Shaktism (mainstream Goddess tradition)
Major Hindu devotional tradition centred on the Divine Mother (Devi, Durga, Kali). Hundreds of millions of adherents.
CLCI radar
BITE breakdown
+1 minor; net very low.
Profile facts
In context
Shaktism encompasses Devi Mahatmya, Sri Vidya, and Shakta Tantra lineages. Mainstream voluntary practice across India, Bengal, Nepal.
Recovery resources
- ICSA (International Cultic Studies Association) — General referral and cult-aware therapist directory.
- INFORM (Information Network on Religious Movements) — LSE-founded UK research-based information service covering new religious movements.
- Freedom of Mind Resource Center — Steven Hassan's organisation; BITE-model resources and family-side exit guidance.
See the full curated list at /resources.
This profile is in progress — history, deeper BITE evidence and survivor voices are still being added. Contributions welcome via GitHub.
Timeline
- AncientGoddess veneration crystallises
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.
| Title | Type | Reliability | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shekhina | Divine Presence, Feminine Aspect, Holiness · archive | Organisation | Tertiary | — |
| Tara Buddhist goddess | Organisation | Tertiary | — |
Sources
- David Kinsley academic work search ↗
- Shekhina | Divine Presence, Feminine Aspect, Holiness — https://www.britannica.com/topic/Shekhina open ↗
- Tara Buddhist goddess — https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/583270 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.
- 2026-05-29Phase 1 Batch J: per-group recovery resources applied via programmatic palette (closest-fit by category + subCategory + score). Palette: Mainstream-comparator lighter.
- 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.
- 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.
You may also want to explore
Found something wrong on this profile?
We accept correction requests from anyone — current and former members, researchers, journalists, family members, and the listed organisation. Submissions are reviewed by an editor; we do not auto-publish.