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Educational tool only. All groups exist on a spectrum of control. Individual experiences vary. Based on publicly available reports, ex-member accounts, court records, and expert analyses — not medical or legal advice.

CLCI Hub
Jain

Digambara Jain mainstream

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Confidence: HighLast reviewed 29 May 2026IndiaWikipedia

Digambara ('sky-clad') Jain mainstream tradition. Distinctive male monastic nudity (women cannot achieve liberation in this body). Mainstream voluntary tradition.

CLCI radar

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Low Control

BITE breakdown

Behavior Control4/10
Information Control2/10
Thought Control2/10
Emotional Control2/10
Modifiers (+0)

0 — Digambara ('sky-clad') Jain mainstream; voluntary monastic-nudity practice.

Profile facts

Founded
Ancient
Members
Estimated 1.5 million globally
Active in
Asia

In context

Digambara is one of two main Jain traditions. Monastic male practitioners wear no clothes, reflecting total non-attachment. Doctrinal position that women must reincarnate as men before achieving liberation. Mainstream voluntary tradition.

Recovery resources

See the full curated list at /resources.

Evidence by BITE axis

Behavior Control
  • voluntary monastic-nudity practice
Information Control
  • Doctrinal position that women cannot achieve liberation in current body

Timeline

  1. 5th c. CE
    Digambara / Svetambara split formalised

Evidence matrix

Structured sources cross-linked to the claims they document. Tiered per the source hierarchy. For free-text citations see the Sources section below.

Sources

  • Paul Dundas academic work search ↗
  • Jain Perceptions of Islam in the Early Modern Period — Indo-Iranian Journal (1999) — https://doi.org/10.1163%2F000000099124993040 open ↗
  • Ethics in Early Buddhism (review) — Philosophy East and West (2000) — https://doi.org/10.1353%2Fpew.2000.0009 open ↗

We cite sources by name and outlet rather than fabricating links. Where a source includes its own URL, the open ↗ link opens it directly; otherwise search ↗ runs a Google Scholar query for the cited title — useful for verifying academic sources. For news outlets, search the outlet's own archive.

Change history

Substantive edits logged per the score-updates policy.

  1. 2026-05-29Phase 1 Batch J: per-group recovery resources applied via programmatic palette (closest-fit by category + subCategory + score). Palette: Mainstream-comparator lighter.
  2. 2026-05-20Source-density flags derived from existing free-text sources[]: academic sources. Heuristic auto-flag; subsequent editorial pass will populate structuredSources[] with reliability tiers.
  3. 2026-05-20Score band scheme migrated from 4 bands to 5 (Minimal 0–5 / Low 6–12 / Moderate 13–20 / High 21–30 / Extreme 31–40). No CLCI value changed; the new Minimal band was carved out of the bottom of the previous Low band.

Relevant hubs

Curated entry points on CLCI Hub for situations connected to this group.

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Disclaimer. This profile is an educational summary based on publicly available reports. Many members of this group do not experience the patterns described. Individual congregations and chapters vary widely. If you or someone you know needs support, contact a licensed therapist or the International Cultic Studies Association.