Theism

==Types of theism==

=== Classical theism ===
{{Main|Classical theism}}
Classical theism is the form of theism that describes God as the Absolute Being. Central insights of classical theistic [[theology]] includes [[emanationism]] and [[divine simplicity]].<ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last=Feser |first=Edward |title=Five Proofs of the Existence of God |publisher=IGNATIUS PRESS |year=2017 |isbn=978-1-62164-133-9 |location=San Fransisco |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":02">{{Cite book |last=[[David Bentley Hart|Hart]] |first=David Bentley |title=The Experience of God: Being, Consciousness, Bliss |date=September 24, 2013 |publisher=[[Yale University Press]] |year=2013}}</ref> Classical theistic traditions can be observed in major religions and philosophies; such as [[Sufism]] in [[Islam]], [[Vaishnavism]] in [[Hinduism]], [[Sikhism]] in general, and [[Platonism]]. 

===Monotheism===
{{Main|Monotheism}}
Monotheism (from [[Ancient Greek|Greek]] {{lang|grc|[[:wikt:μόνος|μόνος]]}}) is the belief in theology that only one [[deity]] exists.<ref>"Monotheism", in Britannica, 15th ed. (1986), 8:266.</ref> Some modern day [[Monotheism|monotheistic]] religions include [[Judaism]], [[Christianity]], [[Islam]], [[Mandaeism]], [[Druzism|Druze]], [[Baháʼí Faith]], [[Sikhism]], [[Zoroastrianism]], [[Rastafari]], some sects of [[Hinduism]], and [[Eckankar]].

===Polytheism===
{{Main|Polytheism}}
[[Polytheism]] is the belief in multiple [[deity|deities]], which are usually assembled into a [[pantheon (religion)|pantheon]], along with their own [[religious sect]]s and [[ritual]]s. Polytheism was the typical form of religion before the development and spread of the [[Abrahamic religions]] of [[Judaism]], [[Christianity]], and [[Islam]], which enforce monotheism. It is well documented throughout history; from [[prehistory]] and the earliest records of [[ancient Egyptian religion]] and [[ancient Mesopotamian religion]] to the religions prevalent during [[Classical antiquity]], such as [[ancient Greek religion]] and [[ancient Roman religion]], and in [[ethnic religions]] such as [[Germanic paganism|Germanic]], [[Slavic paganism|Slavic]], and [[Baltic mythology|Baltic paganism]] and [[Native American religion]]s.

Notable polytheistic religions practiced today include [[Taoism]], [[Shenism]] or [[Chinese folk religion]], Japanese [[Shinto]], [[Santería]], most [[Traditional African religions]],<ref>{{cite journal|last=Kimmerle|first=Heinz|date=11 April 2006|title=The world of spirits and the respect for nature: towards a new appreciation of animism|journal=The Journal for Transdisciplinary Research in Southern Africa|language=en-US|volume=2|issue=2|pages=15|doi=10.4102/td.v2i2.277|issn=2415-2005|doi-access=free}}</ref> and various [[modern Paganism|neopagan]] faiths such as [[Wicca]], [[Druidry (modern)|Druidry]], [[Romuva (religion)|Romuva]], and [[Hellenism (modern religion)|Hellenism]]. [[Hinduism]], while popularly held as polytheistic, cannot be exclusively categorised as such as some Hindus consider themselves to be [[pantheists]] and others consider themselves to be monotheists. Both are compatible with Hindu texts since there exists no consensus of standardisation in the faith. [[Vedanta]], the most dominant school of Hinduism, offers a combination of monotheism and polytheism, holding that [[Brahman]] is the sole ''ultimate reality'' of the universe, yet unity with it can be reached by worshipping multiple gods and goddesses.

