Home›Virtues›TraditionBrowse ByTraditionThis page groups virtues by the ethical tradition that defines them. Wikipedia notes that "in human practical ethics, a virtue is a disposition to choose actions that succeed in showing high moral standards," a definition each tradition fills in its own way. Browsing by tradition lets a visitor read every virtue from one tradition together.FactsLearn MoreTraditionSourcesComments (0)Reader Challenges (0)FactsOverviewWhat Defines This GroupingWell-attestedNamed qualities a tradition holds worth cultivating, given in that tradition's own list and with the reason it offers. Comparison across traditions is an established field, but the lists are not translations of one another: a quality grouped as one virtue in one scheme is divided, ranked differently or absent in another. 1Size of the Traditional SetWell-attestedSeven in the Latin Christian scheme: four cardinal virtues and three theological 2OriginsWhose Classification This IsWell-attestedThe Western set of seven is composite: four cardinal virtues - prudence, justice, temperance, courage - from Greek philosophy through Cicero and Ambrose, and three theological virtues of faith, hope and love from 1 Corinthians 13. Thomas Aquinas fixed the sevenfold arrangement in the Summa Theologiae. It is a Latin Christian scheme and not a universal one. 2Learn MoreQualities Worth Cultivating This category holds the virtues, the qualities that moral and spiritual traditions name as worth cultivating. The best-known Western set is the seven: the four cardinal virtues of prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance, inherited from Greek philosophy, and the three theological virtues of faith, hope and love (charity) from Christian teaching. Alongside them stand the contrary or heavenly virtues, each paired against one of the seven deadly sins: humility against pride, charity against greed, chastity against lust, kindness against envy, temperance against gluttony, patience against wrath and diligence against sloth. Each entry gives a virtue in the terms of the tradition that names it, the reason offered for cultivating it, and its place in that tradition's moral scheme.Comparing the Schemes The Western scheme groups the virtues in three ways at once: the four cardinal virtues of classical philosophy, the three theological virtues of Christian teaching, and the seven heavenly virtues set against the deadly sins. Some virtues belong to more than one grouping, temperance is both cardinal and a counter to gluttony, charity both theological and a counter to greed, and the entries note where a virtue sits in each. Each virtue is given with the vice it is set against, where the tradition draws that pairing. The vices themselves are treated in their own category.TraditionFilter Results12 entriesAdherents Today MaximumAll121,962 (1)5,000,000 (1)14,800,000 (1)30,000,000 (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)4,000,000 (1)14,800,000 (1)25,000,000 (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 (6)National Census (2)Scholarly or Demographic Estimate (6)Era of Decline End YearAll400 (1)1976 (1)Era of Decline Start YearAll380 (1)651 (1)1966 (1)Establishment StatusAllDeclared Not Established (1)Disestablished (3)Established (1)Varies by Province (4)How the Expectation Is EnforcedAllCodified Obligation With Consequences (1)Customary Norm (5)Obligation to Support, No Set Rate (1)Membership Figure As OfAll2001-01-01 (1)2001-03-01 (1)2004-01-01 (1)2010-01-01 (4)2011-01-01 (1)2011-01-27 (1)2011-03-01 (1)2011-12-19 (1)2012-01-01 (1)2012-12-18 (2)2013-01-01 (1)2015-01-01 (1)2016-12-31 (1)2018-01-01 (1)2020-01-01 (5)2021-01-01 (1)Origin Period End YearAll600 BCE (1)500 BCE (2)479 BCE (1)400 BCE (3)50 (1)632 (1)712 (1)1708 (1)Origin Period Start YearAll1500 BCE (2)750 BCE (1)600 BCE (1)586 BCE (1)551 BCE (1)500 BCE (1)300 BCE (1)30 (1)610 (1)1499 (1)Position on MarriageAllMarriage is held to be monogamous, with remarriage after divorce sanctioned under specified conditions (1)Marriage may licitly be polygynous (1)Position on SexualityAllSame-sex orientation or practice is held to bar full membership or participation (2)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 (1)Living, and practised in varied local forms (5)Partly restricted: some elements are closed to outsiders (6)Standard Rate ExpectedAllTen percent. (2)Two and a half percent. (1)Status TodayAllHistorical; not practised continuously (1)Living tradition, practised today (11)TheologyAllAncestor-centred (2)Animist: persons and powers in land, water and living things (1)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 (5)Non-theistic: no creator god is central (3)Panentheistic: the divine both within the world and beyond it (1)Polytheistic: many gods (3)Show ResultsBrowseCompareBuddhismTradition16 entriesChristianityTradition14 entriesConfucianismTradition5 entriesHinduismTradition10 entriesIslamTradition7 entriesJainismTradition5 entriesJudaismTradition5 entriesRoman ReligionTradition4 entriesShintoTradition4 entriesSikhismTradition5 entriesYorùbá Religion (Ifá)Tradition1 entryZoroastrianismTradition1 entrySources1. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophytier 1Edward N. Zalta and Uri Nodelman (eds.), Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University, 2024s.v. Virtue EthicsView the Source2. Summa Theologiaetier 1Thomas Aquinas, 1274IaIIae qq. 61-62View 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.