Polytheism

===Hinduism===
{{Further|Hindu views on monotheism}}
Hinduism is not a monolithic religion: a wide variety of religious traditions and practices are grouped together under this umbrella term and some modern scholars have questioned the legitimacy of unifying them artificially and suggest that one should speak of "Hinduisms" in the plural.<ref>Smith, Brian. "Hinduism." New Dictionary of the History of Ideas. 2005. Retrieved May 22, 2013 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3424300342.html</ref> Theistic [[Hinduism]] encompasses both monotheistic and polytheistic tendencies and variations on or mixes of both structures.

Hindus venerate deities in the form of the ''[[prathima]]'', or idol. The ''[[Puja (Hinduism)|Puja]]'' (worship) of the [[prathima]] is like a way to communicate with the formless, abstract divinity ([[Brahman]] in Hinduism) which creates, sustains and dissolves creation. However, there are sects who have advocated that there is no need of giving a shape to God and that it is omnipresent and beyond the things which human can see or feel tangibly. Especially the [[Arya Samaj]] founded by [[Dayananda Saraswati|Swami Dayananda Saraswati]] and [[Brahmo Samaj]] founded by [[Ram Mohan Roy]] (there are others also) do not worship deities. Arya Samaj favours [[Mantra|Vedic chants]] and [[Havan]], while Brahmo Samaj stresses simple prayers.{{Citation needed|date=August 2011}}

Some Hindu philosophers and theologians argue for a transcendent metaphysical structure with a single divine essence.{{Citation needed|date=August 2011}} This divine essence is usually referred to as [[Brahman]] or [[Ātman (Hinduism)|Atman]], but the understanding of the nature of this absolute divine essence is the line which defines many Hindu philosophical traditions such as [[Vedanta]].

Among lay Hindus, some believe in different deities emanating from Brahman, while others practice more traditional polytheism and henotheism, focusing their worship on one or more personal deities, while granting the existence of others.

Academically speaking, the ancient Vedic scriptures, upon which Hinduism is derived, describe four authorized disciplic lines of teaching coming down over thousands of years. (Padma Purana). Four of them propound that the Absolute Truth is Fully Personal, as in Judeo-Christian theology. They say that the Primal Original God is Personal, both transcendent and immanent throughout creation. He can be, and is often approached through worship of Prathimas, called "Archa-Vigraha", which are described in the Vedas as identical with His various dynamic, spiritual Forms. This is the Vaisnava theology.

The fifth disciplic line of Vedic spirituality, founded by [[Adi Shankaracharya]], promotes the concept that the Absolute is Brahman, without clear differentiations, without will, without thought, without intelligence.

In the [[Smarta]] denomination of Hinduism, the philosophy of [[Advaita]] expounded by [[Adi Shankara|Shankara]] allows veneration of numerous deities {{Citation needed|date=September 2010}} with the understanding that all of them are but manifestations of one impersonal divine power, [[Brahman]]. Therefore, according to various schools of Vedanta including Shankara, which is the most influential and important Hindu theological tradition, there are a great number of deities in Hinduism, such as [[Vishnu]], [[Shiva]], [[Ganesha]], [[Hanuman]], [[Lakshmi]], and [[Kali]], but they are essentially different forms of the same "Being".{{Citation needed|date=August 2011}} However, many Vedantic philosophers also argue that all individuals were united by the same impersonal, divine power in the form of the [[Ātman (Hinduism)|Atman]].

Many other Hindus, however, view polytheism as far preferable to monotheism. [[Ram Swarup]], for example, points to the [[Vedas]] as being specifically polytheistic,<ref>{{cite book|last=Goel|first=Sita Ram|title=Defence of Hindu Society|year=1987|publisher=Voice of India|location=New Delhi, India|url=http://voi.org/books/hindusoc/ch5.htm|quote="In the Vedic approach, there is no single God. This is bad enough. But the Hindus do not have even a supreme God, a fuhrer-God who presides over a multiplicity of Gods." – Ram Swarup|access-date=2011-08-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303181337/http://voi.org/books/hindusoc/ch5.htm|archive-date=2016-03-03|url-status=dead}}</ref> and states that, "only some form of polytheism alone can do justice to this variety and richness."<ref>{{cite book|last=Goel|first=Sita Ram|title=Defence of Hindu Society|year=1987|publisher=Voice of India|location=New Delhi, India|url=http://voi.org/books/hindusoc/ch5.htm|access-date=2011-08-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303181337/http://voi.org/books/hindusoc/ch5.htm|archive-date=2016-03-03|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Sita Ram Goel]], another 20th-century Hindu historian, wrote:

{{Blockquote|"I had an occasion to read the typescript of a book [Ram Swarup] had finished writing in 1973. It was a profound study of Monotheism, the central dogma of both Islam and Christianity, as well as a powerful presentation of what the monotheists denounce as Hindu Polytheism. I had never read anything like it. It was a revelation to me that Monotheism was not a religious concept but an imperialist idea. I must confess that I myself had been inclined towards Monotheism till this time. I had never thought that a multiplicity of Gods was the natural and spontaneous expression of an evolved consciousness."<ref>{{cite book|last=Goel|first=Sita Ram|title=How I became a Hindu|year=1982|publisher=Voice of India|location=New Delhi, India|page=92}}</ref>}}

Some Hindus construe this notion of polytheism in the sense of polymorphism—one God with many forms or names. The [[Rig Veda]], the primary Hindu scripture, elucidates this as follows:
<blockquote>
They call him Indra, Mitra, Varuna, Agni, and he is heavenly nobly-winged Garutman. ''To what is One'', sages give many a title they call it Agni, Yama, Matarisvan. '''Book I, Hymn 164, Verse 46 Rigveda'''<ref>{{cite web|title=RigVeda|url=http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/rigveda/rv01164.htm|work=The Sacred Books|access-date=22 May 2013}}</ref>
</blockquote>