Polytheism

{{Short description|Worship of or belief in multiple deities}}
[[File:Human artifacts at CMNH - 37.JPG|thumb|Egyptian gods in the [[Carnegie Museum of Natural History]]]]
{{God}}
'''Polytheism''' the belief or worship of more than one [[Deity|god]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Polytheism |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100336156 |access-date=3 February 2023 |website=Oxford Reference |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |language= }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Polytheism |url=https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/polytheism |access-date=3 February 2023 |website=[[Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary]] |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Polytheism |url=https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/polytheism |access-date=3 February 2023 |website=[[Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary]] |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]}}</ref> According to Oxford Reference, it is not easy to count gods, and so not always obvious whether an apparently polytheistic religion, such as Chinese Folk Religions, is really so, or whether the different apparent objects of worship are to be thought of as manifestations.<ref name=":1" /> Polytheistic belief is usually assembled into a [[pantheon (religion)|pantheon]] of [[Gender of God|gods]] and [[goddess]]es, along with their own [[religious sect]]s and [[ritual]]s. Polytheism is a type of [[theism]]. Within theism, it contrasts with [[monotheism]], the belief in a [[God|singular God]] who is, in most cases, [[transcendence (religion)|transcendent]].

In religions that accept polytheism, the different gods and goddesses may be representations of forces of nature or [[ancestral worship|ancestral principles]]; they can be viewed either as autonomous or as aspects or [[emanationism|emanations]] of a [[creator deity]] or [[transcendence (religion)|transcendental]] [[Absolute (philosophy)|absolute principle]] ([[monism|monistic]] theologies), which manifests [[immanence|immanently]] in nature ([[panentheism|panentheistic]] and [[pantheism|pantheistic]] theologies).<ref>[[Ulrich Libbrecht]]. ''Within the Four Seas...: Introduction to Comparative Philosophy''. Peeters Publishers, 2007. {{ISBN|9042918128}}. p. 42.</ref> Polytheists do not always worship all the gods equally; they can be in [[Monolatry|monolatrists]] or [[kathenotheism|kathenotheists]], specializing in the worship of one particular deity only or at certain times (respectively).

The recognition of the existence of multiple gods and goddesses, however, does not necessarily equate to the worship of all the deities of one or more pantheons, as the believer can either worship them as a whole, or concentrate only on a specific group of deities, determined by various conditions such as the believer's occupation, tastes, personal experience, family tradition, etc. It is also possible to worship a single deity, considered supreme, without ruling out the existence of other gods. This religious position has been called henotheism, but some prefer to call it monolatry. Although the term "henotheism" is controversial, it is recognized by scholars that the worship of a single God accompanied by belief in other deities maintains the principle of polytheism.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Monotheism - Polytheism, Dualism, Henotheism  |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/monotheism/The-spectrum-of-views-monotheisms-and-quasi-monotheisms |access-date=2023-12-26 |website=Britannica |language=en}}</ref>

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 [[Hinduism]], [[Taoism]], [[Shenism]] or [[Chinese folk religion]], Japanese [[Shinto]], [[Santería]], most [[Traditional African religions]],<ref>{{cite journal|last=Kimmerle|first=Heinz|date=2006-04-11|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]].

[[Hinduism]], while popularly held as polytheistic, cannot be exclusively categorised as such as some Hindus consider themselves to be [[Pantheism|pantheists]], [[Panentheism|panentheists]], [[Henotheism|henotheist]], polymorphist, [[Monotheism|monotheists]] or [[Monism|monist]]. They 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 pantheism/panentheism and polytheism, holding that [[Brahman]] is the sole ''ultimate reality'' of the universe, yet unity with it can be reached by worshipping the innumerable deities that represent the ''Supreme Absolute Truth''. Hindus who practice ''Bhakti '' ultimately believe in one God, who is known variously as ''Paramatman'', ''Parabrahman'', ''Bhagavan'', ''Ishvara'', and so on, that transcends all categories (e.g. both of form and formless). Even though God is one, God manifests in infinite forms to help His/Her devotees realise Him/Her, but this is not to be confused with the belief that there are multiple Gods/Goddesses - this can be referred to as ''Polymorphic Monotheism''.

==Terminology==
The term comes from the [[Ancient Greek|Greek]] πολύ ''poly'' ("many") and θεός ''theos'' ("god") and was coined by the Jewish writer [[Philo of Alexandria]] to argue with the Greeks. When Christianity spread throughout Europe and the Mediterranean, non-Christians were just called [[Gentiles]] (a term originally used by Jews to refer to non-Jews) or [[Paganism|pagan]]s (locals) or by the clearly pejorative term idolaters (worshippers of "false" gods). In modern times, the term polytheism was first revived in French by [[Jean Bodin]] in 1580, followed by [[Samuel Purchas]]'s usage in English in 1614.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Inconceivable Polytheism: Studies in Religious Historiography |last= Schmidt|first= Francis |year=1987 |publisher= Gordon & Breach Science Publishers |location=New York |isbn= 978-3718603671 |page=10}}</ref>

==Soft versus hard==
{{See also|Interpretatio graeca}}
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=2018-06-21|journal=Sacra|volume=14 |issue=2 |pages=7–17 |access-date=2019-02-05}}</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 either be psychological [[archetypes]], personifications of natural forces, or as being one essential god interpreted through the lenses of different cultures (e.g. [[Odin]], [[Zeus]], and [[Indra]] all being the same god as interpreted by Germanic, Greek, and Indic peoples respectively) – known as [[wikt:omnitheism|omnitheism]].<ref>{{cite journal|last=Negedu|first=I. A.|date=2014-01-01|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}}</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" />

==Gods and divinity==
[[File:Anitos of Northern tribes (c. 1900, Philippines).jpg|thumb|[[Bulul]] statues serve as avatars of rice deities in the [[Philippine mythology|Anitist]] beliefs of the [[Ifugao people|Ifugao]] in the [[Philippines]].]]
The deities of polytheism are often portrayed as complex personages of greater or lesser status, with individual skills, needs, desires and histories, in many ways similar to humans ([[anthropomorphism|anthropomorphic]]) in their [[wikt:personality|personality]] traits, but with additional individual powers, abilities, knowledge or perceptions.
Polytheism cannot be cleanly separated from the [[animism|animist]] beliefs prevalent in most [[folk religion]]s. The gods of polytheism are in many cases the highest order of a continuum of [[Non-physical entity|supernatural beings]] or spirits, which may include [[ancestors]], [[demon]]s, [[wights]], and others. In some cases these spirits are divided into [[heaven|celestial]] or [[chthonic]] classes, and belief in the existence of all these beings does not imply that all are worshipped.

