Theism

Gods in the Triumph of Civilization

Theism, in the field of comparative religion, is the be-lief that at least one deity exists.[1] In popular parlance,the term theism often describes the classical conceptionof God that is found in Christianity, Judaism, Islam,Sikhism, and HinduismThe term theism derives from the Greek theos meaning“god”. The term theismwas first used by Ralph Cudworth(1617–88).[2] In Cudworth’s definition, they are “strictlyand properly called Theists, who affirm, that a perfectlyconscious understanding being, or mind, existing of itselffrom eternity, was the cause of all other things”.[3]

Atheism is rejection of theism in the broadest sense oftheism; i.e. the rejection of belief that there is even onedeity.[4] Rejection of the narrower sense of theism cantake forms such as deism, pantheism, and polytheism.The claim that the existence of any deity is unknown orunknowable is agnosticism.[5][6] The positive assertion ofknowledge, either of the existence of gods or the absenceof gods, can also be attributed to some theists and someatheists. Put simply, theism and atheism deal with be-lief, and agnosticism deals with rational claims to assert-ing knowledge.[6]

1 Types

1.1 Monotheism

Main article: Monotheism

Monotheism (from Greek μόνος) is the belief intheology that only one deity exists.[7] Some mod-

ern day monotheistic religions include Zoroastrianism,Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Baha'i Faith, Sikhism,Eckankar and some forms of Hinduism.

1.2 Polytheism

Main article: Polytheism

Polytheism is the belief that there is more than onedeity.[8] In practice, polytheism is not just the belief thatthere are multiple gods; it usually includes belief in theexistence of a specific pantheon of distinct deities.Within polytheism there are hard and soft varieties:

• Hard polytheism views the gods as being distinct andseparate beings; an example of this would be certainschools of Hinduism as well as Hellenismos.

• Soft polytheism views the gods as being subsumedinto a greater whole. Some other forms of Hinduismsuch as Smartism/Advaita Vedanta serve as exam-ples of soft polytheism.

Polytheism is also divided according to how the individualdeities are regarded:

• Henotheism: The viewpoint/belief that there may bemore than one deity, but only one of them is wor-shiped.

• Kathenotheism: The viewpoint/belief that there ismore than one deity, but only one deity is worshipedat a time or ever, and another may be worthy of wor-ship at another time or place. If they are worshipedone at a time, then each is supreme in turn.

• Monolatrism: The belief that there may be morethan one deity, but that only one is worthy of beingworshiped. Most of the modern monotheistic reli-gions may have begun as monolatric ones, althoughthis is disputed.

1.3 Pantheism and panentheism

Main articles: Pantheism and Panentheism

1

2 3 NOTES

• Pantheism: The belief that the physical universe isequivalent to god, and that there is no division be-tween a Creator and the substance of its creation.[9]Examples include works of Baruch Spinoza.

• Panentheism: Like Pantheism, the belief that thephysical universe is joined to a god or gods. How-ever, it also believes that a god or gods are greaterthan the material universe. Examples include mostforms of Vaishnavism.

Some people find the distinction between these two be-liefs as ambiguous and unhelpful, while others see it as asignificant point of division.[10] Pantheism may be under-stood a type of Nontheism, where the physical universetakes on some of the roles of a theistic God, and otherroles of God viewed as unnecessary.[11]

1.4 Deism

Main article: Deism

• Classical deism is the belief that at least one de-ity exists and created the world, but that the cre-ator(s) does/do not alter the original plan for theuniverse.[12]

Deism typically rejects supernatural events (such asprophecies, miracles, and divine revelations) prominentin organized religion. Instead, Deism holds that religiousbeliefs must be founded on human reason and observedfeatures of the natural world, and that these sources revealthe existence of a supreme being as creator.[13]

• Pandeism: The belief that a god precededthe universe and created it, but is nowequivalent with it.

• Panendeism combines deism with panen-theism, believing the universe is a part(but not the whole) of deity

• Polydeism: The belief that multiple godsexisted, but do not intervene in the uni-verse.

1.5 Autotheism

Main article: Apotheosis

Autotheism is the viewpoint that, whether divinity is alsoexternal or not, it is inherently within 'oneself' and thatone has a duty to become perfect (or divine). This canbe in a selfless way, a way following the implications ofstatements attributed to ethical, philosophical, and reli-gious leaders (such as Jesus[14][15] and Mahavira).

