Home›Subcategories›Core TenetsSubcategoriesCore Tenets259 of 368 entries in Beliefs & Restrictions. Click any to see everything it connects to.Citation FormatsGeneral ReferenceGeneral Reference Citation TextDivinity Atlas. "Core Tenets." Accessed August 30, 2026. https://dev-divinity.interactiveatlas.org/subcategories/belief/core-tenets.Copy General ReferenceAPA StyleAPA Style Citation TextDivinity Atlas. (n.d.). Core Tenets. Retrieved August 30, 2026, from https://dev-divinity.interactiveatlas.org/subcategories/belief/core-tenetsCopy APA StyleBibTeXBibTeX Citation Text@misc{divinityatlas-core-tenets, author = {Divinity Atlas}, title = {Core Tenets}, year = {2026}, url = {https://dev-divinity.interactiveatlas.org/subcategories/belief/core-tenets}, note = {Accessed August 30, 2026} }Copy BibTeXThe claims a tradition treats as central, the propositions an adherent is expected to affirm rather than the customs they are expected to keep. This is the largest belief subcategory by a wide margin, reflecting how much of what a tradition holds is filed here by default when it does not fit a narrower belief type such as a dietary restriction or a moral precept.FactsLearn MoreSourcesComments (0)Reader Challenges (0 open reader challenges)FactsOverviewWhat Defines This GroupingWell-attestedThe central affirmations of a tradition, stated one at a time. What counts as a core tenet is set by each tradition, and traditions differ over whether assent to stated propositions is what makes a member: creedal Christianity and Islam draw such lists explicitly, while Judaism, Hinduism and most Indigenous traditions do not. 2StatusStanding as a Comparative CategoryWell-attestedUsed, but its validity as a comparative category is disputed 3DirectoryCategoryWell-attestedBeliefs & Restrictions 1BrowseCompareSelect all 259The covenant between God and IsraelCore Tenets14 linksThe Four Noble TruthsCore Tenets27 linksOne formless God (Ik Onkar)Core Tenets5 linksThe Holy TrinityCore Tenets66 linksThe resurrection of ChristCore Tenets64 linksSalvation by graceCore Tenets39 linksThe unity of all religionsCore Tenets3 linksPapal primacy and infallibilityCore Tenets4 linksTransubstantiationCore Tenets6 linksThe Immaculate Conception and bodily Assumption of MaryCore Tenets4 linksTheosis (deification)Core Tenets19 linksRejection of the filioqueCore Tenets18 linksMiaphysitism (one incarnate nature of Christ)Core Tenets7 linksThe via media (middle way)Core Tenets5 linksJustification by faith alone (sola fide)Core Tenets35 linksScripture alone (sola scriptura)Core Tenets15 linksSacramental union (real presence in the Eucharist)Core Tenets8 linksPredestination and electionCore Tenets5 linksThe five points of Calvinism (TULIP)Core Tenets3 linksBeliever's baptism (credobaptism)Core Tenets12 linksBiblical inerrancyCore Tenets7 linksCongregational church governanceCore Tenets8 linksPresbyterian church governanceCore Tenets4 linksEpiscopal church governanceCore Tenets33 linksChristian perfection (entire sanctification)Core Tenets11 linksArminianism (free will and universal atonement)Core Tenets12 linksBaptism in the Holy SpiritCore Tenets5 linksContinuation of the spiritual gifts (charismata)Core Tenets5 linksRejection of outward sacramentsCore Tenets1 linkThe Inner LightCore Tenets2 linksSeventh-day (Saturday) SabbathCore Tenets2 linksNontrinitarianismCore Tenets3 linksThe Book of Mormon as additional scriptureCore Tenets2 linksContinuing revelation through living prophetsCore Tenets4 linksInfant baptism (paedobaptism)Core Tenets40 linksThe Rightly Guided CaliphateCore Tenets1 linkThe Imamate (divinely appointed succession through Ali)Core Tenets8 linksAuthority of the four Sunni schools of jurisprudenceCore Tenets5 linksMystical union with God (fana)Core Tenets3 linksEsoteric interpretation of scripture (batin)Core Tenets7 linksThe living Imam as present