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Encyclopedia > Theistic religion
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 Philosophy Portal

Theism is the belief in one or more gods or goddesses. More specifically, it may also mean the belief in God, a god, or gods, who is/are actively involved in maintaining the Universe. This secondary meaning is shown in context to other beliefs concerning the divine below. Image File history File links Socrates. ... A deity or a god, is a postulated preternatural being, usually, but not always, of significant power, worshipped, thought holy, divine, or sacred, held in high regard, or respected by human beings. ... Ceres, the Roman goddess of agriculture A goddess is a female deity, in contrast with a male deity known as a god. A great many cultures have goddesses, sometimes alone, but more often as part of a larger pantheon that includes both of the conventional genders and in some cases... The deepest visible-light image of the cosmos. ...


The term is attested in English from 1678, and was probably coined to contrast with atheism attested from ca. 1587 (see the etymology section of atheism for details). Atheism, in its broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of gods. ...


Views about the existence of God are commonly divided into these categories:

  1. Atheism: It has two distinct, commonly used meanings:
    • Strong atheism: The doctrine or belief that there is no God or gods.
    • Weak atheism: An absence of belief in the existence of God or gods.
  2. Agnosticism: The belief that the existence of God or gods is unknown and/or inherently unknowable.
    • Strong agnosticism: The view that the question of the existence of deities is inherently unknowable or meaningless.
    • Weak agnosticism: The view that the question of the existence of deities is currently unknown, but not inherently unknowable.
  3. Deism: The doctrine that God created the world but does not interact with it. This view emphasizes the deity's transcendence.
  4. Theism (second definition): The doctrine God(s) is immanent in the world, yet transcends it:
    • Polytheism: The belief that there is more than one god.
      1. Monolatry: The belief that there is more than one god, but only one should be worshipped.
      2. Henotheism: The belief that there is more than one god, but one is supreme.
      3. Kathenotheism: The belief that there is more than one god, but only one god at a time should be worshipped. Each is supreme in turn.
    • Monotheism: The belief in one god.
      1. Monism: The belief that everything is of one essential essence or energy. (see Hinduism)
      2. Dualism: The belief that everything is of two essential essences or energies, or that everything has a complement, such as light and dark (see Daoism, also see Hinduism).
      3. Pluralism: The belief that everything is of many essential essences or energies.
  5. Panentheism: The belief that the world is entirely contained within God, while at the same time God is something greater than just the world.
  6. Pantheism: The belief that the world is identical to God.