==Types of deities==
{{Further|List of deities}}
Types of deities often found in polytheism may include:
* [[Creator deity]]
* [[Culture hero]]
* [[Death deity]] ([[chthonic]])
* [[Life-death-rebirth deity]]
* [[List of love and lust deities|Love deity]]
* [[Mother goddess]]
* [[Apotheosis|Political deity]] (such as a king or emperor)
* [[Sky deity]] ([[heaven|celestial]])
* [[Solar deity]]
* [[Trickster|Trickster deity]]
* [[Water deity]]
* [[Lunar deity]]
* Deities of music, arts, science, farming, or other endeavors

==Religion and mythology==
{{Main|Religion and mythology}}
In [[Classical Antiquity|the Classical era]], 4th century CE Neoplatonist [[Sallustius (Neoplatonist)|Sallustius]] categorized [[mythology]] into five types:<ref>Sallustius, ''On the Gods and the World'', [[s:Sallust On the Gods and the World/Sallust on the Gods and the World#Chap. IV.|4]]</ref>
# Theological: myths that contemplate the essence of the gods, such as [[Cronus]] swallowing his children, which Sallustius regarded as expressing in allegory the essence of divinity
# Physical: expressing the activities of gods in the world
# Psychological: myths as allegories of the activities of the soul itself or the soul's acts of thought
# Material: regarding material objects as gods, for example: to call the earth [[Gaia]], the ocean Okeanos, or heat [[Typhon]]
# Mixed

The beliefs of many historical polytheistic religions are commonly referred to as "mythology",<ref>Eugenie C. Scott, ''Evolution Vs. Creationism: An Introduction'' (2009), p. 58.</ref>{{reliable source|date=July 2022}} though the stories cultures tell about their gods should be distinguished{{according to whom|date=July 2022}} from their worship or religious practice. For instance, deities portrayed in conflict in mythology were often nonetheless worshipped side by side, illustrating the distinction within the religion between belief and practice.{{citation needed|date=July 2022}} Scholars such as [[Jaan Puhvel]], [[J. P. Mallory]], and [[Douglas Q. Adams]] have reconstructed aspects of the ancient [[Proto-Indo-European religion]] from which the religions of the various [[Proto-Indo-Europeans|Indo-European peoples]] are thought to derive, which is believed to have been an essentially naturalist [[Numenism|numenistic]] religion.{{Citation needed|reason=develop, how are they "essentialy naturalist numenistic religions"?|date=April 2021}} An example of a religious notion from this shared past is the concept of ''[[Dyeus|*dyēus]]'', which is attested in several religious systems of Indo-European-speaking peoples.

==Ancient and historical religions==
Well-known historical polytheistic pantheons include the [[Mesopotamian mythology|Sumerian]] gods, the [[Egyptian mythology|Egyptian]] gods, the pantheon attested in [[Classical Antiquity]] (in [[ancient Greek religion|ancient Greek]] and [[Religion in ancient Rome|Roman]] religion), the [[Norse mythology|Norse]] [[Æsir]] and [[Vanir]], the [[Yoruba mythology|Yoruba]] [[Orisha]], and the [[Aztec mythology|Aztec]] gods.

In many civilizations, pantheons tended to grow over time. Deities first worshipped as the patrons of cities or other places came to be collected together as empires extended over larger territories. Conquests could lead to the subordination of a culture's pantheon to that of the invaders, as in the Greek [[Titanomachia]], and possibly also the [[Æsir–Vanir war]] in the [[Norse mythology|Norse mythos]]. Cultural exchange could lead to "the same" deity being revered in two places under different names, as seen with the Greeks, [[Etruscan religion|Etruscan]]s, and Romans, and also to the cultural transmission of elements of an extraneous religion, as with the [[ancient Egypt]]ian deity [[Osiris]], who was later worshipped in [[ancient Greece]].

Most ancient belief systems held that gods influenced human lives. However, the Greek philosopher [[Epicurus]] held that the gods were incorruptible but material, blissful beings who inhabited the empty spaces between worlds and did not trouble themselves with the affairs of mortals, but could be perceived by the mind, especially during sleep.

===Ancient Greece===
{{Main|Religion in ancient Greece}}
[[File:Greek - Procession of Twelve Gods and Goddesses - Walters 2340.jpg|thumb|Procession of the Twelve Olympians]]
The classical scheme in Ancient Greece of the [[Twelve Olympians]] (the Canonical Twelve of art and poetry) were:<ref name="EnAm1993">{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Greek mythology |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopedia Americana]] |year=1993 |volume=13 |page=431}}</ref><ref name="EnPLB2007">{{cite encyclopedia |title=Dodekatheon |trans-title=Twelve Olympians |encyclopedia=[[Papyrus Larousse Britannica]] |year=2007 |language=el}}</ref> [[Zeus]], [[Hera]], [[Poseidon]], [[Athena]], [[Ares]], [[Demeter]], [[Apollo]], [[Artemis]], [[Hephaestus]], [[Aphrodite]], [[Hermes]], and [[Hestia]]. Though it is suggested that Hestia stepped down when [[Dionysus]] was invited to [[Mount Olympus]], this is a matter of controversy. Robert Graves' ''The Greek Myths'' cites two sources<ref>{{cite web|title=Apollodorus, Library, book 3, chapter 5, section 3|url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Apollod.+3.5.3&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Pausanias, Description of Greece|url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Paus.+2.31.2&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160}}</ref> that obviously do not suggest Hestia surrendered her seat, though he suggests she did. [[Hades]]<ref name="EnAm1919">{{cite encyclopedia |title=Encyclopedia Americana Vol. 13 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PWYMAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA408 |volume=13 |year=1919 |editor=George Edward Rines |publisher=Americana Corp |pages=408–411}}</ref> was often excluded because he dwelt in the underworld. All of the gods had a power. There was, however, a great deal of fluidity as to whom was counted among their number in antiquity.<ref name="Stoll1852">{{cite book|author=Stoll, Heinrich Wilhelm (R.B. Paul trans.) |title=Handbook of the religion and mythology of the Greeks |publisher=Francis and John Rivington |year=1852 |page=8 |quote=The limitation [of the number of Olympians] to twelve seems to have been a comparatively modern idea}}</ref> Different cities often worshipped the same deities, sometimes with [[epithet]]s that distinguished them and specified their local nature.

