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Template:Expert-subject-multiple Theism, in the broadest sense, is the belief that at least one deity exists. In a more specific sense, theism refers to a doctrine concerning the nature of a monotheistic God and God's relationship to the universe. Theism, in this specific sense, conceives of God as personal, present and active in the governance and organization of the world and the universe. The use of the word theism as indicating a particular doctrine of monotheism arose in the wake of the scientific revolution of the seventeenth century to contrast with the then emerging deism that contended that God, though transcendent and supreme, did not intervene in the natural world and could be known rationally but not via revelation.

The term theism derives from the Greek theos meaning "god". The term theism was first used by Ralph Cudworth (1617–88). Atheism is rejection of theism in the broadest sense of theism; i.e. the rejection of belief that there is even one deity. Rejection of the narrower sense of theism can take forms such as deism, pantheism, and polytheism. The claim that the existence of any deity is unknown is agnosticism, and can be compatible with theism and with atheism. The positive assertion of knowledge, either of the existence of gods or the absence of gods, can also be attributed to some theists and some atheists. Put simply theism and atheism deal with belief, and agnosticism deals with (absence of) knowledge; they are not mutually exclusive as they deal with different domains.

Theism in historical context

Theism is the belief in a supernatural deity or deities. This has existed historically in a number of forms. However, in the history of the development of world religion the general trend has been that polytheism develops into or is replaced by monotheism. The monotheism of the Hebrews replaced the polytheism of the ancient semitic peoples. The monotheism of the Christians replaced the various pagan religions of Europe and the Americas. The monotheism of Muhammed replaced the polytheism of the Arab peoples. The monotheism of the Bhagavad gita and the Upanisads supercedes the polytheism of the Rig Veda. Of the 6.7 billion people who live on the earth today some 3.5 - 4.5 billion profess some form of monotheism.

Within the disciplines of theology and religious studies the word theism refers to the classic form of monotheism that is professed by Christians, Muslims, religious Jews and many Hindus. Whereas theism has historically denoted a great variety of beliefs in supernatural entities the word became a shorthand for the classic form of religious belief from the seventeenth century onwards to contrast it with the emerging deism which was favoured by many of the leading thinkers of the eighteenth century enlightenment which held that God was largely absent from the universe after creating it in the beginning. Deism in its turn paved the way for atheism to become a respectable or at least socially acceptable position.

This article focuses on theism as the classic form of religious orientation professed by the majority of religious believers worldwide today.

Theism is the belief in the existence of a supreme being

Theism holds that all finite, transient entities including sentient beings and all material phenomena are dependent for their existence on a supreme being or reality that has conventionally received the appellation God in the English language. Transtheistic religions such as later Buddhism (Mahayana) or Taoism have also posited a supreme being calling them in turn Tao and dharmakaya (or dharmata). In theism, unlike deism, the supreme being is present in the world and can be accessed though petition, communion or contemplation (theoria).

Contrasting theism with other points of view

Deism

Deism is the belief that a supreme being designed and created the world, but that the creator does not alter the original plan for the universe. 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.

• Pandeism: The belief that a god preceded the universe and created it, but is now equivalent with it.
• Panendeism combines deism with panentheism, believing the universe is a part (but not the whole) of deity
• Polydeism: The belief that multiple gods existed, but do not intervene with the universe.

Pantheism

Pantheism is the belief that the physical universe is identical with God, and that there is no division between a Creator and the substance of its creation. Examples include many forms of Saivism. Theism holds, on the other hand, that although God is present and active in the universe he is not identical with it but rather wholly transcends and is independent of it.

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 the Egyptian and Greek Religions; along with certain schools of Hinduism.
• Soft polytheism views the gods as being subsumed into a greater whole. Some forms of Hinduism such as Smartism/Advaita Vedanta serve as examples of soft polytheism.

Polytheism is also divided according to how the individual deities are regarded:

• Henotheism: The viewpoint/belief that there may be more than one deity, but worship of only one of them.
• Kathenotheism: The viewpoint/belief that there is more than one deity, but only one deity is worshipped at a time or ever, and another may be worthy of worship at another time or place. If they are worshipped one at a time, then each is supreme in turn.
• Monolatrism: The belief that there may be more than one deity, but that only one is worthy of being worshipped. Most of the modern monotheistic religions may have begun as monolatric ones.

