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Egyptian gods in the Carnegie Museum of Natural History

Шаблон:Mythology Polytheism is the worship of or belief in multiple deities usually assembled into a pantheon of gods and goddesses, along with their own religions and rituals.

Polytheism is a religious construct and a type of theism. Within theism, it contrasts with monotheism, the belief in a singular God. 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.

Polytheism was the typical form of religion during the Bronze Age and Iron Age, up to the Axial Age and the gradual development of monotheism or pantheism, and atheism. It is well documented in historical religions of Classical antiquity, especially Greek polytheism and Roman polytheism, and after the decline of Greco-Roman polytheism in tribal religions such as Germanic paganism or Slavic mythology. There are various polytheistic religions practiced today, for example Shintoism, Ásatrú, Chinese folk religion, Druidry, Taoism, Thelema, Wicca, and Candomble. Hinduism is sometimes included in this listing; but despite the presence of polytheistic elements it contains pantheistic and monotheistic ones as well and has been classed as a "pantheism with polytheistic elements"<ref>Is Hinduism Polytheistic?. ReligionFacts. Retrieved on 2013-07-28.</ref>

Terminology

The term comes from the Greek poly ("many") and theoi ("gods") and was first invented 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 pagans (locals) or, in a clearly pejorative idolaters (worshiping "false" gods). The modern usage of the term is first revived in French through Jean Bodin in 1580, followed by Samuel Purchas's usage in English in 1614.<ref>Шаблон:Cite book</ref>

Gods and divinity

Шаблон:Wikiquote

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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 (anthropomorphic) in their personality traits, but with additional individual powers, abilities, knowledge or perceptions. Polytheism cannot be cleanly separated from the animist beliefs prevalent in most folk religions. The gods of polytheism are in many cases the highest order of a continuum of supernatural beings or spirits, which may include ancestors, demons, wights and others. In some cases these spirits are divided into celestial or chthonic classes, and belief in the existence of all these beings does not imply that all are worshipped.

Types of deities

Шаблон:Further Types of deities often found in polytheism may include

Creator deity
Culture hero
Death deity (chthonic)
Life-death-rebirth deity
Love goddess
Mother goddess
Political deity (such as a king or emperor)
Sky deity (celestial)
Solar deity
Trickster deity
Water deity
Gods of music, arts, science, farming or other endeavors.

Mythology and religion

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In the Classical era, Sallustius (4th century CE) categorised mythology into five types:

Theological
Physical
Psychological
Material
Mixed

The theological are those myths which use no bodily form but contemplate the very essence of the gods: e.g., Kronos swallowing his children. Since divinity is intellectual, and all intellect returns into itself, this myth expresses in allegory the essence of divinity.

Myths may be regarded physically when they express the activities of gods in the world.

The psychological way is to regard (myths as allegories of) the activities of the soul itself and or the soul's acts of thought.

The material is to regard material objects to actually be gods, for example: to call the earth Gaia, ocean Okeanos, or heat Typhon.

The mixed kind of myth may be seen in many instances: for example they say that in a banquet of the gods, Eris threw down a golden apple; the goddesses contended for it, and were sent by Zeus to Paris to be judged. Paris saw Aphrodite to be beautiful and gave her the apple. Here the banquet signifies the hypercosmic powers of the gods; that is why they are all together. The golden apple is the world, which being formed out of opposites, is naturally said to be "thrown by Eris" (or Discord). The different gods bestow different gifts upon the world, and are thus said to 'contend for the apple'. And the soul which lives according to sense – for that is what Paris is – not seeing the other powers in the world but only beauty, declares that the apple belongs to Aphrodite.

Historical polytheism

Some well-known historical polytheistic pantheons include the Sumerian gods and the Egyptian gods, and the classical-attested pantheon which includes the ancient Greek religion and Roman religion. Post-classical polytheistic religions include Norse Æsir and Vanir, the Yoruba Orisha, the Aztec gods, and many others. Today, most historical polytheistic religions are pejoratively referred to as "mythology",Шаблон:Citation needed though the stories cultures tell about their gods should be distinguished from their worship or religious practice. For instance deities portrayed in conflict in mythology would still be worshipped sometimes in the same temple side by side, illustrating the distinction in the devotees mind between the myth and the reality. It is speculatedШаблон:By whom that there was once a Proto-Indo-European religion, from which the religions of the various Indo-European peoples derive, and that this religion was an essentially naturalist numenistic religion. An example of a religious notion from this shared past is the concept of *dyēus, which is attested in several distinct religious systems.