Within Polytheism there are “Hard” and “Soft” varieties. Hard polytheism views the gods as being distinct and separate beings, while soft polytheism views the gods as being subsumed into a greater whole. An example of soft polytheism is Hinduism. Atheism, in its broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of gods. ... Strong atheism, sometimes called positive atheism, hard atheism or gnostic atheism, is the philosophical position that deities do not exist. ... Weak atheism (also called negative atheism or implicit atheism) is the lack of belief in the existence of God or gods, without a commitment to the necessary non-existence of God or gods. ... Agnosticism is the philosophical view that the truth values of certain claims—particularly theological claims regarding the existence of God, gods, or deities—are unknown, inherently unknowable, or incoherent, and therefore, (some agnostics may go as far to say) irrelevant to life. ... Strong agnosticism or positive agnosticism is the belief that it is impossible for humans to know whether or not any God or gods exist. ... Weak agnosticism, or empirical agnosticism (also negative agnosticism), is the belief that the existence or nonexistence of deities is currently unknown, but is not necessarily unknowable. ... Historical and modern Deism is defined by the view that reason, rather than revelation or tradition, should be the basis of belief in God. ... In philosophy, transcendental/transcendence, has three different but related primary meanings, all of them derived from the words literal meaning (from Latin), of climbing or going beyond: one that originated in Ancient philosophy, one in Medieval philosophy and one in modern philosophy. ... Immanence - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... Polytheism stevenis gay, or worship of, multiple gods or divinities. ... In religion and philosophy, henotheism is a term coined by Max Müller, meaning belief in, and possible worship of, multiple gods, one of which is supreme. ... In religion and philosophy, henotheism is a term coined by Max Müller, meaning devotion to a single god while accepting the existence of other gods. ... Kathenotheism is a term coined by the philologist Max Müller to mean the worship of one god at a time. ... Monotheism (in Greek μόνος = single and θεός = God), in contrast with polytheism, is the belief in the one, single, universal, all-encompassing God. ... Monism is the metaphysical and theological view that all is of one essential essence, principle, substance or energy. ... In philosophy, essence is the attribute (or set of attributes) that make an object or substance what it fundamentally is. ... Hinduism (Sanskrit/Hindi: ; also known as Sanatana Dharma - , and Vaidika Dharma - ) is a worldwide religious tradition that is based on the Vedas, and is generally regarded as the oldest major religion still practiced in the world today. ... It has been suggested that Combative dualism be merged into this article or section. ... For other uses of the words tao and dao, see Dao (disambiguation). ... Hinduism (Sanskrit/Hindi: ; also known as Sanatana Dharma - , and Vaidika Dharma - ) is a worldwide religious tradition that is based on the Vedas, and is generally regarded as the oldest major religion still practiced in the world today. ... Pluralism in the area of philosophy of the mind, distinguishes a position where one believes there to be ultimately many kinds of substances in the world, as opposed to monism and dualism. ... Panentheism (Greek words: pan=all, en=in and Theos=God; all-in-God) is the view that God is immanent within all Creation or that God is the animating force behind the universe. ... Pantheism (Greek: pan = all and Theos = God) literally means God is All and All is God. It is the view that everything is of an all-encompassing immanent God; or that the universe, or nature, and God are equivalent. ... Hard polytheism specifies a variety of polytheism which considers the various Gods and Goddesses to be distinct beings with separate personalities. ... Soft Polytheism is a term the refers to the belief in many Gods and Goddesses that are the different aspects of a single divine entity. ...


Within monotheism there are exclusive and inclusive forms. Exclusive monotheism can be monistic (Judaism, Islam), dualistic (Parsis/Zoroastrian) and pluralistic (Christianity). Some forms of Hinduism and Neopaganism could be considered Inclusive monotheism.


Finally, the distinction can be made between belief in the existence of gods, and assertions about their benevolence or morality, or the belief in God as the summum bonum: see eutheism and dystheism. Summum bonum (greatest or supreme good) was first introduced to humanity as Ahura-Mazda, `The Ultimate Good` who is God, by the Persian prophet Zoroaster, whose ideas would later heavily influence Judeo-Christian beliefs. ... ...


Typical theistic religions are Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Zoroastrianism, Saivism, Vaishnavism, Bahá'í, and Sikhism. Christianity is a monotheistic religion centered on the life, teachings, and actions of Jesus, the Christ, as recounted in the New Testament. ... Judaism is the religion of the Jewish people, with around 14 million followers (as of 2005 [1]). It is one of the first recorded monotheistic faiths and one of the oldest religious traditions still practiced today. ... Islam (Arabic: ; ( (help· info)), submission (to the will of God)) is a monotheistic faith, one of the Abrahamic religions, and the worlds second-largest religion. ... Zoroastrianism (Persian: زرتشتی, Zartoshti) was once the imperial religion of Sassanid (Sassanian) Iran, and played an important role in the Achaemenid as well as Parthian empires in Persia or more properly Iran. ... Shaivism, also Saivism, is a branch of Hinduism that worships Siva as the Supreme God. ... Vaishnavism is one of the principal divisions of Hinduism. ... Seat of the Universal House of Justice, governing body of the Baháís in Haifa Israel The Baháí Faith is an emerging global religion founded by Baháulláh, a 19th century Persian exile. ... The Golden Temple is a sacred shrine for Sikhs Sikhism (Punjabi: , ), is a panentheistic religion based on the teachings of ten Gurus who lived in northern India during the 16th and 17th centuries. ...


Compare: Atheism, Agnosticism Atheism, in its broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of gods. ... Agnosticism is the philosophical view that the truth values of certain claims—particularly theological claims regarding the existence of God, gods, or deities—are unknown, inherently unknowable, or incoherent, and therefore, (some agnostics may go as far to say) irrelevant to life. ...


See also

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