A prominent example is Hinduism. Monotheism is the belief or doctrine that there is one—and only one— god or deity.
The term is often used as a general label for specific religions such as Judaism that fall into this category. However, it can also be used outside the context of specific religions. For example, a person who does not profess belief in a specific religion but who believes there is one god could be said to adhere to the doctrine of monotheism.
A person who believes in only one god can be called a monotheist. The adjective form, monotheistic , is typically used in terms like monotheistic religions and monotheistic beliefs. Polytheism is the belief or doctrine that there are multiple gods or deities. Like monotheism , the word polytheism can be used in the context of specific religions such as Hinduism or outside of formal religion. A person who believes in multiple gods can be called a polytheist.
The adjective form is polytheistic. Fasting is an important practice in many belief systems. If the religions remain quiet and still, then he will keep his balance and cross successfully. If the religions move, jump about and cause the pole to jiggle, then he will find it difficult to stay balanced. What might then happen? Several paintings feature an Adam and Eve theme.
Their four arms become branches reaching upward toward the hand of God reaching down toward them a la Michelangelo. Each of three arms holds a symbol of a monotheistic religion, while the fourth remains empty to symbolize other religions.
The painting thus suggests that on their own, they cannot reach God, but only by coming together in the center. Can they? Or, having been born from the same father, have they grown so apart that they have become permanently separate? Note: Numbers in this essay are based on information found at www. For a dynamic graphic illustrating the growth and movement of world religions, go to www. Past columns and more information about the program can be found on the Web at www.
Dbachmann, Wikimedia Commons. University Ave. Visit Campus. Download Viewbook. Give to UW. Whether you're looking at Mesopotamia or ancient Egypt , Greece or Rome, the Kingdom of Aksum in northern Africa or ancient Israel : all of these civilizations once worshipped many gods.
The reality is a little more complicated, said Andrew Durdin, a religious historian at Florida State University. Across cultures, pantheons, or groups of deities specific to a particular religion, were often written about as expressions of the same divine entity, similar to how Christians worship the Holy Trinity — the father, the son and the holy spirit — as different manifestations of God.
For example, in the second millennium B. In ancient Rome around the third century B. Increasing connectivity between civilizations may have encouraged the belief in divine unity, Assman wrote.
People drew connections between their own gods and those of other societies. They began to see different gods and pantheons not in opposition to one another, but as expressions of the same concept.
Some scholars compare the idea of divine unity to monotheism. Assman calls it "evolutionary monotheism"; Durdin calls it "philosophical monotheism. Put another way, ancient people may have viewed multiple gods from different cultures as all emanating from the same holy source. It was in this context that religious movements began demanding exclusive worship of one God.
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