Polytheism

===Tengrism===
{{See also|Turkic mythology|Mongol mythology|Mongolian shamanism}}
The nature of [[Tengrism]] remains debatable. According to many scholars, Tengrism was originally [[polytheistic]], but a [[monotheistic]] branch with the sky god Kök-Tengri as the [[God|supreme being]] evolved as a dynastical legitimation. It is at least agreed that Tengrism formed from the diverse folk religions of the local people and may have had diverse branches.<ref>{{cite book |surname=Schmidt |given=Wilhelm |author-link=Wilhelm Schmidt (linguist) |year=1949–52 |title=Der Ursprung der Gottes |trans-title=The Origin of the Idea of God |volume=9–10 |language=de}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |surname=Doerfer |given=Gerhard |author-link=Gerhard Doerfer |year=1965 |title=Turkische und Mongolische Elemente im Neupersischen |volume=2 |place=Wiesbaden |language=de |page=580}}</ref>{{sfnm|1a1=Pettazzoni|1y=1956|1p=261f|2a1=Gumilyov|2y=1967|2loc=ch. 7|3a1=Tanyu|3y=1980|3p=|4a1=Alici|4y=2011|4p=}}

It is suggested that Tengrism was a monotheistic religion only at the imperial level in aristocratic circles, {{sfnm|1a1=Roux|1y=1956|1p=|2a1=Roux|2y=1984|2p=|3a1=Róna-Tas|3y=1987|3pp=33–45|4a1=Kodar|4y=2009|4p=}}<ref>Meserve, R., ''Religions in the central Asian environment''. In: [http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0012/001204/120455e.pdf History of Civilizations of Central Asia, Vol. 4] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303221846/http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0012/001204/120455e.pdf |date=2016-03-03}}, The age of achievement: A.D. 750 to the end of the fifteenth century, Part Two: The achievements, p. 68:
* "The 'imperial' religion was more monotheistic, centred around the all-powerful god Tengri, the sky god."</ref><ref name="PolyMono">Fergus, Michael; Jandosova, Janar. [{{Google books |plainurl=yes |id=jAu9ttUqiJoC |page=91}} Kazakhstan: Coming of Age], Stacey International, 2003, p. 91:
* "... a profound combination of monotheism and polytheism that has come to be known as Tengrism."</ref> and, perhaps, only by the 12th–13th centuries (a late form of development of ancient animistic shamanism in the era of the Mongol empire).{{sfn|Bira|2011|p=14}}

According to [[Jean-Paul Roux]], the monotheistic concept evolved later out of a polytheistic system and was not the original form of Tengrism. The monotheistic concept helped to legitimate the rule of the dynasty: "As there is only one God in Heaven, there can only be one ruler on the earth&nbsp;...".{{sfn|Roux|1956|p=242}}

Others point out that Tengri itself was never an Absolute, but only one of many gods of the upper world, the [[sky deity]], of polytheistic shamanism, later known as Tengrism.{{sfnm|1a1=Stebleva|1y=1971|1p=|2a1=Klyashtornyj|2y=2008|2p=}}

The term also describes several contemporary Turko-Mongolic native [[List of Tengrist movements|religious movements]] and teachings. All modern adherents of "political" Tengrism are monotheists.{{sfn|Laruelle|2006|pp=3–4}}