[[Religion in Ancient Greece|Hellenic Polytheism]] extended beyond mainland Greece, to the islands and coasts of [[Ionia]] in [[Asia Minor]], to [[Magna Graecia]] (Sicily and southern Italy), and to scattered Greek colonies in the Western Mediterranean, such as [[Marseille|Massalia]] (Marseille). Greek religion tempered [[Etruscan mythology|Etruscan cult and belief]] to form much of the later [[Religion in ancient Rome|Roman religion]]. During the Hellenistic Era, philosophical schools like [[Epicureanism]] developed distinct theologies.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmO-s9qkrgA |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211215/pmO-s9qkrgA |archive-date=2021-12-15 |url-status=live|title=On the Epicurean Gods|date=2020|publisher=Society of Friends of Epicurus}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Hellenism is, in practice, primarily centered around polytheistic and animistic worship.

==Folk religions==
{{Main|Folk religion}}
{{Further|Saint|Angel|Folk Catholicism|Shamanism}}

The majority of so-called "[[folk religions]]" in the world today (distinguished from traditional [[ethnic religion]]s) are found in the [[Asia-Pacific|Asia-Pacific region]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.pewforum.org/2012/12/18/global-religious-landscape-folk/ |title=Folk Religionists |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=2012-12-18 |website=Pew Forum |publisher=Pew Research Center |access-date=2021-03-31}}</ref> This fact conforms to the trend of the majority of polytheist religions being found outside the western world.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gries |first1=P. |last2=Su |first2=J. |last3= Schak |first3= D. |date=December 2012 |title=Toward the scientific study of polytheism: beyond forced-choice measures of religious belief |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1468-5906.2012.01683.x |journal=Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion |volume=51 |issue=4 |pages=623–637 |doi=10.1111/j.1468-5906.2012.01683.x |access-date=2021-03-31}}</ref>

Folk religions are often closely tied to [[animism]]. Animistic beliefs are found in historical and modern cultures. Folk beliefs are often labeled superstitions when they are present in [[monotheistic]] societies.<ref name="van Baaren">{{cite web |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/monotheism/The-spectrum-of-views-monotheisms-and-quasi-monotheisms |title=Monotheism |last=van Baaren |first=Theodorus P. |website=Britannica |publisher=Encyclopaedia Britannica |access-date=2021-04-12}}</ref> Folk religions often do not have organized authorities, also known as [[priesthoods]], or any formal [[sacred texts]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.pewforum.org/2012/12/18/global-religious-landscape-folk/ |title=Folk Religionists |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=2012-12-18 |website=Pew Forum |publisher=Pew Research Center |access-date=2021-03-31}}</ref> They often coincide with other religions as well. [[Abrahamic monotheistic religions]], which dominate the western world, typically do not approve of practicing parts of multiple religions, but folk religions often overlap with others.<ref name="van Baaren"/> Followers of polytheistic religions do not often problematize following practices and beliefs from multiple religions.

==Modern religions==
{{Further|Theology|Pantheon (gods)|Euhemerism|Interpretatio graeca|Demigod|Apotheosis}}
===Buddhism===
{{Further|God in Buddhism|Deva (Buddhism)|Nontheism#Buddhism}}
[[Buddhism]] is typically classified as [[non-theistic]],<ref name="O'Brien">{{cite web |url=https://www.learnreligions.com/gods-in-buddhism-449762 |title=The Role of Gods and Deities in Buddhism |last=O'Brien |first=Barbara |date= |website=Learn Religions |access-date=2021-03-31}}</ref> but depending on the type of Buddhism practiced, it may be seen as polytheistic as it at least acknowledges the existence of multiple gods. The Buddha is a leader figure but is not meant to be worshipped as a god. [[Deva (Buddhism)|Devas]], a Sanskrit word for ''gods'', are also not meant to be worshipped. They are not immortal and have limited powers. They may have been humans who had positive [[karma]] in their life and were reborn as a deva.<ref>{{cite book |last=Trainor |first=Kevin |date=2004 |title=Buddhism: The Illustrated Guide |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=62}}</ref>
A common Buddhist practice is [[tantra]], which is the use of rituals to achieve enlightenment. Tantra focuses on seeing yourself as a deity, and the use of deities as symbols rather than supernatural agents.<ref name="O'Brien"/>
Buddhism is most closely aligned with polytheism when it is linked with other religions, often folk religions. For example, the Japanese [[Shinto]] religion, in which deities called [[kami]] are worshipped, is sometimes mixed with Buddhism.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://japanology.org/2016/06/buddhism-and-shinto-the-two-pillars-of-japanese-culture |title=Buddhism and Shinto: The Two Pillars of Japanese Culture |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=2016-06-20 |website=Japanology |access-date=2021-04-14 |archive-date=2021-04-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415203649/https://japanology.org/2016/06/buddhism-and-shinto-the-two-pillars-of-japanese-culture/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Christianity===
{{See also|God in Christianity|Trinity}}

