Polytheism

Polytheism is the belief in and worship of multiple deities, which are usually assembled into a pantheon of gods and goddesses, along with their own religions and rituals. In most religions which accept polytheism, the different gods and goddesses are representations of forces of nature or ancestral principles, and can be viewed either as autonomous or as aspects or emanations of a creator deity or transcendental absolute principle (monism), which manifests immanently in nature (panentheism).

Polytheists do not always worship all the gods equally, but can be henotheists, specializing in the worship of one particular deity. Other polytheists can be kathenotheists, worshiping different deities at different times.

History

Polytheism was the typical form of religion during the Bronze Age and Iron Age up to the Axial Age and the development of Abrahamic religions, the latter of which enforced strict monotheism. It is well documented in historical religions of Classical antiquity, especially ancient Greek religion and ancient Roman religion, and after the Abrahamic religions spread in the Greco-Roman world, in late antiquity, it persisted among indigenous and folk religions.

Modern polytheism

In the modern world, polytheism is often associated with the indigenous and tribal religions of Africa, Asia, Native America and the Pacific Islands, as well as in more developed Shinto, Taoism, and various Neopagan faiths.

See also

• Monotheism
• Henotheism
• Kathenotheism
• Pantheism
• Panentheism

References

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