A major division in modern polytheistic practices is between so-called ''soft'' polytheism and ''hard'' polytheism.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://digilib.phil.muni.cz/handle/11222.digilib/138049|title=Modern Pagan religious conversion revisited|last=Galtsin|first=Dmitry|date=21 June 2018|journal=Sacra|volume=14 |issue=2 |pages=7–17 |access-date=5 February 2019|archive-date=7 February 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190207015038/https://digilib.phil.muni.cz/handle/11222.digilib/138049|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{cite book|title=Seeking the mystery : an introduction to Pagan theologies|last=Hoff|first=Kraemer, Christine|date=2012|publisher=Patheos Press|isbn=9781939221186|location=Englewood, CO|oclc=855412257}}</ref> "Soft" polytheism is the belief that different gods may be [[Jungian archetypes|psychological archetypes]], personifications of natural forces, or fundamentally one deity in different cultural contexts (e.g., [[Odin]], [[Zeus]], and [[Indra]] all being the same god as interpreted by Germanic, Greek, and Indic peoples, respectively)—known as [[wiktionary:omnitheism|omnitheism]].<ref>{{cite journal|last=Negedu|first=I. A.|date=1 January 2014|title=The Igala traditional religious belief system: Between monotheism and polytheism|url=https://www.ajol.info/index.php/og/article/view/109609|journal=OGIRISI: A New Journal of African Studies|language=en|volume=10|issue=1|pages=116–129|issn=1597-474X|doi=10.4314/og.v10i1.7|doi-access=free|access-date=24 February 2023|archive-date=24 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230224223707/https://www.ajol.info/index.php/og/article/view/109609|url-status=live}}</ref> In this way, gods may be interchangeable for one another across cultures.<ref name=":0" /> "Hard" polytheism is the belief that gods are distinct, separate, real divine beings rather than psychological archetypes or personifications of natural forces. Hard polytheists reject the idea that "all gods are one essential god" and may also [[Religious exclusivism|reject the existence of gods outside their own pantheon altogether]].<ref name=":0" />

Polytheism is further divided according to how the individual deities are regarded:

; [[Henotheism]]: Henotheism is the belief that there may be more than one deity but only one of them is to be worshiped. [[Zoroastrianism]] is sometimes considered an example. 
; [[Kathenotheism]]: Kathenotheism is the belief that there is more than one deity, but only one deity is worshiped at a time (or ever) and another may be worthy of worship in another time or place. If they are worshiped one at a time, then each is supreme in turn.
; [[Monolatrism]]: Monolatrism is the belief that there may be more than one deity but only one is worthy of being worshiped. Most of the modern [[monotheistic]] religions may have begun as monolatrous ones, but this is disputed.{{Citation needed|date=February 2018}}

[[File:Spinoza.jpg|thumb|160px|The philosophy of Baruch Spinoza is often regarded as pantheist.<ref name=Picton>{{cite book|last=Picton|first=James Allanson|title=Pantheism: its story and significance|year=1905|publisher=Archibald Constable & CO LTD.|location=Chicago|isbn=978-1419140082|url=https://archive.org/details/pantheismitsstor00pictrich}}</ref><ref>*Fraser, Alexander Campbell "Philosophy of Theism", William Blackwood and Sons, 1895, p 163.</ref>]]