guideCore Tenets1 linkThe Quran is createdCore Tenets3 linksLeadership by the most qualified elected imamCore Tenets2 linksThe Imam must rise and rule as a qualified descendant of AliCore Tenets1 linkMirza Ghulam Ahmad as the promised Messiah and MahdiCore Tenets2 linksJesus survived the crucifixionCore Tenets1 linkVeneration of Ali as a divine manifestationCore Tenets3 linksThe arhat idealCore Tenets2 linksThe Pali Canon (Tipitaka) as authoritative scriptureCore Tenets1 linkThe bodhisattva idealCore Tenets20 linksBuddha-nature in all beingsCore Tenets17 linksSudden enlightenment beyond words and scriptureCore Tenets2 linksSalvation through faith in Amitabha BuddhaCore Tenets3 linksThe Lotus Sutra as the supreme teachingCore Tenets5 linksTantra as a swift path to enlightenmentCore Tenets10 linksVishnu as the supreme deityCore Tenets6 linksShiva as the supreme deityCore Tenets4 linksThe Goddess as supreme (Shakti)Core Tenets2 linksWorship of five deities as forms of one Brahman (panchayatana)Core Tenets2 linksThe Torah is divinely revealed and bindingCore Tenets6 linksHalakha is binding and authoritativeCore Tenets6 linksHalakha is binding but evolves through scholarshipCore Tenets2 linksIndividual autonomy in observanceCore Tenets2 linksJudaism as an evolving religious civilizationCore Tenets1 linkRejection of the Oral Torah (Talmud)Core Tenets2 linksDevotion to a Rebbe and mystical joyCore Tenets3 linksInitiation into the KhalsaCore Tenets1 linkAscetic renunciation and celibate monasticismCore Tenets3 linksScholarly asceticism devoted to scriptural studyCore Tenets1 linkThe Tao as the source of all thingsCore Tenets11 linksLineage of the Celestial MastersCore Tenets1 linkMarried ritual priesthoodCore Tenets1 linkMonastic celibacy and asceticism (Complete Reality)Core Tenets2 linksVisualization of inner and celestial deitiesCore Tenets1 linkKami (sacred spirits in nature)Core Tenets5 linksWorship centered on public shrinesCore Tenets1 linkOrganized founder-led sectsCore Tenets1 linkMonks practice nudity (sky-clad)Core Tenets1 linkWomen must be reborn as men to attain liberationCore Tenets1 linkMonks and nuns wear white robes (white-clad)Core Tenets1 linkWomen can attain liberationCore Tenets1 linkAhura Mazda as the one supreme creatorCore Tenets4 linksA closed community forbidding conversion and intermarriageCore Tenets2 linksPreservation of Iranian Zoroastrian traditionCore Tenets1 linkDescended from Zoroastrians who migrated to IndiaCore Tenets1 linkThe God and the Goddess (divine duality)Core Tenets5 linksExclusive worship of the GoddessCore Tenets1 linkInitiatory lineage and three degreesCore Tenets2 linksNorse and Saxon deities (Woden and Freya)Core Tenets1 linkSelf-initiation and open, non-secretive practiceCore Tenets2 linksThe Three Souls and ecstatic personal powerCore Tenets1 linkWitchcraft as feminist and activist spiritualityCore Tenets2 linksSelf-directed practice drawn from many traditionsCore Tenets1 linkAtheistic Satanism (Satan as symbol of the self)Core Tenets2 linksNon-theistic activist SatanismCore Tenets1 linkTheistic Satanism (Satan or Set as a real being)Core Tenets2 linksSelf-deification through XeperCore Tenets2 linksThe Seven Fold WayCore Tenets1 linkThere is no god (strong atheism)Core Tenets2 linksWhether any god exists is unknown and may be unknowableCore Tenets2 linksReligious truth is known by reason, not revelationCore Tenets1 linkMiracles and revealed prophecy are not credibleCore Tenets3 linksHuman beings are responsible for their own meaning and purposeCore Tenets4 linksGod created the world but does not intervene in itCore Tenets1 linkMemorialismCore Tenets13 linksSpiritual presence (real presence received by faith)Core Tenets13 linksReceptionismCore Tenets10 linksPax Deorum: The Peace of the Gods as the Aim of CultCore Tenets1 linkAuspicia: Jupiter's Consent Read in the