In many civilizations, pantheons tended to grow over time. Deities first worshipped as the patrons of cities or places came to be collected together as empires extended over larger territories. Conquests could lead to the subordination of the elder culture's pantheon to a newer one, as in the Greek Titanomachia, and possibly also the case of the Æsir and Vanir in the Norse mythos. Cultural exchange could lead to "the same" deity being renowned in two places under different names, as with the Greeks, Etruscans, and Romans, and also to the introduction of elements of a "foreign" religion into a local cult, as with Egyptian Osiris worship brought to ancient Greece.

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

Hellenistic religion may still be regarded as polytheistic, but with strong monistic components, and monotheism finally emerges from Hellenistic traditions in Late Antiquity in the form of Neoplatonism and Christian theology.

Neolithic Era

Serer religion<ref name="Serer religion"/>

Bronze Age to Classical Antiquity

Late Antiquity to High Middle Ages

Ancient Greece

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The classical scheme in Ancient Greece of the Twelve Olympians (the Canonical Twelve of art and poetry) were:<ref name="EnAm1993">Шаблон:Cite encyclopedia</ref><ref name="EnPLB2007">Шаблон:Cite encyclopedia</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>Шаблон:Cite web</ref><ref>Шаблон:Cite web</ref> that obviously do not suggest Hestia surrendered her seat, though he suggests she did. Hades<ref name="EnAm1919">Шаблон:Cite encyclopedia</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">Шаблон:Cite book</ref> Different cities often worshipped the same deities, sometimes with epithets that distinguished them and specified their local nature.

The 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 Massalia (Marseille). Greek religion tempered Etruscan cult and belief to form much of the later Roman religion.

Folk religion

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Шаблон:Further Шаблон:Unreferenced section The animistic nature of folk beliefs is an anthropological cultural universal. The belief in ghosts and spirits animating the natural world and the practice of ancestor worship is universally present in the world's cultures and re-emerges in monotheistic or materialistic societies as "superstition", belief in demons, tutelary saints, fairies or extraterrestrials.

The presence of a full polytheistic religion, complete with a ritual cult conducted by a priestly caste, requires a higher level of organization and is not present in every culture. In Eurasia, the Kalash are one of very few instances of surviving polytheism. Also, a large number of polytheistic folk traditions are subsumed in contemporary Hinduism, although Hinduism is doctrinally dominated by monist or monotheist theology (Bhakti, Advaita). Historical Vedic polytheist ritualism survives as a minor current in Hinduism, known as Shrauta. More widespread is folk Hinduism, with rituals dedicated to various local or regional deities.

Contemporary world religions

Buddhism and Shinto

Шаблон:Further2

In Buddhism, there are higher beings commonly designed (or designated) as gods, Devas; however, Buddhism, at its core (the original Pali canon), does not teach the notion of praying nor worship to the Devas or any god(s).

However, in Buddhism, the core leader 'Buddha', who pioneered the path to enlightenment is not worshiped in meditation, but simply reflected upon. Statues or images of the Buddha (Buddharupas) are worshiped in front of to reflect and contemplate on qualities that the particular position of that rupa represents. In Buddhism, there is no creator and the Buddha rejected the idea that a permanent, personal, fixed, omniscient deity can exist, linking into the core concept of impermanence (anicca).

Devas, in general, are beings who have had more positive karma in their past lives than humans. Their lifespan eventually ends. When their lives end, they will be reborn as devas or as other beings. When they accumulate negative karma, they are reborn as either human or any of the other lower beings. Humans and other beings could also be reborn as a deva in their next rebirth, if they accumulate enough positive karma; however, it is not recommended.

Buddhism flourished in different countries, and some of those countries have polytheistic folk religions. Buddhism syncretizes easily with other religions. Thus, Buddhism has mixed with the folk religions and emerged in polytheistic variants as well as nontheistic variants. For example, in Japan, Buddhism, mixed with Shinto, which worships deities called kami, created a tradition which prays to the deities of Shinto as a form of Buddha. Thus, there may be elements of worship of gods in some forms of later Buddhism.

The concepts of Adi-Buddha and Dharmakaya are the closest to monotheism any form of Buddhism comes. All famous sages and Bodhisattvas being considered as reflections of it. Adi-Buddha is not said to be the creator, but the originator of all things, being a deity in an Emanationist sense.

Christianity

Шаблон:Off-topic Шаблон:Attributes of God Historically, most Christian churches have taught that the nature of God is a mystery, in the original, technical meaning; something that must be revealed by special revelation rather than deduced through general revelation. Among early Christians there was considerable debate over the nature of Godhead, with some factions arguing for the deity of Jesus and others calling for an Arian conception of God. These issues of Christology were to form one of the main subjects of contention at the First Council of Nicaea.

