of which those nations hold closed. The Lakota Summit V declaration of June 1993 objected by name to their conduct by people without standing. The atlas records that they exist and publishes no procedure. 3DirectoryCategoryWell-attestedPractices 1StatusStanding as a Comparative CategoryWell-attestedA standard analytic category in the study of religion 2Learn MoreThe purificatory practices This group gathers purificatory practices, the acts by which practitioners cleanse themselves of impurity or sin in preparation for worship or as a discipline in itself: ritual washing, bathing, fasting and other rites of purification. The concern with purity before the sacred is nearly universal. The browser will find purificatory practices from across the traditions. The entries describe each practice's form and meaning, noting the conception of purity and pollution that underlies it.A standard analytic category in the study of religionFilter Results18 entriesOrigin Period Start YearAll-2000 (1)-300 (1)-50 (1)500 (3)610 (3)Solitary or CommunalAllPerformed alone (6)Performed alone or together (5)Performed by a gathered group (1)Performed by an officiant for a recipient (6)TraditionAllAnglican Communion (1)Anglicanism (1)Armenian Apostolic Church (2)Assyrian Church of the East (1)Beta Israel (1)Breslov Hasidism (3)Chabad-Lubavitch (3)Church of Cyprus (2)Church of England (1)Church of Greece (2)Church of Ireland (1)Church of Sweden (1)Conservative Judaism (1)Coptic Orthodoxy (2)Eastern Orthodoxy (2)Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople (2)Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church (2)Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (2)Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (1)Georgian Orthodox Church (2)Greek Orthodox Church (2)Haredi Judaism (3)Hasidic Judaism (3)Karaite Judaism (1)Lutheranism (1)Maronite Church (1)Modern Orthodox Judaism (3)Old Believers (1)Oriental Orthodoxy (2)Orthodox Judaism (3)Reform Judaism (1)Roman Catholicism (2)Romanian Orthodox Church (2)Russian Orthodox Church (2)Salafism (1)Sect Shinto (1)Serbian Orthodox Church (2)Shakers (1)Shrine Shinto (1)The Episcopal Church (1)Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (1)Ukrainian Orthodox Church (2)Category of PracticeAllPurificatory (4)Who Performs ItAllAll adherents of the tradition (7)Clergy or ordained officiants (1)Lay people (2)The candidate undergoing the rite (1)Trained or authorised specialists (6)Women only (1)Practice StatusAllLiving tradition, practised today (16)CadenceAllAnnual (2)As the occasion requires (7)Daily (1)Several times a day (1)ObligationAllObligatory (4)Obligatory on those who meet its conditions (2)Undertaken only with authorisation or transmission (2)Holds ElementAllFire (1)Show ResultsBrowseCompareSelect all 18BarashnumA standard analytic category in the study of religionBedikat ChametzA standard analytic category in the study of religionChhaupadiA standard analytic category in the study of religionCircumcisionA standard analytic category in the study of religionConfessionA standard analytic category in the study of religionExorcismA standard analytic category in the study of religionGhuslA standard analytic category in the study of religionMisogiA standard analytic category in the study of religionNetilat YadayimA standard analytic category in the study of religionPratikramanaA standard analytic category in the study of religionRitual purification (harae)A standard analytic category in the study of religionRuqyahA standard analytic category in the study of religionSmudgingA standard analytic category in the study of religionSnan (Sacred Bathing)A standard analytic category in the study of religionSpiritual BathA standard analytic category in the study of religionSweat lodge ceremonyA standard analytic category in the study of religionTayammumA standard analytic category in the study of religionTemizuA standard analytic category in the study of religionSources1. Divinity Atlas Directory Taxonomy, First Edition Category Treetier 12. Encyclopedia of Religiontier 1Mircea Eliade (ed.); Lindsay Jones (ed., 2nd ed.), Macmillan Reference, 2005s.v. PurificationView the Source3. Declaration of War Against Exploiters of Lakota Spiritualitytier 1Lakota Summit V, 1993the holders' own accountDivinity 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.