Although Christianity is usually described as a monotheistic religion,<ref>{{cite book |title= Christianity: A Very Short Introduction|last= Woodhead|first= Linda |year= 2004|publisher= Oxford University Press |location= Oxford|pages= n.p}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/monotheism#ref38222 |title = Monotheism &#124; Definition, Types, Examples, & Facts| date=24 May 2023 }}</ref> it is sometimes claimed that Christianity is not truly monotheistic because of its idea of the [[Trinity]].<ref>''Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church'' (1974) art. "Monotheism"</ref> The Trinity believes that God consists of [[God the Father|the Father]], [[God the Son|the Son]] and the [[Holy Spirit in Christianity|Holy Spirit]]. Because the deity is three persons, some people believe Christianity should be considered a form of [[Tritheism]] or Polytheism.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.ccjr.us/dialogika-resources/educational-and-liturgical-materials/classic-articles/966-fisher2010/./|title= Typical Jewish Misunderstandings of Christianity|website= Council of Centers on Jewish-Christian Relations|access-date= June 8, 2018|archive-date= June 12, 2018|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180612135846/http://www.ccjr.us/dialogika-resources/educational-and-liturgical-materials/classic-articles/966-fisher2010/|url-status= dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://thedebateinitiative.com/2014/12/08/muslims-reject-the-trinity-because-they-do-understand-it/./|title=Muslims reject the Trinity because they do understand it|website=thedebateinitiative|access-date= June 8, 2018}}</ref> Christians contend that "one God exists in Three Persons and One Substance,"<ref name="odcc-trin">''Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church'' (1974) art. "Trinity, Doctrine of the"</ref> but that a deity cannot be a person, who has one individual identity. Christianity inherited the idea of one God from Judaism, and maintains that its monotheistic doctrine is central to the faith.
[[File:Llanbeblig_Hours_(f._4v.)_God,_The_Holy_Spirit,_and_Christ_Crucified.jpg|thumb|It is sometimes claimed that Christianity is not truly monotheistic because of its idea of the [[Trinity]]]]
Jordan Paper, a Western scholar and self-described polytheist, considers polytheism to be the normal state in human culture. He argues that "Even the Catholic Church shows polytheistic aspects with the 'veneration' of the saints." On the other hand, he complains, monotheistic missionaries and scholars were eager to see a proto-monotheism or at least [[henotheism]] in polytheistic religions, for example, when taking from the Chinese pair of Sky and Earth only one part and calling it the ''King of Heaven'', as [[Matteo Ricci]] did.<ref>Jordan Paper: The Deities are Many. A Polytheistic Theology. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2005, pp. 112 and 133.</ref> In 1508, a London [[Lollard]] named William Pottier was accused of believing in six gods.<ref name="Royal Milton 2020 p. 44">{{cite book | last1=Royal | first1=S. | last2=Milton | first2=A. | title=Lollards in the English Reformation: History, radicalism, and John Foxe | publisher=Manchester University Press | series=Politics, Culture and Society in Early Modern Britain | year=2020 | isbn=978-1-5261-2882-9 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CNDKDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT44 | access-date=2023-02-23 | page=44}}</ref>