The First Council of Nicaea, held in Nicaea in Bithynia (in present-day Turkey), convoked by the Roman Emperor Constantine I in 325, was the first (or second, if one counts the apostolic Council of Jerusalem) ecumenical<ref>Ecumenical, from Koine Greek oikoumenikos, literally meaning worldwide but generally assumed to be limited to the Roman Empire as in Augustus's claim to be ruler of the oikoumene (world); the earliest extant uses of the term for a council are in Eusebius's Life of Constantine 3.6 [1] around 338 "Шаблон:Lang" (he convoked an Ecumenical council), Athanasius's Ad Afros Epistola Synodica in 369 [2], and the Letter in 382 to Pope Damasus I and the Latin bishops from the First Council of Constantinople [3]</ref> council of bishops of the Roman Empire, and most significantly resulted in the first uniform Christian doctrine, called the Nicene Creed. With the creation of the creed, a precedent was established for subsequent 'general (ecumenical) councils of bishops' (synods) to create statements of belief and canons of doctrinal orthodoxy— the intent being to define unity of beliefs for the State church of the Roman Empire and eradicate heretical ideas.

The purpose of the council was to resolve disagreements in the Church of Alexandria over the nature of Jesus in relationship to the Father; in particular, whether Jesus was of the same substance as God the Father or merely of similar substance. St. Alexander of Alexandria and Athanasius took the first position; the popular presbyter Arius, from whom the term Arian controversy comes, took the second. The council decided against the Arians overwhelmingly. (Of the estimated 250-318 attendees, all but 2 voted against Arius).

Christian orthodox traditions (Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Protestant, and Evangelical) follow this decision, which was codified in 381 and reached its full development through the work of the Cappadocian Fathers. They consider God to be a triune entity, called the Trinity, comprising the three "Persons" God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, the three of this unity are described as being "of the same substance" (Шаблон:Lang). The true nature of an infinite God, however, is asserted to be beyond definition, and "the word 'person' is but an imperfect expression of the idea, and is not biblical. In common parlance it denotes a separate rational and moral individual, possessed of self-consciousness, and conscious of his identity amid all changes. Experience teaches that where you have a person, you also have a distinct individual essence. Every person is a distinct and separate individual, in whom human nature is individualized. But in God there are no three individuals alongside of, and separate from, one another, but only personal self distinctions within the divine essence, which is not only generically, but also numerically, one."<ref>Louis Berkhof, Systematic Theology, page 87</ref>

Some critics, especially among Jews and Muslims,Шаблон:Citation needed contend that because of the adoption of a Triune conception of deity, Christianity is actually a form of Tritheism or Polytheism, for example see Shituf. This concept dates from the teachings of the Alexandrian Church, which claimed that Jesus, having appeared later in the Bible than his "Father," had to be a secondary, lesser, and therefore "distinct" God. This controversy led to the convention of the Nicaean council in 325 CE. Christians overwhelmingly assert that monotheism is central to the Christian faith, as the Nicene Creed (and others), which gives the orthodox Christian definition of the Trinity, begins: "I believe in one God".

Some Christians reject mainstream trinitarian theology; such as the Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormonism, the Unitarians, Christadelphians, Church of God General Conference, Socinian; and some elements of Anabaptism do not teach the doctrine of the Trinity at all. In addition Oneness Pentecostals reject the creedal formulation of the Trinity, that there are three distinct and eternal persons in one being, instead believing that there is one God, a singular spirit who manifests himself in many different ways, including as the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.Шаблон:Citation needed

Deism is a philosophy of religion which arose in the Christian tradition during the Early Modern period. It postulates that there is a God who however does not intervene in human affairs. Alvin J. Schmidt argues that since the 1700s, expressions of Civil Religion in the United States have shifted from a deistic to a polytheistic stance.<ref>Polytheism: The New Face of American Civil Religion</ref>

Unitarianism is a Christological doctrine in contrast with Trinitarian Christianity, postulating that Jesus was a completely human messiah.<ref>The dogma of the Trinity at 'Catholic Encyclopedia', ed. Kevin Knight at New Advent website</ref>

Jordan Paper, a Western scholar who calls himself polytheistic, considers polytheism to be the normal state in human culture. Even the Catholic Church shows polytheistic aspects with the worshipping 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 call 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>

Hinduism

Шаблон:Further Hinduism is a far from monolithic religion: many extremely varied 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 Murti, an icon. The Puja (worship) of the Murti is like a way to communicate with the formless, abstract divinity (Brahman in Hinduism) which creates, sustains and dissolves creation. Шаблон:Citation needed

Some Hindu philosophers and theologians argue for a transcendent metaphysical structure with a single divine essence.Шаблон:Citation needed This divine essence is usually referred to as Brahman or 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. That the Primal Original God is Personal, both transcendent and immanent throughout creation. He can be, and is often approached through worship of Murtis, called "Archa-Vigraha", which are described in the Vedas as likenesses of His various dynamic, spiritual Forms. This is the Vaisnava theology.