BirdsCore Tenets2 linksBeyond the great state gods, each person had a personal god, an ili, who watched over them individually and explained private suffering or fortune when appeased or neglected.Core Tenets1 linkA Married Parish Priesthood With Celibate BishopsCore Tenets18 linksAn Eastern Liturgical Rite in Full Communion With RomeCore Tenets2 linksAn Expanded Biblical Canon Including Enoch and JubileesCore Tenets2 linksAncestral Sin as Inherited Mortality Rather Than Inherited GuiltCore Tenets18 linksAutocephaly and Conciliar Governance Without a Universal PrimateCore Tenets19 linksChalcedonian Christology (Two Natures in One Person)Core Tenets15 linksEcumenical Councils Continue and Are Confirmed by the PopeCore Tenets3 linksOriginal Sin as Inherited Guilt Removed in BaptismCore Tenets2 linksThe Filioque: The Spirit Proceeds From the Father and the SonCore Tenets2 linksThe Julian Calendar for the Fixed FeastsCore Tenets4 linksThe Old Rite as Received Before the Nikonian ReformsCore Tenets1 linkThe Revised Julian Calendar for the Fixed FeastsCore Tenets5 linksThe Seven Ecumenical Councils as the Complete Dogmatic DepositCore Tenets11 linksThe Three Ecumenical Councils as the Complete Dogmatic DepositCore Tenets5 linksUnleavened Bread and Unmixed Wine in the EucharistCore Tenets1 linkThe two truths, conventional and ultimateCore Tenets17 linksThe guru as the root of the pathCore Tenets8 linksThe graduated path to enlightenment (lamrim)Core Tenets1 linkFormal debate as a means of realizationCore Tenets1 linkDzogchen, the Great Perfection, as the highest teachingCore Tenets2 linksTerma: teachings concealed and later revealed as treasureCore Tenets1 linkThe nine vehicles (yanas)Core Tenets1 linkMahamudra, the Great SealCore Tenets3 linksThe Six Yogas of NaropaCore Tenets2 linksLamdre, the path and its fruitCore Tenets1 linkThe Kalachakra tantra and its six branch yoga as the culminating practiceCore Tenets1 linkThe threefold truth: emptiness, provisional existence and the middleCore Tenets4 linksThe five periods and eight teachings as the order of the Buddha's preachingCore Tenets2 linksOriginal enlightenment (hongaku)Core Tenets1 linkEsoteric and exoteric teaching as oneCore Tenets1 linkBuddhahood in this very body (sokushin jobutsu)Core Tenets2 linksMahavairocana as the cosmic Buddha who preaches the DharmaCore Tenets1 linkThe three mysteries of body, speech and mindCore Tenets1 linkShikantaza, just sittingCore Tenets1 linkPractice and realization are oneCore Tenets1 linkKoan introspection as the means of awakeningCore Tenets1 linkKensho, seeing into one's own natureCore Tenets1 linkOther-power (tariki): liberation comes from Amida's vow and not from one's own effortCore Tenets1 linkShinjin, entrusting faith, as the cause of birth in the Pure LandCore Tenets1 linkThe nembutsu is said in gratitude and not to earn meritCore Tenets1 linkA married clergy and no monastic ruleCore Tenets1 linkDaimoku: chanting Nam Myoho Renge KyoCore Tenets3 linksThe Gohonzon as the object of devotionCore Tenets2 linksNichiren as the True Buddha of the Latter DayCore Tenets1 linkHuman revolution: inner change as the engine of social changeCore Tenets1 linkKosen-rufu: peace through the wide propagation of the teachingCore Tenets1 linkA lay movement without a priesthoodCore Tenets1 linkThe middle way avoids both eternalism and annihilationismCore Tenets2 linksThe Karmapa line as the first recognized succession of reincarnate teachersCore Tenets1 linkAdiaphora, things indifferentCore Tenets4 linksCessation of the miraculous spiritual giftsCore Tenets3 linksConnexionalismCore Tenets8 linksEternal security of the believerCore Tenets3 linksPerfect holiness attained at conversionCore Tenets1 linkRestoration of the New Testament churchCore Tenets2 linksSoul liberty and the separation of church and stateCore Tenets4 linksSubscription