====Mormonism====
<!-- Do not cite religious texts as sources for theological statements; reliable secondary sources are required. See [[WP:PRIMARY]] for more details -->
{{Further|God in Mormonism}}
[[Joseph Smith]], the founder of the [[Latter Day Saint movement]], believed in "the plurality of Gods", saying "I have always declared God to be a distinct personage, Jesus Christ a separate and distinct personage from God the Father, and that the Holy Ghost was a distinct personage and a Spirit: and these three constitute three distinct personages and three Gods".<ref>{{citation |contribution-url= http://eom.byu.edu/index.php/Godhead |contribution= Godhead |last= Dahl |first= Paul E. |pages= 552–553 |editor-last= Ludlow |editor-first= Daniel H |editor-link= Daniel H. Ludlow |year= 1992 |title= Encyclopedia of Mormonism |location= New York |publisher= [[Macmillan Publishing]] |isbn= 0-02-879602-0 |oclc= 24502140 |title-link= Encyclopedia of Mormonism }}</ref> Mormonism, which emerged from Protestantism, <ref name="Bowen 2005 p. 26">{{cite book | last=Bowen | first=K. | title=Christians in a Secular World: The Canadian Experience | publisher=McGill-Queen's University Press | series=McGill-Queen's Studies in the History of Religion | year=2005 | isbn=978-0-7735-2712-6 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=__38sGZLrvYC&pg=PA26 | access-date=2022-11-13 | page=26}}</ref> teaches [[Exaltation (Mormonism)|exaltation]] defined as the idea that people can become like god in the afterlife.<ref>{{citation |contribution-url= http://eom.byu.edu/index.php/Exaltation |contribution= Exaltation |last= Pope |first= Margaret McConkie |page= 479 |title= Encyclopedia of Mormonism |title-link= Encyclopedia of Mormonism |access-date= 2014-11-12 |archive-date= 2017-10-19 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20171019112135/http://eom.byu.edu/index.php/Exaltation |url-status= dead }}</ref> Mormonism also affirms the existence of a [[Heavenly Mother (Mormonism)|Heavenly Mother]],<ref>{{citation |contribution-url= http://eom.byu.edu/index.php/Heavenly_Mother |contribution= Mother in Heaven |last= Cannon |first= Elaine Anderson |author-link= Elaine A. Cannon |page= 961 |title= Encyclopedia of Mormonism |title-link= Encyclopedia of Mormonism |access-date= 2014-03-26 |archive-date= 2017-10-19 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20171019111714/http://eom.byu.edu/index.php/Heavenly_Mother |url-status= dead }}</ref> and the prevailing view among Mormons is that [[God the Father]] was once a man who lived on a planet with his own higher God, and who became perfect after following this higher God.<ref>{{citation |url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/mormon/beliefs/god_1.shtml |title= Religions: An explanation of Mormon beliefs about God |work= [[BBC]] |date= October 2, 2009 |access-date= 2014-10-28 }}.</ref><ref>{{citation |last1= Riess |first1= Jana |author1-link= Jana Riess |first2= Christopher Kimball |last2= Bigelow |title= Mormonism for Dummies |publisher= John Wiley & Sons |year= 2005 |isbn= 978-0-7645-7195-4 |chapter= Chapter 3: Heavenly Parents, Savior, and Holy Ghost }}</ref> Some critics of Mormonism argue that statements in the [[Book of Mormon]] describe a trinitarian conception of God (e.g. {{Mormonverse|2 Nephi|31:21}}; {{Mormonverse|Alma|11:44}}), but were superseded by later [[Revelation (Latter Day Saints)|revelations]].<ref>{{citation |last= Hoekema |first= Anthony |author-link= Anthony A. Hoekema |title= The Four Major Cults: Christian Science, Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormonism, Seventh-Day Adventism |publisher= [[Paternoster Press]] |place= Exeter, England |year= 1969 |orig-year= 1963 |page= 34 |isbn= 0853640947 |oclc= 12735425 }}{{unreliable source?|date=November 2014}}<!-- Polemic source perhaps not the best reference here, or at least using it exclusivly --></ref> Due to teachings within [[Mormon cosmology]], some theologians claim that it allows for an infinite number of gods.<ref name="Crane 2010 p. 63">{{cite book | last=Crane | first=S.A. | title=Is Mormonism Now Christian? | publisher=Wipf & Stock Pub. | year=2010 | isbn=978-1-60899-251-5 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ym5MAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA63 | access-date=2023-02-23 | page=63}}</ref><ref name="Haddad Groothuis 2011 p. 57">{{cite book | last1=Haddad | first1=J.F. | last2=Groothuis | first2=D. | title=Leaving Dirt Place: Love as an Apologetic for Christianity | publisher=Wipf & Stock Publishers | year=2011 | isbn=978-1-61097-217-8 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2PhMAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA57 | access-date=2023-02-23 | page=57}}</ref><ref name="Parrish 2019 p. 65">{{cite book | last=Parrish | first=S.E. | title=Atheism?: A Critical Analysis | publisher=Wipf & Stock Publishers | year=2019 | isbn=978-1-5326-7266-8 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d_CaDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA65 | access-date=2023-02-23 | page=65}}</ref><ref name="Morley 2015 p. 277">{{cite book | last=Morley | first=B.K. | title=Mapping Apologetics: Comparing Contemporary Approaches | publisher=InterVarsity Press | year=2015 | isbn=978-0-8308-9704-9 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jz-jBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA277 | access-date=2023-02-23 | page=277}}</ref><ref name="Ankerberg Weldon 2019 p. 122">{{cite book | last1=Ankerberg | first1=J. | last2=Weldon | first2=J. | title=Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Mormonism | publisher=ATRI | year=2019 | isbn=978-1-937136-51-2 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r21HEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT122 | access-date=2023-02-23 | page=122}}</ref><ref name="Tsoukalas 2022 p. 37">{{cite book | last=Tsoukalas | first=S. | title=Knowing Christ in the Challenge of Heresy: A Christology of the Cults, A Christology of the Bible | publisher=Wipf & Stock Publishers | year=2022 | isbn=978-1-6667-3786-8 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sn9zEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA37 | access-date=2023-02-23 | page=37}}</ref>

Mormons teach that scriptural statements on the unity of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost represent a oneness of purpose, not of substance.<ref>{{citation |url= https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/2007/11/the-only-true-god-and-jesus-christ-whom-he-hath-sent?lang=eng |title= The Only True God and Jesus Christ Whom He Hath Sent |last= Holland |first= Jeffrey R. |author-link= Jeffrey R. Holland |date= November 2007 |journal= [[Ensign (LDS magazine)|Ensign]] }}</ref> They believe that the early Christian church did not characterize divinity in terms of an immaterial, formless shared substance until post-apostolic theologians began to incorporate Greek metaphysical philosophies (such as [[Neoplatonism]]) into Christian doctrine.<ref>{{citation |last= Bickmore |first= Barry R. |author-link= Barry R. Bickmore |year= 2001 |title= Does God Have a Body In Human Form? |url= http://www.fairmormon.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/bickmore-GodHaveBody.pdf |publisher= [[FairMormon|Foundation for Apologetic Information & Research]] }}</ref><ref>{{citation |url= https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/1994/04/the-reality-of-the-resurrection?lang=eng |title= The Reality of the Resurrection |last= Draper |first= Richard R. |date= April 1994 |journal= [[Ensign (LDS magazine)|Ensign]] }}</ref> Mormons believe that the truth about God's nature was restored through modern day revelation, which reinstated the original Judeo-Christian concept of a natural, corporeal, immortal God,<ref>{{citation |last= Webb |first= Steven H. |author-link= Stephen H. Webb |title= Jesus Christ, Eternal God: Heavenly Flesh and the Metaphysics of Matter |publisher= Oxford University Press |year= 2012 |url= https://byustudies.byu.edu/content/byu-studies-volume-50-issue-3 |access-date= 2016-10-24 |archive-date= 2020-02-14 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200214141716/https://byustudies.byu.edu/content/byu-studies-volume-50-issue-3 |url-status= dead }}</ref> who is the literal Father of the spirits of humans.<ref>{{citation |journal= [[Liahona (magazine)|Liahona]] |date= January 2010 |title= God Is Truly Our Father |url= https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/liahona/2010/01/god-is-truly-our-father?lang=eng }}</ref> It is to this personage alone that Mormons pray, as He is and always will be their Heavenly Father, the supreme "God of gods" (Deuteronomy 10:17). In the sense that Mormons worship only God the Father, they consider themselves monotheists. Nevertheless, Mormons adhere to Christ's teaching that those who receive God's word can obtain the title of "gods" (John 10:33–36), because as literal children of God they can take upon themselves His divine attributes.<ref>{{cite web|editor-last= Lindsay|editor-first= Jeff|work= LDS FAQ: Mormon Answers|at= [http://www.jefflindsay.com/LDSFAQ/FQ_Relationships.shtml#poly If you believe the Father and the Son are separate beings, doesn't that make you polytheistic?]|url= http://www.jefflindsay.com/LDSFAQ/FQ_Relationships.shtml|title= Relationships Between Man, Christ, and God|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141112173311/http://www.jefflindsay.com/LDSFAQ/FQ_Relationships.shtml |archive-date= 2014-11-12 |url-status= live }}</ref> Mormons teach that "The glory of God is intelligence" (Doctrine and Covenants 93:36), and that it is by sharing the Father's perfect comprehension of all things that both Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit are also divine.<ref>{{citation |title= Doctrine and Covenants Instructor's Guide: Religion 324–325 |year= 1981 |chapter= 'The Glory of God is Intelligence' – Lesson 37: Section 93 |publisher= [[Institute of Religion|Institutes of Religion]], [[Church Educational System]] |chapter-url= https://www.lds.org/manual/doctrine-and-covenants-instructors-guide-religion-324-325/the-glory-of-god-is-intelligence-lesson-37-section-93?lang=eng |url= https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/bc/content/shared/content/english/pdf/language-materials/32494_eng.pdf }}</ref>