The fifth disciplic line of Vedic spirituality, founded by 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 Shankara allows veneration of numerous deities Шаблон:Citation needed 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".Шаблон:Citation needed However, many Vedantic philosophers also argue that all individuals were united by the same impersonal, divine power in the form of the 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>Шаблон:Cite book</ref> and states that, "only some form of polytheism alone can do justice to this variety and richness."<ref>Шаблон:Cite book</ref> Sita Ram Goel, another 20th-century Hindu historian, wrote:

Шаблон:Quotation

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:

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>Шаблон:Cite web</ref>

Serer religion

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In Africa, polytheism in Serer religion dates as far back to the Neolithic Era (possibly earlier) when the ancient ancestors of the Serer people represented their Pangool on the Tassili n'Ajjer.<ref name="Serer religion">Шаблон:Fr icon 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 many deities<ref name="Serer deities">Шаблон:En icon 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 speakers, a sub-group of the Serers, Roog is known as Koox.<ref>Шаблон:Fr icon Ndiaye, Ousmane Sémou, "Diversité et unicité sérères : l’exemple de la région de Thiès", Éthiopiques, no. 54, vol. 7, 2e semestre 1991 [4]</ref>

Neopaganism

Шаблон:Refimprove section Шаблон:Original research Шаблон:Further "Hard" polytheism is the belief that gods are distinct, separate, real divine beings not psychological archetypes or personifications of natural forces. Hard polytheists reject the idea that "all gods are one god." "Hard" polytheists do not necessarily consider the gods of all cultures as being equally real, a theological position formally known as integrational polytheism or omnitheism.

This is contrasted with "Soft" polytheism, which holds that gods may be aspects of only one god, psychological archetypes or personifications of natural forces.

Soft Polytheism is prevalent in New Age and syncretic currents of Neopaganism, as are psychological interpretations of deities as archetypes of the human psyche. 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">Шаблон:Cite book</ref> This phrase is very popular among some Neopagans (notably, Wiccans) and incorrectly often believed to be just a recent work of fiction. However, Fortune indeed quoted from an ancient source, the Latin novel The Golden Ass of Apuleius. Fortune's soft polytheist compromise between monotheism and polytheism has been described as "pantheism" (Greek: πάν pan 'all' and θεός theos 'god').Шаблон:Who However, "Pantheism" has a longer history of usage to refer to a view of an all-encompassing immanent divine.

Neopaganism often blends polytheism with pantheism or panentheism.

Wicca

Wicca is a duotheistic faith created by Gerald Gardner that allows for polytheism.<ref>Шаблон:Cite book</ref><ref name="Hutton 2003">Шаблон:Cite book</ref><ref name="Lamond 2005">Шаблон:Cite book</ref> Wiccans specifically worship the Lord and Lady of the Isles (their names are oathbound).<ref name="Hutton 2003"/><ref name="Lamond 2005"/><ref>Шаблон:Cite book</ref><ref>Шаблон:Cite book</ref> It is an orthopraxic mystery religion that requires initiation to the priesthood in order to consider oneself Wiccan.<ref name="Hutton 2003"/><ref name="Lamond 2005"/><ref>Шаблон:Cite book</ref> Wicca emphasizes duality and the cycle of nature.<ref name="Hutton 2003"/><ref name="Lamond 2005"/><ref>Шаблон:Cite book</ref>

Reconstructionism

Reconstructionists are Neopagans who apply scholarly disciplines such as history, etymology, archaeology, linguistics and others to a traditional religion that has been destroyed such as Norse Paganism, Greek Paganism, Celtic paganism and others. After researching his or her path a reconstructionist or "recon" for short will apply the customs, morals and worldview to the modern day. Although many describe themselves as "hard" polytheists, others claim that this is not the only historically accurate polytheist theology.<ref>Drew Jacob, [5] "Polytheism is Theology-Inclusive," Celtic Polytheism (2013)</ref>

References

Шаблон:Reflist

External links

Шаблон:Wikiquote Шаблон:Wiktionary

The Association of Polytheist Traditions - APT, a UK-based community of Polytheists.
International Year Of Polytheism Philosophical project promoting polytheism by group monochrom
Integrational Polytheism

Шаблон:Theism Шаблон:Paganism Шаблон:Philosophy topics Шаблон:Philosophy of religion Шаблон:Theology

Terminology

Gods and divinity

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