Different Types of Theisms
Jan 27, 2015 1:08:09 GMT -6
adolphuscrowfeather and wattleandsnowgums like this
Post by Allec on Jan 27, 2015 1:08:09 GMT -6
"Theism" can be defined as "one's religious beliefs."
The three popular ones you may know are:
However, there are more precise definitions for other types of theisms:
There are also Gnosticism and agnosticism: gnosticism is the belief we can know for certain that deity/deities exist while agnosticism is the belief we cannot know for certain. These two words are often tied to the above terms.
These are the basic definitions given from the Wikipedia article on Theism. While very helpful, it is important to note that these aren't as neat and tidy in practice. For instance, I am a polytheist but I also believe in animism. The two are not mutually exclusive.
Then there is "soft polytheism" in polytheist and pagan circles. What that means is that deities such as Odin and Zeus are equated as being the same deity, but an expression of The Universe or an expression of The God. "Hard polytheism", on the contrary, is the belief that the deities are all separate entities: Odin and Zeus are distinct and different.
On these boards, we want to err on the side of hard polytheism. The reason being that most of the cultures these deities are from believed in hard polytheism. While soft polytheism is not necessarily wrong (who can say for sure of anything in regards to spiritual experiences?), it is important to know that soft polytheism tends to erase cultural nuances that are very important. Also, soft polytheism tends to rely on boiled-down versions of the deities in question. This type of reduction can be seen as very offensive, especially when the original deities were very complex to begin with.
These diverse terms are shifting and not static. Feel free to post below your own interpretations and ideas of how different combinations are present in your world views.
The three popular ones you may know are:
- Atheism - belief that no deities exist
- Monotheism - belief that only one deity exists
- Polytheism - belief that multiple deities exist
- Animism - believing that everything is alive and has a spirit; spirit is in all things
- Deism - believing that deity/deities exist, but do not take an active part in human lives
- Ditheism - belief that two deities exist and are equal to one another
- Dytheism - belief that the deity/deities are evil
- Henotheism - the belief there is (or may be) more than one deity, but only one is worthy of worship
- Kathenotheism - there is multiple deities, but only one should be worshiped at a time / worshiped in turn
Monolatry - belief that there are multiple deities, but they are all manifestations of one supreme deity
Monolatry - the practice of worshiping only one deity- Pantheism - belief that deity and the universe are the same
- Panetheism - belief that the universe is part of deity
- Summotheism - belief that there are multiple deities, but they are manifestations of one supreme deity
- ...
- AND OF COURSE: Artolatry - the worship of bread! (omnomnom) (see replies to this thread)
There are also Gnosticism and agnosticism: gnosticism is the belief we can know for certain that deity/deities exist while agnosticism is the belief we cannot know for certain. These two words are often tied to the above terms.
These are the basic definitions given from the Wikipedia article on Theism. While very helpful, it is important to note that these aren't as neat and tidy in practice. For instance, I am a polytheist but I also believe in animism. The two are not mutually exclusive.
Then there is "soft polytheism" in polytheist and pagan circles. What that means is that deities such as Odin and Zeus are equated as being the same deity, but an expression of The Universe or an expression of The God. "Hard polytheism", on the contrary, is the belief that the deities are all separate entities: Odin and Zeus are distinct and different.
On these boards, we want to err on the side of hard polytheism. The reason being that most of the cultures these deities are from believed in hard polytheism. While soft polytheism is not necessarily wrong (who can say for sure of anything in regards to spiritual experiences?), it is important to know that soft polytheism tends to erase cultural nuances that are very important. Also, soft polytheism tends to rely on boiled-down versions of the deities in question. This type of reduction can be seen as very offensive, especially when the original deities were very complex to begin with.
These diverse terms are shifting and not static. Feel free to post below your own interpretations and ideas of how different combinations are present in your world views.
Because why would there be a word specifically for bread worship?