===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>

===Zoroastrianism===
{{See also|Criticism of Zoroastrianism#Polytheism}}
[[Ahura Mazda]] is the supreme god, but Zoroastrianism does not deny other deities. Ahura Mazda has [[yazatas]] ("good agents") some of which include [[Anahita]], [[Sraosha]], [[Mithra]], [[Rashnu]], and [[Tishtrya]]. [[Richard Foltz]] has put forth evidence that [[History of Iran|Iranians of Pre-Islamic era]] worshiped all these figures, especially Mithra and Anahita.<ref>[[Richard Foltz]], "Religions of Iran: From Prehistory to the Present", Oneworld Publications, 2013, p. xiv</ref>

[[Prods Oktor Skjærvø]] states [[Zoroastrianism]] is henotheistic, and "a dualistic and polytheistic religion, but with one supreme god, who is the father of the ordered cosmos".<ref>Prods Oktor Skjærvø (2006), ''[http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~iranian/Zoroastrianism/Zoroastrianism1_Intro.pdf Introduction to Zoroastrianism]'', 2005, Harvard University Archives, p. 15 with footnote 1</ref> Other scholars state that this is unclear, because historic texts present a conflicting picture, ranging from Zoroastrianism's belief in "one god, two gods, or a best god henotheism".<ref>{{cite book|author=Brian Arthur Brown|title=Four Testaments: Tao Te Ching, Analects, Dhammapada, Bhagavad Gita: Sacred Scriptures of Taoism, Confucianism, Buddhism, and Hinduism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_MsvDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA347|year=2016|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers|isbn=978-1-4422-6578-3|pages=347–349}}</ref>

===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}}

===Modern Paganism===
'''[[Modern Paganism]]''', also known as '''neopaganism''' and '''contemporary paganism''',{{Sfn|Adler|2006|p=xiii}} is a group of contemporary [[religious movement]]s influenced by or claiming to be derived from the various [[historical pagan]] beliefs of pre-modern Europe.{{Sfn|Lewis|2004|p=13}}{{Sfn|Hanegraaff|1996|p=84}} Although they have commonalities, contemporary pagan religious movements are diverse and no single set of beliefs, practices, or [[Religious text|text]]s are shared by them all.{{Sfn|Carpenter|1996|p=40}}

Founder of Wicca Gerald Gardner helped to revive ancient polytheism.<ref name="BBC News 2014">{{cite web | title=Gerald Gardner: Blue plaque for 'father of witchcraft' – BBC News | website=BBC News | date=2014-06-13 | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-dorset-27819164 | access-date=2023-02-22}}</ref><ref name="Hodge 2016 p. 183">{{cite book | last=Hodge | first=B. | title=World Religions and Cults Volume 2: Moralistic, Mythical and Mysticism Religions | publisher=New Leaf Publishing Group, Incorporated | series=World of Religions and Cults | year=2016 | isbn=978-1-61458-504-6 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mmAzDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA183 | access-date=2023-02-22 | page=183}}</ref> [[English people|English]] [[occultist]] [[Dion Fortune]] was a major populiser of ''soft polytheism''. In her novel ''[[The Sea Priestess]]'', she wrote, "All gods are one god, and all goddesses are one goddess, and there is one initiator."<ref name="FortuneKnight2003">{{cite book|last1=Fortune |first1=Dion |author-link1=Dion Fortune |last2=Knight |first2=Gareth |title=The Sea Priestess |date=30 June 2003 |publisher=Weiser |isbn=978-1-57863-290-9 |page=169 |quote=All gods are one god, and all goddesses are one goddess, and there is one initiator.}}</ref>

====Reconstructionism====
{{main|Polytheistic reconstructionism}}
Reconstructionist polytheists apply scholarly disciplines such as [[history]], [[archaeology]] and [[linguistics|language study]] to revive ancient, traditional religions that have been fragmented, damaged or even destroyed, such as [[Norse Paganism]], [[Reconstructionist Roman religion|Roman]] and [[Celtic reconstructionism|Celtic]]. A reconstructionist endeavors to revive and reconstruct an authentic practice, based on the ways of the ancestors but workable in contemporary life. These polytheists sharply differ from neopagans in that they consider their religion not only as inspired by historical religions but in many cases as a continuation or revival of those religions.<ref name="google">{{cite book|title=Hellenismos Today|author=Alexander, T.J.|date=2007|publisher=Lulu.com|isbn=9781430314271|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ie-aHv8rzHoC&pg=PA14|page=14|access-date=23 August 2015}}</ref>{{sps|date=February 2020}}