to a confession of faithCore Tenets21 linksThe historic episcopateCore Tenets7 linksHuman Beings Author Their Own Acts and God Judges Them JustlyCore Tenets5 linksThe Settled Practice of the People of Medina Is a Source of LawCore Tenets1 linkAql: Reason Stands Beside Quran, Sunna and Consensus as a Source of LawCore Tenets2 linksBarakah: Blessing Flows Through the Saints and Their TombsCore Tenets10 linksGod's Attributes Are Affirmed as Revealed, Without Asking HowCore Tenets5 linksDhikr Is Made Silently in the HeartCore Tenets1 linkDhikr Is Made Aloud in AssemblyCore Tenets5 linksElijah Muhammad Is the Messenger of GodCore Tenets1 linkGod Appeared in the Person of Master Fard MuhammadCore Tenets1 linkA Transmitted Report Outweighs Reasoning by AnalogyCore Tenets1 linkScholarly Consensus Carries No Authority Over the BelieverCore Tenets1 linkIjma: The Consensus of the Scholars Is BindingCore Tenets6 linksIstihsan: A Jurist May Set Aside a Strict Analogy for a Better RulingCore Tenets2 linksKasb: God Creates Every Act and the Human Being Acquires ItCore Tenets2 linksKhidma: Work Done for the Shaykh Is Itself WorshipCore Tenets1 linkKitman: The Community May Withhold Its Identity Under Hostile RuleCore Tenets1 linkEvery Believer Must Follow a Living Jurist in Matters of LawCore Tenets2 linksAl-Masalih al-Mursala: Unstated Public Benefit Is a Ground for RulingCore Tenets2 linksGod Has No Eternal Attributes Distinct From His EssenceCore Tenets1 linkRulings Are Taken From the Texts Directly, Not From a School of LawCore Tenets3 linksBelief May Not Be Concealed, Whatever the DangerCore Tenets1 linkAnalogical Reasoning Is Not a Source of LawCore Tenets3 linksQiyas: Analogical Reasoning Is a Source of LawCore Tenets5 linksThe Quran Alone Binds and Hadith Carries No Legal AuthorityCore Tenets1 linkThe Quran Is Uncreated and EternalCore Tenets5 linksSama: Music and Listening Carry the Seeker Toward GodCore Tenets4 linksThe Turning Ceremony Is a Form of Contemplative WorshipCore Tenets1 linkThe Chain of Transmission Runs Through Abu BakrCore Tenets1 linkThe Chain of Transmission Runs Through AliCore Tenets7 linksThe Sunna Recorded in Hadith Is a Binding Source of LawCore Tenets14 linksA Muslim Who Commits a Grave Sin Ceases to Be a BelieverCore Tenets1 linkTaqiyya: Belief May Be Concealed Under ThreatCore Tenets5 linksA Disciple May Hold No Other Sufi AffiliationCore Tenets1 linkThe Order's Litany Was Received From the Prophet in Waking VisionCore Tenets1 linkKrishna Is the Supreme Person, Not an Avatar of VishnuCore Tenets2 linksCongregational Chanting of the Divine Names Is the Practice Appointed for This AgeCore Tenets2 linksRadha's Love for Krishna Is the Highest Religious ConditionCore Tenets2 linksLiberation Comes Through Knowledge Rather Than Works or DevotionCore Tenets2 linksFive Eternal Differences Divide God, Souls and MatterCore Tenets1 linkSouls and Matter Form the Body of GodCore Tenets2 linksSurrender Is a Sufficient Means of LiberationCore Tenets2 linksThe Ishtalinga Is Worn on the Body and Worshipped in Place of Temple ImagesCore Tenets1 linkCaste Hierarchy and Vedic Ritualism Are RejectedCore Tenets1 linkThe Body Can Be Perfected into a Deathless State Through YogaCore Tenets1 linkThe Sri Yantra Is the Goddess in Geometric FormCore Tenets1 linkThe System Requires No Creator GodCore Tenets1 linkRecognition of One's Own Identity as Shiva Is LiberationCore Tenets1 linkBoth the Sanskrit Vedas and the Tamil Hymns of the Alvars Are RevelationCore Tenets1 linkSri Mediates Between the Soul and VishnuCore Tenets1 linkJewish Identity Rests on History, Culture and Peoplehood Rather Than on GodCore Tenets1 linkLiturgy Is Rewritten to Remove Reference to a Supernatural GodCore Tenets1 linkContemplative Prayer Worked Through the Faculties of Chochmah, Binah and DaatCore Tenets1 linkThe Movement Appoints No Successor