Theism

Theism is the belief in the existence of one or more divinities or deities.

There is also a narrower sense in which theism refers to the belief that one or more divinities are immanent in the world, yet transcend it, along with the idea that divinity(s) is/are omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent.

The term is attested in English from 1678, and was probably coined to contrast with atheism, a term that is attested from ca. 1587 (see the etymology section of atheism for details).

A taxonomy of beliefs about deities

It is possible to categorize views about deities in a variety of ways. One common procedure is to classify views about the existence of deities. This classification system categorizes view about deities as:

• theism — roughly, the belief that gods or deities exist
• atheism — roughly, an absence of belief in any gods or deities, or a belief that gods or deities do not exist at all.
• deism — the belief that a god or gods exists, but does not interact with events at the scale of human beings
• agnosticism — roughly, the belief that it is not possible to know whether gods or deities exist, or the belief that one does not know.

• Some classifications group atheism and agnosticism together under the classification of nontheism — absence of clearly identified belief in any deity.

The main subcategories of theism are:

• polytheism — roughly, the belief that multiple gods or deities exist
• monotheism — roughly, the belief that only one god exists.

This taxonomy is based on beliefs about the existence of god or gods. Other taxonomies are possible. For example, a different taxonomy is based on beliefs about the nature or characteristics (rather than the existence) of God or the gods. Examples include:

• pantheism — roughly, the belief that God and the universe are equivalent
• panentheism — roughly, the belief that the universe is part of God
• dystheism or maltheism — the belief that God is not, as is often assumed, good, but is actually evil

Other categories of belief include:

• Animism: The belief that everything is alive; that spirits are in all things, or that all things have souls.
• Monolatry: The belief that there may be more than one deity, but only one should be worshipped.
• Henotheism: The belief that there may be more than one deity, but one is supreme.
• Kathenotheism: The belief that there is more than one deity, but only one deity at a time should be worshipped. Each is supreme in turn.

Relationship to religion

• Some theistic religions are: Hinduism, Christianity, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Bahá'í, Sikhism and Islam.
• Some atheistic religions are: Confucianism, "Objectivism", and Buddhism.
• There are (or were) other religions which are polytheistic (see below).

Theism

Polytheism

Polytheism is the belief that there is more than one deity. In practice, polytheism is not just the belief that there are multiple gods; it usually includes belief in the existence of a specific pantheon of distinct deities.

Within polytheism there are hard and soft varieties.

• Hard polytheism views the gods as being distinct and separate beings; an example of this would be ancient Greek Mythology.
• Soft polytheism views the gods as being subsumed into a greater whole. Most forms of Hinduism serve as examples of soft polytheism.

Monotheism

Monotheism is the belief that there is only one deity. There are many forms of monotheism.

• Inclusive monotheism: The belief that there is only one deity, and that all other claimed deities are just different names for it. The Hindu denomination of Smartism is an example of inclusive monotheism.
• Exclusive monotheism: The belief that there is only one deity, and that all other claimed deities are distinct from it and false — either invented, demonic, or simply incorrect. Most Abrahamic religions, and the Hindu denomination of Vaishnavism (which regards the worship of anyone other than Vishnu as incorrect) are examples of exclusive monotheism.
• Pantheism: The view that the universe is identical to a deity.
• Panentheism: The belief that the universe is entirely contained within a deity that is greater than just the universe and beyond.

Deism

Deism is the belief in god or deity based on reason. It typically rejects supernatural events (prophecy, miracles) and divine revelation prominent in organized religion, along with holy books and revealed religions that assert the existence of such things. 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.

Atheism

Atheism, as a philosophical view, is the position that either affirms the nonexistence of gods or rejects theism. When defined more broadly, atheism is the absence of belief in deities, alternatively called nontheism.

Agnosticism

The word "agnostic" was coined by T. H. Huxley, "Darwin's Bulldog," around 1869. Since then, the word has been used in a variety of ways, as follows.

In one sense of the word, agnosticism is the position that it is not possible to know whether gods exist. Agnosticism in this sense is an epistemological position about the limits of possible knowledge. It holds that it is not possible to determine whether gods exist. Specifically, it holds that the question of the existence of gods is beyond the scope of science — that it is a question that cannot be answered by science. This position is epistemological agnosticism or strong agnosticism.

In another, more popular sense, of the word, agnosticism is a personal position. When a person describes himself as an agnostic he usually means one of the following:

• he takes no position, pro or con, on the existence of gods.
• he has considered the question of the existence of gods, and has not yet been able to decide whether he believes in the existence of gods or not.

This position is personal agnosticism or weak agnosticism.

See also

• Open theism
• Philosophical theism
• International Creed for Peace