Religion in Western Ganga kingdom of the eighth tirthankara, Chandraprabha. Padmavati was the "yaksi" of the twenty-third tirthankara, Parshva, and may have been derived from the Hindu namesake. Cult worship is considered consistent with the assimilation of forest and tribal dwellers into the Jain faith and a caste based society. While asceticism was upheld in the earlier period, an increased inflow of endowments from wealthy merchants and royalty made monks more settled in temples. Prayers, chantings, decoration and anointment of the deity in Digambara temples were carried out by upajjhayas or acharyas. In contrast, lay devotees in Svetambara derasars undertook these activities and the temple
Atheism and religion Atheism and religion Some movements or sects within traditionally monotheistic or polytheistic religions recognize that it is possible to practice religious faith, spirituality and adherence to tenets without a belief in deities. People with what would be considered religious or spiritual belief in a supernatural controlling power are defined by some as adherents to a religion; the argument that atheism is a religion has been described as a contradiction in terms. In general, formulations of Jewish principles of faith require a belief in God (represented by Judaism's paramount prayer, the Shema). In many modern Jewish religious movements, rabbis have generally