Monotheistic Polytheistic

Monotheism in world religions

Judaism

The Hebrew scriptures rarely deny the existence of other gods. Many times, this existence is acknowledged. However, there is a strong importance in recognizing Yahweh as the one god who counts. It is the rejection of other gods that makes Judaism a monotheistic faith. Monotheism is the belief in one god. This is clear in the Jewish affirmation of faith: "Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our God, one Lord" (Deuteronomy 6:4; New English Bible). 

Monotheism is about the choice people make committing themselves to one god. In the Hebrew Bible, Joshua is a prophet who takes Moses' place as a leader. Joshua proclaims, "But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord" (Joshua 24:15). 

Christianity

Among the three main monotheistic religions, Christianity has a separate place. This is because of the idea of the trinity. The trinity is the unity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This belief in three entities differs from Judaism and Islam.

Christianity has also had its Unitarians, or people who do not believe in the Trinity. However, the three original forms of Christianity are Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy and Protestantism. These all acknowledge one God in three persons: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. 

In Christianity, this is not a recognition of three gods, but of three persons as one god. There have been many disagreements about this. What makes Christianity a monotheistic religion is that it restricts itself to three persons. Polytheistic religions do not restrict the number of possible forms god can take. Like other religions that cover a large territory and have a long history, there are many different groups within Christianity.

Islam

No religion has interpreted monotheism in a more exact way than Islam. According to Islam, the Christian belief in the Trinity is an example of tritheism — a three-god belief. There is no issue Islam makes clearer than the one of monotheism.

A person who follows Islam is called a Muslim. The Five Pillars are the key requirements for the faithful Muslim. The profession of faith is the first of the Five Pillars of Islam. It clearly states that "there is no God but Allah." In accordance with this principle, the religion knows no greater sin than polytheism or anything that may look like it. This includes the notion of a divine, or godly, trinity. The Qurʾān, Islam's sacred book, declares Allah's unlimited power: "Say: He, Allah, is one. Allah, the eternal. Neither has he begotten, nor is he begotten. And no one is his equal" (112).

Monotheistic Elements In Ancient Middle Eastern And Mediterranean Religions Egyptian Religion

There are many different religious beliefs that can be found in Egyptian religion. This includes the belief in multiple gods, a god with multiple forms, the dominance of one god from a group of gods and even a kind of monotheism. In the time of the New Kingdom, from 16th to 11th century BC and later, ideas arose about many gods and the one god. These ideas are related to pluriform monotheism. They are sometimes related to trinitarian ideas. In a New Kingdom hymn to Amon are the words: "Three are all gods: Amon, Re and Ptah…he who hides himself for [humanity] as Amon, he is Re to be seen, his body is Ptah." As Amon he is the "hidden god." In Re, the god of the sun, he becomes visible. As Ptah, one of the gods of the earth, he is present in this world.

In the 14th century BC, there were a lot of changes to the Egyptian religion. This reform, or change, was led by the pharaoh Akhenaten (Amenophis IV). It is clear that Akhenaten's religious beliefs strongly leaned towards monotheism. At first, he singled out Aton, one of the forms of the sun god, for particular worship. Over time, this developed in the direction of exclusive monotheism. The names of other gods were to be deleted. This type of belief, however, quickly lost popularity. 

Babylonian Religion

Babylonia was an ancient kingdom in present-day Iraq. As far as we know, monotheism was largely absent from the Babylonian religion. Henotheism seems to have been very important. A person could choose one god for particular worship from a group of gods. This one god would then be treated as if they were the most important.

Greco-Roman Religions

The classic religions of ancient Greece and ancient Rome were purely polytheistic. But in later times, beliefs changed towards inclusive monotheism. The hymn to Zeus by the Stoic philosopher Cleanthes (330- 230 BC) is the best-known record of this change. The hymn praises Zeus as the most divine of all gods. He is the creator and ruler of the cosmos, all-powerful, the giver of every gift and the father of humanity.

Monotheistic Elements In Indian And Chinese Religions

The religions of India and China vary greatly. However, exclusive monotheism, for the most part, seems to be absent. Sikhism, another religion that was influenced by Islam, has some teachings similar to exclusive monotheism.

Inclusive monotheism fits very well with the Indian religions. One such religion is Hinduism. It is seen in reflections on brahman, or absolute reality, and atman, the core of a person that moves on after death. As the Upanishads, part of the Vedic scriptures worshipped by Hindus, say: "Truly, in the beginning existed this brahman, that only knew itself, saying: I am brahman." Although in many cases one god, such as Shiva or Vishnu, receives nearly all the attention of the faithful. But this emphasis never fully takes attention away from other gods.

Buddhism teaches that there are no gods in the full sense of the word. Gods are higher beings, but they belong to the cosmos and need as much saving as humans.

The ancient Shang Dynasty in China lasted from 1600 to 1046 BC. The religion of this dynasty believed in the Lord-on-High, or Shangdi. This god can be compared in many ways to the high god of other religions.

Multiple Choice

Which sentence from the article supports the main idea of the article?

• The Hebrew scriptures rarely deny the existence of other gods

• Monotheism is about the choice people make committing themselves to one god.

• Like other religions that cover a large territory and have a long history, there are many different groups within Christianity.

• There are many different religious beliefs that can be found in Egyptian religion.

Read the paragraph from the article.

There are many different religious beliefs that can be found in Egyptian religion. This includes the belief in multiple gods, a god with multiple forms, the dominance of one god from a group of gods and even a kind of monotheism. In the time of the New Kingdom, from 16th to 11th century B.C. and later, ideas arose about many gods and the one god. These ideas are related to pluriform monotheism. They are sometimes related to trinitarian ideas. In a New Kingdom hymn to Amon are the words: "Three are all gods: Amon, Re and Ptah … he who hides himself for [humanity] as Amon, he is Re to be seen, his body is Ptah." As Amon he is the "hidden god." In Re, the god of the sun, he becomes visible. As Ptah, one of the gods of the earth, he is present in this world. 

Multiple Choice

Which statement summarizes the paragraph from the previous slide?

• Egyptian religions have both polytheistic and monotheistic beliefs.

• Egyptian religions are related to trinitarian ideas.

• From the 16th to 11th century B.C., many new ideas about monotheism arose in Egypt.

• The three main gods of Egyptian religions are Amon, Re and Ptah.

Multiple Choice

This article is MOSTLY organized using comparisons of various religions and cultures. Why do you think the author chose to organize the information this way?

• to explain why some religions have more followers in comparison to others

• to highlight how monotheistic beliefs can be similar and different across various religions

• to help the reader understand why polytheistic religions have become less common

• to show how the beliefs of monotheistic religious groups have changed over time

Multiple Choice

How is the structure of the section “Judaism” different from or similar to the structure of the section "Monotheistic Elements In Ancient Middle Eastern And Mediterranean Religions”?

• They both focus on multiple religions to show the differences and similarities between them.

• They both focus on how a specific religion changed its beliefs over time.

• The first section focuses on many different religions, and the second focuses on just one.

• The first section focuses on one specific religion, and the second focuses on several.