Home›Underworlds›Belongs To TraditionBrowse ByBelongs To TraditionThis page groups realms by the wider field of belief that describes them. Wikipedia notes that "major views on the afterlife derive from religion, esotericism, and metaphysics." Browsing by belongs-to-tradition lets a visitor find every realm described within the same field of belief.FactsLearn MoreBelongs To TraditionSourcesComments (0)Reader Challenges (0)FactsOverviewWhat Defines This GroupingWell-attestedRealms below or beyond the living world to which the dead are said to go. The traditions gathered here disagree about whether such a place is a punishment, a shadowy continuation or a stage on the way somewhere else, and the entries keep those answers apart. 2Peoples and Traditions CoveredWell-attestedAncient Greek, Ancient Egyptian, Jewish, Norse, Islamic, Hindu, Aztec and Maya cosmologies. These are unrelated traditions; Sheol, Hades, Naraka and Jahannam are not four names for one place. 2StatusStanding as a Comparative CategoryWell-attestedA standard comparative category in the study of religion 2DirectoryCategoryWell-attestedRealms 1Learn MoreThe underworlds This group holds the underworlds, the lower and subterranean realms of the world's cosmologies, the abodes of the dead and, in many traditions, of chthonic powers. The underworld ranges from a neutral land of shades to a place of judgement and torment, depending on the tradition. The browser will find the underworld realms the atlas gathers. The entries describe each realm's inhabitants, rulers and character, reporting each tradition's own map of the world below.Belongs To TraditionFilter Results20 entriesAdherents Today MaximumAll121,962 (1)14,800,000 (1)324,000,000 (1)1,200,000,000 (1)2,000,000,000 (1)2,300,000,000 (1)Adherents Today MinimumAll111,691 (1)14,800,000 (1)324,000,000 (1)1,200,000,000 (1)2,000,000,000 (1)2,300,000,000 (1)Basis of the Membership FigureAllChurch-Reported Rolls (1)Independent Survey (7)National Census (1)Scholarly or Demographic Estimate (6)Era of Decline End YearAll100 (1)400 (1)529 (1)550 (1)1200 (2)1600 (2)1976 (1)Era of Decline Start YearAll100 BCE (1)380 (3)651 (1)863 (1)1000 (1)1150 (1)1521 (1)1966 (1)Era of Modern Revival End YearAll1990 (1)2013 (1)Era of Modern Revival Start YearAll1930 (1)1990 (1)Establishment StatusAllDeclared Not Established (1)Disestablished (2)Varies by Province (4)How the Expectation Is EnforcedAllCodified Obligation With Consequences (1)Customary Norm (5)Membership Figure As OfAll2004-01-01 (1)2005-01-01 (1)2006-01-01 (1)2010-01-01 (4)2011-01-27 (1)2011-12-19 (1)2012-01-01 (2)2012-12-18 (2)2013-01-01 (1)2016-01-01 (1)2016-12-31 (1)2018-01-01 (1)2020-01-01 (5)2025-01-01 (1)Origin Period End YearAll3000 BCE (2)1046 BCE (1)1000 BCE (1)700 BCE (1)600 BCE (1)500 BCE (2)400 BCE (2)50 (1)632 (1)712 (1)800 (1)988 (1)1200 (1)1300 (1)1428 (1)Origin Period Start YearAll3500 BCE (1)3300 BCE (1)2000 BCE (1)1600 BCE (1)1500 BCE (2)1400 BCE (1)1000 BCE (1)750 BCE (1)586 BCE (1)500 BCE (2)300 BCE (1)30 (1)500 (2)610 (1)1325 (1)Position on MarriageAllMarriage may licitly be polygynous (1)Position on SexualityAllSame-sex orientation or practice is held to bar full membership or participation (1)The body holds no single settled position; the question is actively and openly contested within it (2)Position on UsuryAllInterest is permitted but bound by ethical constraints against exploiting the poor (1)Interest of any kind on a loan is forbidden (1)Practice StatusAllDiscontinued as a state religion (6)Living, and in active revival (1)Living, and practised in varied local forms (4)Partly restricted: some elements are closed to outsiders (5)Standard Rate ExpectedAllTen percent. (1)Two and a half percent. (1)Status TodayAllHistorical; not practised continuously (6)Living tradition, practised today (14)Revived or reconstructed in the modern era (2)TheologyAllAncestor-centred (3)Animist: persons and powers in land, water and living things (3)Dualist: two opposed cosmic principles (1)Henotheistic: a supreme being above served lesser divinities (1)Monistic: one ultimate reality behind all appearance (1)Monotheistic: one God (4)Non-theistic: no creator god is central (1)Panentheistic: the divine both within the world and beyond it (1)Polytheistic: many gods (14)Show ResultsBrowseCompareAncient Egyptian ReligionBelongs To Tradition2 entriesAncient Greek ReligionBelongs To Tradition3 entriesAztec ReligionBelongs To Tradition1 entryBuddhismBelongs To Tradition1 entryChinese Folk ReligionBelongs To Tradition4 entriesChristianityBelongs To Tradition1 entryFinnish Paganism (Suomenusko)Belongs To Tradition1 entryHinduismBelongs To Tradition1 entryInuit ReligionBelongs To Tradition1 entryIslamBelongs To Tradition1 entryJudaismBelongs To Tradition2 entriesKongo ReligionBelongs To Tradition1 entryMaya ReligionBelongs To Tradition1 entryMesopotamian ReligionBelongs To Tradition1 entryNorse PaganismBelongs To Tradition1 entryPolynesian ReligionBelongs To Tradition2 entriesRoman ReligionBelongs To Tradition1 entryShintoBelongs To Tradition1 entrySlavic Native Faith (Rodnovery)Belongs To Tradition1 entryZoroastrianismBelongs To Tradition1 entrySources1. Divinity Atlas Directory Taxonomy, First Edition Category Treetier 12. Encyclopedia of Religiontier 1Mircea Eliade (ed.); Lindsay Jones (ed., 2nd ed.), Macmillan Reference, 2005s.v. Descent into the UnderworldView 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.