Autotheism can also refer to the belief that one’s selfis a deity (often the only one), within the context ofsubjectivism. This is a fairly extreme version of subjec-tivism, however.

1.6 Value-judgment theisms

• Eutheism is the belief that a deity is wholly benevo-lent.

• Dystheism is the belief that a deity is not whollygood, and is possibly evil.

• Misotheism is the belief that a deity exists, but iswholly malicious.

2 See also• Animism

• Atheism

• Deism

• Ietsism

• Liberal theism

• Nontheistic religions

• Open theism

• Theistic evolution

• Āstika and nāstika

3 Notes[1] “Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary”. Retrieved 2011-

03-18.

[2] Halsey, William; Robert H. Blackburn; Sir Frank Francis(1969). Louis Shores, ed. Collier’s Encyclopedia 22 (20ed.). Crowell-Collier Educational Corporation. pp. 266–7.

[3] Cudworth, Ralph (1678). The True Intellectual System ofthe Universe, Vol. I. New York: Gould & Newman, 1837,p. 267.

[4] • Nielsen, Kai (2010). “Atheism”. Encyclopædia Bri-tannica. Retrieved 2011-01-26. Atheism, in gen-eral, the critique and denial of metaphysical beliefsin God or spiritual beings.... Instead of saying thatan atheist is someone who believes that it is falseor probably false that there is a God, a more ad-equate characterization of atheism consists in themore complex claim that to be an atheist is to besomeone who rejects belief in God for the followingreasons (which reason is stressed depends on howGod is being conceived)...

3

• Edwards, Paul (2005) [1967]. “Atheism”. In Don-ald M. Borchert. The Encyclopedia of Philoso-phy. Vol. 1 (2nd ed.). MacMillan Reference USA(Gale). p. 359. ISBN 9780028657806. On ourdefinition, an 'atheist' is a person who rejects be-lief in God, regardless of whether or not his reasonfor the rejection is the claim that 'God exists’ ex-presses a false proposition. People frequently adoptan attitude of rejection toward a position for rea-sons other than that it is a false proposition. It iscommon among contemporary philosophers, andindeed it was not uncommon in earlier centuries, toreject positions on the ground that they are mean-ingless. Sometimes, too, a theory is rejected onsuch grounds as that it is sterile or redundant orcapricious, and there are many other considera-tions which in certain contexts are generally agreedto constitute good grounds for rejecting an asser-tion.(page 175 in 1967 edition)

[5] Hepburn, Ronald W. (2005) [1967]. “Agnosticism”. InDonald M. Borchert. The Encyclopedia of Philosophy.Vol. 1 (2nd ed.). MacMillan Reference USA (Gale). p.92. ISBN 9780028657806. In the most general use of theterm, agnosticism is the view that we do not know whetherthere is a God or not. (page 56 in 1967 edition)

[6] Rowe, William L. (1998). “Agnosticism”. In EdwardCraig. Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Taylor &Francis. ISBN 978-0-415-07310-3. In the popular sense,an agnostic is someone who neither believes nor disbe-lieves in God, whereas an atheist disbelieves in God. Inthe strict sense, however, agnosticism is the view that hu-man reason is incapable of providing sufficient rationalgrounds to justify either the belief that God exists or thebelief that God does not exist. In so far as one holdsthat our beliefs are rational only if they are sufficientlysupported by human reason, the person who accepts thephilosophical position of agnosticism will hold that nei-ther the belief that God exists nor the belief that God doesnot exist is rational.

[7] “Monotheism”, in Britannica, 15th ed. (1986), 8:266.

[8] AskOxford: polytheism

[9] “Philosophical Dictionary: Pacifism-Particular”.

[10] “What is Panentheism?". About.Com: Agnosti-cism/Atheism. Retrieved 2011-03-18.

[11] Levine, Michael P. (1994). Pantheism : a non-theisticconcept of deity (1. publ. ed.). London u.a.: Routledge.ISBN 0415070643.

[12] AskOxford: deism

[13] Webster’s New International Dictionary of the EnglishLanguage (G. & C. Merriam, 1924) defines deism as “be-lief in the existence of a personal god, with disbelief inChristian teaching, or with a purely rationalistic interpre-tation of Scripture”.

[14] Matthew 5:38 “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Fa-ther which is in heaven is perfect”

[15] Luke 17:21 “The Kingdom of God is within you”

4 External links

4 5 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

5 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

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