Henotheism is the worship of a single, supreme god that does not deny the existence or possible existence of other deities that may be worshipped.[ Friedrich Schelling (1775–1854) coined the word, and Friedrich Welcker (1784–1868) used it to depict primitive monotheism among ancient Greeks.]
Max Müller (1823–1900), a British philologist and Oriental studies, brought the term into wider usage in his scholarship on the Indian religions,[Müller, Max. (1878) Lectures on the Origin and Growth of Religion: As Illustrated by the Religions of India. London:Longmans, Green and Co.][ particularly Hinduism, whose scriptures mention and praise numerous deities as if they are one ultimate unitary divine essence.][ Müller made the term central to his criticism of Western world theological and religious exceptionalism (relative to ), focusing on a cultural dogma which held "monotheism" to be both fundamentally well-defined and inherently superior to differing concepts of God.]
Definition and terminology
Friedrich Schelling coined the German term Henotheismus and German Theismus 'theism' (which comes ).[ The term refers to a form of theism focused on a single god. Related terms are monolatry and kathenotheism.][ The latter term is an extension of "henotheism", .]
Various scholars prefer the term monolatry to henotheism, to discuss religions where a single god is central, but the existence or the position of other gods is not denied.[ Henotheism and inclusive monotheism are terms that refer to a middle position between unlimited polytheism and exclusive monotheism.][ Monotheism and Polytheism , Encyclopædia Britannica (2014)]
Zoroastrianism
Zoroastrianism is often regarded as one of the oldest monotheistic religions in the world. Although Ahura Mazda is the supreme god, Zoroastrianism believes in lesser divinities known as Yazatas.[Richard Foltz, "Religions of Iran: From Prehistory to the Present", Oneworld Publications, 2013, p. xiv]
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".[Prods Oktor Skjærvø (2006), Introduction to Zoroastrianism , 2005, Harvard University Archives, p. 15 with footnote 1] 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".
Hinduism
Henotheism was the term used by scholars such as Max Müller to describe the theology of Vedic religion.[Sugirtharajah, Sharada, Imagining Hinduism: A Postcolonial Perspective, Routledge, 2004, p.44;][ Müller noted that the hymns of the Rigveda, the oldest scripture of Hinduism, mention many deities, but praises them successively as the "one ultimate, supreme God", alternatively as "one supreme Goddess",][
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The Vedic era conceptualization of the divine or the One, states Jeaneane Fowler, is more abstract than a monotheistic God, it is the Reality behind and of the phenomenal universe.[ The Vedic hymns treat it as "limitless, indescribable, absolute principle", thus the Vedic divine is something of a panentheism rather than simple henotheism.][ In late Vedic era, around the start of Upanishadic age (~800 BCE), theosophical speculations emerge that develop concepts which scholars variously call nondualism or monism, as well as forms of non-theism and pantheism.][PT Raju (2006), Idealistic Thought of India, Routledge, , page 426 and Conclusion chapter part XII][Paul Deussen, Sixty Upanishads of the Veda, Volume 1, Motilal Banarsidass, , page 91] Different schools of thought interpret Brahman as either Personal god, impersonal or transpersonal. Ishwar Chandra Sharma describes it as "Absolute Reality, beyond all dualities of existence and non-existence, light and darkness, and of time, space and cause."[Ishwar Chandra Sharma, Ethical Philosophies of India, Harper & Row, 1970, p.75.]
