Even if you can't be a professional chef, you can at least talk like one with this vocabulary quiz. William James has pointed out that polytheism is not theoretically absurd and is practically the religion of many Europeans. Polytheism consists of the worship that people perform to a series of different gods which are characterized and distinguished by their particular and unique functions, which generally have human characteristics, but are full of powersand are responsible for protecting human beings. This observation led Wilhelm Schmidt, an Austrian anthropologist, to postulate in the early 20th century an Urmonotheismus, or “original monotheism,” which later became overlaid by polytheism. Dictionary.com Unabridged ), American Presidents Helped These Words Join Our Everyday Vocabulary. We Asked, You Answered. the worship of or belief in more than one god. Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Polytheism definition is - belief in or worship of more than one god. Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Does Pope Francis Believe Christians and Muslims Worship the Same God. All rights reserved. See more. Polytheism characterizes virtually all religions other than Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, which share a common tradition of monotheism, the belief in one god. More promising are attempts by sociologists and social anthropologists to penetrate to the uses and significance of the gods in particular societies. In turn, each divinity rules over various aspects of the life of humanity. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Rowny Professor of Comparative Religions, University of California, Santa Barbara. Zeus hurling a thunderbolt, bronze statuette from Dodona, Greece, early 5th century. Though a single evolutionary process cannot be postulated, there has been a drift in various traditions toward the unification of sacred forces under a single head, which, in a number of nonliterate “primal” societies, has become embedded in a supreme being. Likewise, the word ‘monotheism ... (which lasted for the greater part of the 3rd century AD). To cook in water that begins cold and then reaches a boil. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. (From left to right) Vishnu, Shiva, and Brahma, the three Hindu gods of the Trimurti. Like all other theories of religious origins, this theory is speculative and unverifiable. With advancing thought the ideas of polytheism later gave place to the nobler conception of monotheism. It can be incompatible with some forms of theism, as in the Semitic religions; it can coexist with theism, as in Vaishnavism; it can exist at a lower level of understanding, ultimately to be transcended, as in Mahayana Buddhism; and it can exist as a tolerated adjunct to belief in transcendental liberation, as in Theravada Buddhism. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. (Compare monotheism. Besides the drift toward some unification, there have been other tendencies in human culture that entail a rather sophisticated approach to mythological material—e.g., giving the gods psychological significance, as in the works of the Greek dramatists Aeschylus and Euripides and, similarly but from a diverse angle, in Buddhism. Black Friday Sale! 7 Tips For Compiling And Creating Writing Samples That Stand Out. Sometimes this being is a deus otiosus (an “indifferent god”), regarded as having withdrawn from immediate concern with men and thought of sometimes as too exalted for men to petition. Etymologically speaking, the word ‘polytheism’ is a combination of the Greek words ‘polys’ and ‘theos,’ meaning ‘many’ and ‘god,’ respectively. Why Do “Left” And “Right” Mean Liberal And Conservative? This process often consisted in loading other gods’ attributes on the selected focus of worship. Updates? Author of. Another word for polytheist. Please select which sections you would like to print: Corrections? By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. Belief in many divine beings, who typically have to be worshipped or, if malevolent, warded off with appropriate rituals, has been widespread in human cultures. The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition The term appears to have been first used by Julius Wellhausen to described a type of polytheism in which just a single god is worshiped but where other gods are accepted as existing elsewhere. The term henotheism is also used to cover this case or, more generally, to mean belief in the supremacy of a single god without denying others. The term animism has been applied to a belief in many animae (“spirits”) and is often used rather crudely to characterize so-called primitive religions. Sometimes above the many gods a polytheistic religion will have a supreme creator and focus of devotion, as in certain phases of Hinduism (there is also the tendency to identify the many gods as so many aspects of the Supreme Being); sometimes the gods are considered as less important than some higher goal, state, or saviour, as in Buddhism; sometimes one god will prove more dominant than the others without attaining overall supremacy, as Zeus in Greek religion. Polytheism, the belief in many gods. Forms of polytheistic powers, gods, and demons, Germanic, Scandinavian, Celtic, and Slavic mythologies, Modern ethnic religions in Africa and elsewhere, https://www.britannica.com/topic/polytheism. Another word expressing the same idea is monolatry, which is based on the Greek roots monos (one), and latreia (service or religious worship). In most religions which accept polytheism, the different gods and goddesses are representations of forces of nature or ancestral principles, and can be viewed either as autonomous or as aspects or emanations of a creator deity or transcendental absolute principle (monistic theologies), which manifests immanently in nature (panentheistic and pantheistictheol… Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012. In the course of analyzing and recording various beliefs connected with the gods, historians of religions have used certain categories to identify different attitudes toward the gods. Thus, in the latter part of the 19th century the terms henotheism and kathenotheism were used to refer to the exalting of a particular god as exclusively the highest within the framework of a particular hymn or ritual—e.g., in the hymns of the Vedas (the ancient sacred texts of India). Within the framework of another part of the same ritual tradition, another god may be selected as supreme focus. Polytheism definition, the doctrine of or belief in more than one god or in many gods. This seems to have been the situation for a period in ancient Israel in regard to the cult of Yahweh. Find more ways to say polytheist, along with related words, antonyms and example phrases at Thesaurus.com, the world's most trusted free thesaurus. To many outside Christianity, this looks a bit like polytheism! At the popular level there has been, for instance, the reinterpretation of the gods as Christian saints, as in Mexican Catholicism. “Epidemic” vs. “Pandemic” vs. “Endemic”: What Do These Terms Mean? To cook in water, just below boiling temperature. Save 50% off a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. J.F. Typically, polytheistic cultures include belief in many demonic and ghostly forces in addition to the gods, and some supernatural beings will be malevolent; even in monotheistic religions there can be belief in many demons, as in New Testament Christianity. Polytheism, the belief in many gods. Omissions? polytheism: 1 n belief in multiple gods Antonyms: monotheism belief in a single God Types: tritheism (Christianity) the heretical belief that the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit are three separate gods Type of: theism the doctrine or belief in the existence of a God or gods Kathenotheism literally means belief in one god at a time. the doctrine of or belief in more than one god or in many gods. A fully articulate theory, however, of the ways in which polytheism serves symbolic, social, and other functions in human culture requires clarification of the role of myth, a much-debated topic in contemporary anthropology and comparative religion. 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