Theism is broadly defined as the belief in the existence of at least one deity.[ "theism", Dictionary.com. Retrieved 21 October 2016.][ "theism," Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. Retrieved 18 March 2011.] In common parlance, or when contrasted with deism, the term often describes the philosophical conception of God that is found in classical theism—or the conception found in monotheism—or gods found in Polytheism religions—or a belief in God or gods without the rejection of revelation, as is characteristic of deism.
Nontheism and atheism is commonly understood as non-acceptance or outright rejection of theism in the broadest sense of the term (i.e., non-acceptance or rejection of belief in God or gods).[(page 175 in 1967 edition)] Related (but separate) is the claim that the existence of any deity is unknown or unknowable; a stance known as agnosticism.[(page 56 in 1967 edition)]
A 2020 Philpapers survey of professional philosophers found that 66.72% accepted or leaned towards atheism, 18.64% accepted or leaned towards theism, and 14.64% leaned towards another opinion.
Etymology
The term
theism derives from the Greek θεός
(
theós) or
theoi meaning 'god' or 'gods'. The term
theism was first used by
Ralph Cudworth (1617–1688).
[
]
In Cudworth's definition, they are "strictly and properly called Theists, who affirm that a perfectly conscious understanding being, or mind, existing of itself from eternity, was the cause of all other things".
[Cudworth, Ralph (1678). The True Intellectual System of the Universe, Vol. I. New York: Gould & Newman, 1837, p. 267.]
Types of theism
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.
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
Monotheism (from
Ancient Greek μόνος]]) is the belief in theology that only one
deity exists.
["Monotheism", in Britannica, 15th ed. (1986), 8:266.] Some modern day
Monotheism religions include
Christianity,
Judaism,
Islam,
Mandaeism,
Druzism, Baháʼí Faith,
Sikhism,
Zoroastrianism,
Rastafari, some sects of
Hinduism, and
Eckankar.
Polytheism
Polytheism is the belief in multiple
deity, which are usually assembled into a pantheon, along with their own
and
. 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,
Slavic paganism, and
Baltic mythology and Native American religions.
Notable polytheistic religions practiced today include Taoism, Shenism or Chinese folk religion, Japanese Shinto, Santería, most traditional African religions,
A major division in modern polytheistic practices is between so-called soft polytheism and hard polytheism.
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.
Pantheism
Pantheism is the belief that
reality, the
universe and the
cosmos are identical to
divinity and a
Creator deity or entity. Pointing to the universe as being an
Immanence creator deity in and of itself, the deity is understood as still expanding, creating, and eternal,
[ "The term 'pantheist' designates one who holds both that everything constitutes a unity and that this unity is divine."] or that
Everything compose an all-encompassing, immanent god or goddess that is manifested as the universe.
As such, even 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.
Pantheist belief does not recognize a distinct
personal god,
or otherwise, but instead characterizes a broad range of doctrines differing in forms of relationships between reality and divinity.
[:
]
-
"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."
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,
[Ann Thomson; Bodies of Thought: Science, Religion, and the Soul in the Early Enlightenment, 2008, page 54.] 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.
A pantheistic stance was also expressed by the 16th-century by philosopher and
Cosmology Giordano Bruno.
Deism
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.
[
]
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.
- 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
Autotheism is the belief that
divinity exists within oneself and that individuals can achieve a godlike state. It is found in various philosophical and religious traditions emphasizing personal divinity or spiritual progression.
In Advaita Vedanta, a Hindu philosophical school, the phrase Aham Brahmasmi ("I am Brahman") expresses the unity of the individual self ( atman) with the ultimate reality ( Brahman).
In Mormonism, the doctrine of exaltation suggests that faithful individuals can attain godhood in the afterlife.
Autotheistic ideas also appear in Gnosticism, which emphasizes self-knowledge ( gnosis) as the path to recognizing one’s divine nature,
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 defined by most people as the belief in the non-existence of gods, goddesses, and . Some atheists express an 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 not known or not knowable whether a god or gods or the supernatural are part of reality regardless of how popular theistic beliefs may be. Agnostics withhold judgement on the existence and non-existence of a god on the basis that there is not enough evidence to come to a definitive conclusion that there is a god or that there is no god'.
Alterity theism
Alterity theism is a belief that the supreme being is radically transcendent to the point that it cannot be recognized as having any genuine
Existence at all.
Academic opinions
A 2020
Philpapers survey of professional philosophers found that:
-
66.72% accepted or leaned towards atheism
-
18.64% accepted or leaned towards theism
-
14.64% leaned towards another opinion
See also