====Wicca====
{{main|Wicca}}
[[Wicca]] is a [[Duotheism|duotheistic]] faith created by [[Gerald Gardner]] that allows for polytheism.<ref>{{cite book|last=Gardner|first=Gerald|title=The Meaning of Witchcraft|year=1982|publisher=Llewellyn Pubns|isbn=0939708027|pages=165–166}}</ref><ref name="Hutton 2003">{{cite book|last=Hutton|first=Ronald|title=The Triumph of the Moon: A History of Modern Pagan Witchcraft|year=2003|publisher=Oxford Paperbacks|isbn=0192854496}}</ref><ref name="Lamond 2005">{{cite book|last=Lamond|first=Frederic|title=Fifty Years of Wicca|year=2005|publisher=Green Magic|isbn=0954723015}}</ref> Wiccans specifically worship the Lord and Lady of the Isles (their names are oathbound).<ref name="Hutton 2003"/><ref name="Lamond 2005"/><ref>{{cite book|last=Bracelin|first=J|title=Gerald Gardner: Witch|year=1999|publisher=Pentacle Enterprises|isbn=1872189083|page=199}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Gardner|first=Gerald|title=The Meaning of Witchcraft|year=1982|publisher=Llewellyn Pubns|isbn=0939708027|pages=260–261}}</ref> It is an [[Orthopraxy|orthopraxic]] mystery religion that requires initiation to the priesthood in order to consider oneself Wiccan.<ref name="Hutton 2003"/><ref name="Lamond 2005"/><ref>{{cite book|last=Gardner|first=Gerald|title=The Meaning of Witchcraft|year=1982|publisher=Llewellyn Pubns|isbn=0939708027|pages=21–22, 28–29, 69, 116}}</ref> Wicca emphasizes duality and the cycle of nature.<ref name="Hutton 2003"/><ref name="Lamond 2005"/><ref>{{cite book|last=Gardner|first=Gerald|title=The Meaning of Witchcraft|year=1982|publisher=Llewellyn Pubns|isbn=0939708027}}</ref>

===Serer===
{{main|Serer religion|Timeline of Serer history|States headed by ancient Serer Lamanes}}
In [[Africa]], polytheism in [[Serer religion]] dates to the [[Neolithic|Neolithic Era]] or possibly earlier, when the [[Timeline of Serer history|ancient ancestors of the Serer people]] represented their ''[[Pangool]]'' on the [[Tassili n'Ajjer]].<ref name="Serer religion">{{in lang|fr}} [[Henry Gravrand|Gravrand, Henry]], ''"La civilisation Sereer'' – ''Pangool"'', Les Nouvelles Editions Africaines du Senegal, (1990), {{ISBN|2-7236-1055-1}}. pp 9, 20, 77</ref> The supreme creator deity in Serer religion is [[Roog]]. However, there are [[Serer religion#Beliefs|many deities]]<ref name="Serer deities">{{in lang|en}} Kellog, Day Otis, and Smith, William Robertson, "The Encyclopædia Britannica: latest edition. A dictionary of arts, sciences and general literature", Volume 25, p 64, Werner (1902)</ref> and [[Pangool]] (singular : ''Fangool'', the interceders with the divine) in Serer religion.<ref name="Serer religion"/> Each one has its own purpose and serves as Roog's agent on Earth.<ref name="Serer deities"/> Amongst the [[Cangin languages|Cangin speakers]], a sub-group of the [[Serer people|Serers]], Roog is known as [[Koox]].<ref>{{in lang|fr}} Ndiaye, Ousmane Sémou, "Diversité et unicité sérères : l'exemple de la région de Thiès", Éthiopiques, no. 54, vol. 7, 2e semestre 1991 [http://ethiopiques.refer.sn/spip.php?page=imprimer-article&id_article=1253] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200630093306/http://ethiopiques.refer.sn/spip.php?page=imprimer-article&id_article=1253|date=2020-06-30}}</ref>

=={{anchor|Use as a term of abuse}}Use as a term of abuse==
The term "polytheist" is sometimes used by [[Sunni]] Muslim extremist groups such as [[Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant]] (ISIL) as a [[derogatory]] reference to [[Shiite]] Muslims, whom they view as having "strayed from Islam's monotheistic creed because of the reverence they show for historical figures, like [[Imam Ali]]".<ref name=NYT2018-01-17a>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/17/world/middleeast/iraq-baghdad-isis-bombing.html|title=ISIS Claims Responsibility for Baghdad Bombings|last1=Callimachi|first1=Rukmini|date=2018|work=The New York Times|access-date=2018-01-21|last2=Coker|first2=Margaret|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|quote=The second refers to the group's view that Shiites have strayed from Islam's monotheistic creed because of the reverence they show for historical figures, like Imam Ali.}}</ref>

Professor [[Paul Vitz]], an opponent of [[Selfism]] [sic], viewed America as a "most polytheistic nation".<ref name="Institute 2013 p. 58">{{cite book | last=Institute | first=T.P. | title=Newman and the Intellectual Tradition: Portsmouth Review | publisher=Sheed & Ward | year=2013 | isbn=978-1-58051-249-7 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qozPQqiGLxEC&pg=PA58 | access-date=2023-05-03 | page=58}}</ref>

==Polydeism<!--'Polydeism' redirects here-->==
{{Deism sidebar |expanded=movements}}
'''Polydeism'''<!--boldface per WP:R#PLA--> (from the [[Ancient Greek|Greek]] πολύ ''poly'' ("many") and [[Latin]] ''[[deus]]'' meaning god) is a [[portmanteau]] referencing a polytheistic form of [[deism]], encompassing the belief that the [[universe]] was the collective creation of multiple [[deity|god]]s, each of whom created a piece of the universe or [[multiverse]] and then ceased to intervene in its evolution. This concept addresses an apparent contradiction in deism, that a monotheistic God created the universe, but now expresses no apparent interest in it, by supposing that if the universe is the construct of many gods, none of them would have an interest in the universe as a whole.