and Has No Living RebbeCore Tenets1 linkHalakhic Observance Together with Full Secular Education and Civic LifeCore Tenets1 linkThe Orit in Ge'ez Is Scripture and There Is No Talmudic LiteratureCore Tenets1 linkThe Clergy Are Kessoch, Priests Rather Than RabbisCore Tenets1 linkThought Directed Rightly Shapes Health and CircumstanceCore Tenets4 linksGod Is an Indwelling Principle of Good Rather Than a Being Apart from the WorldCore Tenets4 linksScripture Is Read as Metaphysical AllegoryCore Tenets3 linksThere Is No Original Sin and No Substitutionary AtonementCore Tenets5 linksA Continuous Prayer Ministry Answers Requests Sent from AnywhereCore Tenets1 linkSpiritual Mind Treatment: Affirmative Prayer Directed at a ConditionCore Tenets1 linkGod Is Omnipresent and That Presence Is the Only RealityCore Tenets1 linkThe Humanist Manifesto Is a Revisable Statement, Not a CreedCore Tenets1 linkThe Amsterdam Declaration States the Fundamental Principles of HumanismCore Tenets1 linkReligion Is Not Merely Mistaken but Harmful and Should Be Criticised OpenlyCore Tenets1 linkOrdination Descends Through a Codified Monastic Precept LineageCore Tenets1 linkA Divine Element Is Trapped in Matter and Wakes Through KnowledgeCore Tenets1 linkSeth Is the Ancestor of a Saved Race and a RevealerCore Tenets1 linkPurity and Pollution Govern Approach to the KamiCore Tenets3 linksThe Community's Core Teaching Is Held Closed to All but Initiated MenCore Tenets2 linksWithstanding Fire and Blades Testifies to the Saint's StateCore Tenets1 linkThe Cem Is the Community's Central Act of WorshipCore Tenets1 linkGood and Evil Are Knowable by ReasonCore Tenets5 linksGood and Evil Are Known Only Through RevelationCore Tenets2 linksAbd al-Qadir al-Jilani Is the Supreme Helper Among the SaintsCore Tenets1 linkJuristic Preference Is Not a Valid Source of LawCore Tenets1 linkA Solitary Report Is Weighed Against the Established Principles of the QuranCore Tenets1 linkReligious Guidance Passes Through Hereditary Holy LineagesCore Tenets1 linkThe Sources of Law Are Four and the List Is ClosedCore Tenets1 linkGod's Attributes Are Real and Are Neither God Nor Other Than GodCore Tenets1 linkMary Confessed as Mother of Christ Rather Than Mother of GodCore Tenets1 linkThe Holy Leaven (Malka) in the Eucharistic BreadCore Tenets1 linkThe Two Ecumenical Councils as the Complete Dogmatic DepositCore Tenets1 linkTheodore of Mopsuestia as the Authoritative Interpreter of ScriptureCore Tenets2 linksTwo Qnome in One Parsopa, the Christology of the Church of the EastCore Tenets1 linkOpen communionCore Tenets22 linksScripture as witness rather than as historyCore Tenets3 linksThe ordination of womenCore Tenets20 linksClosed communionCore Tenets22 linksA male-only ordained ministryCore Tenets23 linksLearn MoreThe core tenets This group gathers the core tenets of the traditions, the central affirmations and defining beliefs that stand at the heart of a religion or worldview, the doctrines a tradition holds as essential to its identity. It is the largest belief grouping in the atlas. The browser will find the core tenets the atlas gathers from across the traditions. The entries describe each belief in its own terms, distinguishing what a tradition affirms of itself from the historical and comparative perspective of scholarship.Sources1. Divinity Atlas Directory Taxonomy, First Edition Category Treetier 12. Encyclopedia of Religiontier 1Mircea Eliade (ed.); Lindsay Jones (ed., 2nd ed.), Macmillan Reference, 2005View the Source3. Belief, Language, and Experiencetier 1Rodney Needham, Basil Blackwell, 1972Divinity 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 open reader challenges)No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.View At A Past YearThe atlas records no dated fact of its own for this entry, so there is no other year to choose.Show This Year