===Pantheism===
{{Main|Pantheism}}
Pantheism is the belief that [[reality]], the [[universe]] and the [[cosmos]] are identical to [[divinity]] and a [[Creator deity|supreme being]] or entity. Pointing to the universe as being an [[Immanence|immanent]] [[creator deity]] in and of itself, the deity is understood as still expanding, creating, and eternal,<ref>{{cite book |title=The New [[Oxford Dictionary of English]] |publisher=[[Oxford University Press|Clarendon Press]] |year=1998 |isbn=978-0-19-861263-6 |location=Oxford |page=1341}} "The term 'pantheist' designates one who holds both that everything constitutes a unity and that this unity is divine."</ref> or that [[Everything|all things]] compose an all-encompassing, immanent god or goddess that is manifested as the universe.<ref name="Edwards">{{Cite book|title = Encyclopedia of Philosophy ed. Paul Edwards |publisher=Macmillan and Free Press |year = 1967 |location = New York|page=34}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Reid-Bowen|first=Paul|title=Goddess as Nature: Towards a Philosophical Thealogy|page=70|publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]]|date=15 April 2016|isbn=9781317126348}}</ref> As such, even [[Astronomical object|astronomical objects]] are viewed as part of the sole deity. The worship of all gods of every religion has been conceived as a form of pantheism, but such a system is more akin to [[Omnism]].<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pantheism| title=Definition of Pantheism| access-date=24 February 2023| archive-date=3 November 2022| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221103001704/https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pantheism| url-status=live}}</ref>
Pantheist [[Belief#Religious belief|belief]] does not recognize a distinct [[personal god]],<ref>{{cite book |title=A Companion to Philosophy of Religion |editor1=Charles Taliaferro |editor2=Paul Draper |editor3=Philip L. Quinn |page=340 |quote=They deny that God is "totally other" than the world or ontologically distinct from it.}}</ref> [[anthropomorphic]] or otherwise, but instead characterizes a broad range of doctrines differing in forms of relationships between reality and divinity.<ref name="LevineDetailed">{{citation |last=Levine |first=Michael |title=Pantheism: A Non-Theistic Concept of Deity |publisher=Psychology Press |date=1994 |isbn=9780415070645 |pages=44, 274–275}}:

* "The idea that Unity that is rooted in nature is what types of nature mysticism (e.g. Wordsworth, Robinson Jeffers, Gary Snyder) have in common with more philosophically robust versions of pantheism. It is why nature mysticism and philosophical pantheism are often conflated and confused for one another."
* "[Wood's] pantheism is distant from Spinoza's identification of God with nature, and much closer to nature mysticism. In fact it is nature mysticism."
* "Nature mysticism, however, is as compatible with theism as it is with pantheism."</ref> Pantheistic concepts date back thousands of years, and pantheistic elements have been identified in various religious traditions. The term ''pantheism'' was coined by mathematician [[Joseph Raphson]] in 1697,<ref name="Taylor">{{cite book|last1=Taylor|first1=Bron|title=Encyclopedia of Religion and Nature|date=2008|publisher=A&C Black|isbn=978-1441122780|pages=1341–1342|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i4mvAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA1342|access-date=27 July 2017}}</ref><ref name=Thomson>Ann Thomson; Bodies of Thought: Science, Religion, and the Soul in the Early Enlightenment, 2008, page 54.</ref> and since then has been used to describe the beliefs of a variety of individuals and organizations. Pantheism was popularized in [[Western culture]] as a [[theology]] and philosophy based on the work of the 17th-century philosopher [[Baruch Spinoza]]—in particular, his book ''[[Ethics (Spinoza book)|Ethics]]''.<ref name="Genevieve Lloyd 1996">{{cite book |first=Genevieve |last=Lloyd |title=Routledge Philosophy GuideBook to Spinoza and The Ethics |series=Routledge Philosophy Guidebooks |publisher=[[Routledge]] |edition=1st |date=2 October 1996 |isbn=978-0-415-10782-2 |page=24}}</ref> A pantheistic stance was also expressed by the 16th-century by philosopher and [[Cosmology|cosmologist]] [[Giordano Bruno]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Birx |first=Jams H. |url=http://www.theharbinger.org/xvi/971111/birx.html |title=Giordano Bruno |publisher=The Harbinger |location=[[Mobile, Alabama|Mobile, AL]] |date=11 November 1997 |quote=Bruno was burned to death at the stake for his pantheistic stance and cosmic perspective. |access-date=5 February 2019 |archive-date=27 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170727101806/http://www.theharbinger.org/xvi/971111/birx.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Deism===
{{Main|Deism}}
; Classical Deism: Classical deism is the belief that one [[God]] exists and created the world, but that the Creator does not alter the original plan for the universe. Instead, the deity presides over it in the form of [[Divine providence|Providence]]; some classical deists, however, did believe in divine intervention.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20051120140834/http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/deism AskOxford: deism<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
Deism typically rejects supernatural events (such as prophecies, miracles, and divine revelations) prominent in organized religion. Instead, deism holds that religious beliefs must be founded on human reason and observed features of the natural world, and that these sources reveal the existence of a supreme being as creator.<ref>{{cite book |title=Webster's New International Dictionary of the English Language |publisher=G.&C. Merriam |year=1924}} 
:
defines deism as
: 'belief in the existence of a personal god, with disbelief in Christian teaching, or with a purely rationalistic interpretation of Scripture'.
:
Although Webster's lists '''deism''' as a type of ''theism'', deism is completely different from theism. If anything, theism would be an off-shoot of deism since it takes beliefs a step further to include miracles and divine revelation, with deism being the 'base' belief in (a) God.</ref>
; [[Pandeism]]: Pandeism is the belief that God preceded the universe and created it but is now equivalent with it.
; [[Polydeism]]: Polydeism is the belief that multiple gods exist but do not intervene in the universe.