[[Creighton University]] Philosophy professor [[William O. Stephens]],<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://puffin.creighton.edu/phil/Bill.htm |title=Article on "Bill" Stephens |access-date=2018-07-07 |archive-date=2016-11-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161129102418/http://puffin.creighton.edu/phil/Bill.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> who has taught this concept, suggests that [[C. D. Broad]] projected this concept<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://puffin.creighton.edu/phil/Stephens/phl-323-Spr05-Revu-Q-4.htm |title=article on C. D. Broad's concept projection |access-date=2018-07-07 |archive-date=2006-06-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060621180119/http://puffin.creighton.edu/phil/Stephens/phl-323-Spr05-Revu-Q-4.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> in Broad's 1925 article, "The Validity of Belief in a Personal God".<ref>C. D. Broad, "The Validity of Belief in a Personal God", reprinted in C. D. Broad, ''Religion, Philosophy and Psychical Research'', (1953), 159–174.</ref> Broad noted that the arguments for the [[existence of God]] only tend to prove that "a designing mind ''had'' existed in the past, not that it ''does'' exist now. It is quite compatible with this argument that God should have died long ago, or that he should have turned his attention to other parts of the Universe", and notes in the same breath that "there is nothing in the facts to suggest that there is only one such being".<ref>Id. at 171.</ref> Stephens contends that Broad, in turn, derived the concept from [[David Hume]]. Stephens states:

{{Blockquote|David Hume's criticisms of the [[argument from design]] include the argument that, for all we know, a committee of very powerful, but not omnipotent, divine beings could have collaborated in creating the world, but then afterwards left it alone or even ceased to exist. This would be polydeism.}}

This use of the term appears to originate at least as early as [[Robert M. Bowman Jr.]]'s 1997 essay, ''Apologetics from Genesis to Revelation''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.atlantaapologist.org/GenesisToRevelation.PDF |title=Apologetics – From Genesis to Revelation |access-date=2018-07-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060831025947/http://www.atlantaapologist.org/GenesisToRevelation.PDF |archive-date=2006-08-31 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Bowman wrote:

{{Blockquote|[[Materialism]] (illustrated by the [[Epicureans]]), represented today by [[atheism]], [[skepticism]], and deism. The materialist may acknowledge superior beings, but they do not believe in a Supreme Being. Epicureanism was founded about 300 BC by [[Epicurus]]. Their world view might be called "polydeism:" there are many gods, but they are merely superhuman beings; they are remote, uninvolved in the world, posing no threat and offering no hope to human beings. Epicureans regarded traditional religion and [[idolatry]] as harmless enough as long as the gods were not feared or expected to do or say anything.}}

Sociologist [[Susan Starr Sered]] used the term in her 1994 book, ''Priestess, Mother, Sacred Sister: Religions Dominated by Women'', which includes a chapter titled, "No Father in Heaven: Androgyny and Polydeism". She writes that she has "chosen to gloss on 'polydeism' a range of beliefs in more than one supernatural entity".<ref name="Sered">[[Susan Starr Sered]], ''Priestess, Mother, Sacred Sister: Religions Dominated by Women'' (1994), p. 169.</ref> Sered used this term in a way that would encompass polytheism, rather than exclude much of it, as she intended to capture both polytheistic systems and nontheistic systems that assert the influence of "spirits or ancestors".<ref name="Sered"/> This use of the term, however, does not accord with the historical misuse of ''deism'' as a concept to describe an absent [[creator god]].

== See also ==
{{Portal|Mythology|Religion}}
* [[Animism]]
* [[Ethnic religion]]
* [[Hellenismos]]
* [[Henotheism]]
* [[Judgement of Paris]]
* [[Kathenotheism]]
* [[Monolatry]]
* [[Panentheism]]
* [[Pantheism]]
* [[Polytheistic reconstructionism]]
* [[Shirk (polytheism)]]
* [[West African Vodun]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
* Assmann, Jan, 'Monotheism and Polytheism' in: Sarah Iles Johnston (ed.), ''Religions of the Ancient World: A Guide'', Harvard University Press (2004), {{ISBN|0-674-01517-7}}, pp.&nbsp;17–31.
* [[Walter Burkert|Burkert, Walter]], ''Greek Religion: Archaic and Classical'', Blackwell (1985), {{ISBN|0-631-15624-0}}. <!-- esp. ch. V, pp. 216–275-->
* Greer, John Michael; ''A World Full of Gods: An Inquiry Into Polytheism'', ADF Publishing (2005), {{ISBN|0-9765681-0-1}}
* Iles Johnston, Sarah; ''Ancient Religions'', Belknap Press (September 15, 2007), {{ISBN|0-674-02548-2}}
* Paper, Jordan; ''The Deities are Many: A Polytheistic Theology'', State University of New York Press (March 3, 2005), {{ISBN|978-0-7914-6387-1}}
* Penchansky, David, ''Twilight of the Gods: Polytheism in the Hebrew Bible'' (2005), {{ISBN|0-664-22885-2}}.
* Swarup, Ram, & Frawley, David (2001). ''The word as revelation: Names of gods''. New Delhi: Voice of India. {{ISBN|978-8185990682}}

==External links==
{{Wikiquote}}
{{Wiktionary}}
* {{Commons category-inline}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20150909120109/http://www.manygods.org.uk/ The Association of Polytheist Traditions] – APT, a UK-based community of Polytheists (archived 9 September 2015)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20150907083159/http://www.monochrom.at/polytheism/ International Year Of Polytheism] Philosophical project promoting polytheism by group [[monochrom]] (archived 7 September 2015)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080908020512/http://polytheism.org.uk/wordpress Integrational Polytheism] (archived 8 September 2008)

{{Theism}}
{{Paganism}}
{{Philosophy topics}}
{{Philosophy of religion}}
{{Theology}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Polytheism| ]]
[[Category:Philosophy of religion]]