Hellenistic religion
While Greek mythology and Roman mythology religion began as polytheism, during the Classical period, under the influence of philosophy, differing conceptions emerged. Often Zeus (or Jupiter) was considered the supreme, all-powerful and all-knowing king and father of the Olympian gods. According to Maijastina Kahlos, "monotheism was pervasive in the educated circles in Late Antiquity" and "all divinities were interpreted as aspects, particles or epithets of one supreme God".[ Maximus, the polytheist grammarian of Madauros,][ even stated that "only a madman would deny the existence of the supreme God".][
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Canaanite religion and Yahwism
Second Temple Judaism and Rabbinical Judaism are emphatically monotheistic; however, its predecessor—the cult of Yahweh as it was practiced in ancient Israel during the 9th and 8th centuries BCE (Yahwism)—has been described as henotheistic or monolatric. For example, the worshipped the god Chemosh, the , Qaus, both of whom were part of the greater pantheon, headed by the chief god, El. The Canaanite pantheon consisted of El and Asherah as the chief deities, with 70 sons who were said to rule over each of the nations of the earth. These sons were each worshiped within a specific region. Kurt Noll states that "the Bible preserves a tradition that Yahweh used to 'live' in the south, in the land of Edom" and that the original god of Israel was El Shaddai.[Kurt Noll Canaan and Israel in Antiquity: An Introduction, Continuum, 2002, p.123]
Several biblical stories allude to the belief that the Canaanite gods all existed and were thought to possess the most power in the lands by the people who worshiped them and their sacred objects; their power was believed to be real and could be invoked by the people who patronized them. There are numerous accounts of surrounding nations of Israel showing fear or reverence for the Israelite God despite their continued polytheistic practices.[David Bridger, Samuel Wolk et al., The New Jewish Encyclopedia, Behrman House, 1976, pp.326-7] For instance, in 1 Samuel 4, the Philistines fret before the second battle of Aphek when they learn that the Israelites are bearing the Ark of the Covenant, and therefore Yahweh, into battle. The Israelites were forbidden to worship other deities; according to some interpretations of the Bible, they were not fully monotheistic before the Babylonian captivity. The biblical scholar Mark S. Smith refers to this stage as a form of monolatry.[Mark S. Smith, The Early History of God: Yahweh and the Other Deities in Ancient Israel, Eerdmans Publishing, 2002, pp.58, 183] Smith argues that Yahweh underwent a process of merging with El and that acceptance of cults of Asherah was common in the period of the Judges.[Gregory A. Boyd, God at War: The Bible & Spiritual Conflict, InterVarsity Press, 1997, p.118]
In Christianity
Paul the Apostle, in his First Epistle to the Corinthians, writes that "we know that an idol is nothing" and "that there is none other God but one".[ Bible, ] He argues in verse 5 that "for though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth", "but to us there is but one God". Some translators of verse 5 put the words "gods" and "lords" in quotes to indicate that they are gods or lords only so-called.
In his Second Epistle to the Corinthians, Paul refers to "the god of this world",
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Some scholars have written that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) can be characterized as henotheistic but others have rejected that stance. Eugene England, a professor at Brigham Young University, asserted that LDS Presidents Brigham Young and Joseph Fielding Smith along with the LDS scholar B. H. Roberts used the LDS interpretation of 1 Corinthians 8:5–6 as "a brief explanation of how it is possible to be both a Christian polytheist (technically a henotheist) and a monotheist".[Englund, Eugene. "The Weeping God of Mormonism". Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, 35(1), Spring 2002, pp. 63–80.] BYU Professor Roger R. Keller rejected descriptions of the LDS Church as polytheistic by countering, as summarized by a reviewer, "Mormons are fundamentally monotheistic because they deal with only one god out of the many which exist."[Sillman, H. Jeffrey. "A One-Sided Dialogue", Sunstone, June 1989, pp. 48–49 (review of Roger R. Keller's "Reformed Christians and Mormon Christians: Let's Talk", Ann Arbor, Michigan: Pryor Pettengill, 1986)]
In their book, Mormon America: The Power and the Promise, Richard and Joan Ostling, wrote that some Mormons are comfortable describing themselves as henotheists.[Osterling, Richard and Osterline, Joan (2007). Mormon America: the power and the promise. HarperCollins. p. 310] Kurt Widmer, professor at the University of Lethbridge, described LDS beliefs as a "cosmic henotheism".[Kurt Widmer. Mormonism and the Nature of God: A Theological Evolution, 1830–1915. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland, 2000, p. 158] A review of Widmer's book by Bruening and Paulsen in the FARMS Review of Books countered that Widmer's hypothesis was "strongly disconfirmed in light of the total evidence".[Bruening, Ari D. and Paulsen, David L.. "The Development of the Mormon Understanding of God: Early Mormon Modalism and Early Myths". FARMS Review of Books 13/2 (2001), pp. 109–169.] Van Hale wrote that "Mormonism teaches the existence of gods who are not the Father, Son, or Holy Ghost" and "the existence of more than one god is clearly a Mormon doctrine", but he also said that defining this belief system in theological terms was troublesome. According to Van Hale, henotheism might appear to be "promising" in describing LDS beliefs but is ultimately not accurate because henotheism was intended to describe the worship of a god that was restricted to a specific geographical area.[Hale, Van. "Defining the Mormon Doctrine of Deity: What Can Theological Terminology Tell Us About Our Own Beliefs?" Sunstone 10 (January 1985), pp. 23–27.]
Japanese religions
In Japan, many Japanese new religions can be considered to be monotheistic (such as Tenrikyo)
See also
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Comparative religion
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Henosis – Mystical "oneness", "union", or "unity" in classical Greek
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King of the gods – A tendency for one divinity, usually male, to achieve preeminence
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Monolatry – It is the belief in the existence of many gods, but with the consistent worship of only one deity.
External links