===Autotheism===
{{Essay-like|section|date=September 2022}}
{{Main|Egotheism}}
Autotheism is the viewpoint that [[divinity]]—whether external or not—is inherently "within oneself" and that one has the ability to become godlike. [[Buddhism]] and [[Jainism]], which shared an Indian cultural context during their emergence, are autotheistic.

Within the context of subjectivism, autotheism can refer to the belief that one's self is a deity. Hindus sometimes use the phrase "''[[Aham Brahmasmi|aham Brahmāsmi]]''", or "I am [[Brahman]]", to describe their relation to divinity.<ref>{{cite book |author=Gurumayum Ranjit Sharma |year=1987 |title=The Idealistic Philosophy of Swami Vivekananda |publisher=Atlantic |page=180 |id=GGKEY:PSWXE5NTFF4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ORYOsJHi53sC&pg=PA180}}</ref>

The [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints|Latter-day Saint]] doctrine of [[Exaltation (Mormonism)|exaltation]], by which humans attain godhood after death, could be viewed as a form of autotheism.<ref>{{cite book |last=Davies |first=Douglas J. |date=23 October 2003 |title=An Introduction to Mormonism |isbn=9780521817387 |page=79 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fw8DIziwEDsC&dq=apotheosis+mormon&pg=PA79 |via=Google Books |access-date=16 March 2022}}</ref>

===Value-judgment theisms===
; Eutheism: Eutheism is the belief that a deity is wholly benevolent.
; [[Dystheism]]: [[Dystheism]] is the belief that a deity is not wholly good, and is possibly evil.
; [[Maltheism]]: [[Maltheism]] is the belief that a deity exists but is wholly malicious.
; [[Misotheism]]: [[Misotheism]] is active hatred toward and for God, gods, and/or other divine beings.

===Non-theism and atheism ===
; [[Atheism]] : [[Atheism]] is the lack of belief in supernatural powers such as deities, gods, goddesses, and [[Messiah|messiahs]]. Some atheists express an [[Negative and positive atheism|active disbelief or rejection]] of the existence of such entities.

; [[Non-theism]]: [[Non-theism]] is the belief in no gods or god.

; [[Agnosticism]] : [[Agnosticism]] is the belief that it is impossible for any person to genuinely know whether deities or the supernatural are genuinely true to their descriptions or mere fabrications regardless of sincerity. [[Agnostics]] reject both theistic and deistic beliefs as established facts, and accept such as only unsubstantiated opinion whether regarding their own beliefs or others'.

=== Alterity theism ===
[[Alterity]] theism is a belief that the supreme being is radically [[Transcendence (religion)|transcendent]] to the point that it cannot be recognized as having any genuine [[Existence|being]] at all.