Autotheism

While a specific definition of theism may exclude autotheism, it is included by the most general definition. Autotheism is the viewpoint that, whether divinity is also external or not, it is inherently within 'oneself' and that one has a duty to become perfect (or divine). This can either be in a selfish, wilful, egotistical way or a selfless way following the implications of statements attributed to ethical, philosophical, and religious leaders (such as Jesus, Buddha, Mahavira and Socrates).

Autotheism can also refer to the belief that one's self is a deity (often the only one), within the context of subjectivism. This is a fairly extreme version of subjectivism, however.

Value-judgment theisms

• Eutheism is the viewpoint/belief that a deity(ies) is wholly benevolent; dystheism allows for there being evil in the divine realm.
• Maltheism is the belief that a deity exists, but that god is wholly malicious and abusive.

See also

• Open theism
• Theistic evolution
• Animism
• Nontheistic religions

References

1. "Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary". Retrieved 2011-03-18.
2. The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, Second Edition and The Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (1997).
3. Encyclopedia Britannica.
4. John Orr (English Deism: Its Roots and Its Fruits, 1934) explains that before the seventeenth century theism and deism were interchangeable terms but during the course of the seventeenth century they gained separate and mutually exclusive meanings (see deism)
5. Halsey, William (1969). Louis Shores (ed.). Collier's Encyclopedia. Vol. 22 (20 ed.). Crowell-Collier Educational Corporation. pp. 266–7. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
6. • Nielsen, Kai (2010). "Atheism". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 2011-01-26. Atheism, in general, the critique and denial of metaphysical beliefs in God or spiritual beings.... Instead of saying that an atheist is someone who believes that it is false or probably false that there is a God, a more adequate characterization of atheism consists in the more complex claim that to be an atheist is to be someone who rejects belief in God for the following reasons (which reason is stressed depends on how God is being conceived)...
   • Edwards, Paul (2005) . "Atheism". In Donald M. Borchert (ed.). The Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Vol. Vol. 1 (2nd ed.). MacMillan Reference USA (Gale). p. 359. ISBN 0028657802. On our definition, an 'atheist' is a person who rejects belief in God, regardless of whether or not his reason for the rejection is the claim that 'God exists' expresses a false proposition. People frequently adopt an attitude of rejection toward a position for reasons other than that it is a false proposition. It is common among contemporary philosophers, and indeed it was not uncommon in earlier centuries, to reject positions on the ground that they are meaningless. Sometimes, too, a theory is rejected on such grounds as that it is sterile or redundant or capricious, and there are many other considerations which in certain contexts are generally agreed to constitute good grounds for rejecting an assertion. {{cite encyclopedia}}: |volume= has extra text (help); Unknown parameter |isbn13= ignored (help)(page 175 in 1967 edition)
7. Carroll, Robert (2009-02-22). "agnosticism". The Skeptic's Dictionary. skepdic.com. Retrieved 2011-02-02.
8. Hepburn, Ronald W. (2005) . "Agnosticism". In Donald M. Borchert (ed.). The Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Vol. Vol. 1 (2nd ed.). MacMillan Reference USA (Gale). p. 92. ISBN 0028657802. In the most general use of the term, agnosticism is the view that we do not know whether there is a God or not. {{cite encyclopedia}}: |volume= has extra text (help); Unknown parameter |isbn13= ignored (help) (page 56 in 1967 edition)
9. Rowe, William L. (1998). "Agnosticism". In Edward Craig (ed.). Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9780415073103. In the popular sense, an agnostic is someone who neither believes nor disbelieves in God, whereas an atheist disbelieves in God. In the strict sense, however, agnosticism is the view that human reason is incapable of providing sufficient rational grounds to justify either the belief that God exists or the belief that God does not exist. In so far as one holds that our beliefs are rational only if they are sufficiently supported by human reason, the person who accepts the philosophical position of agnosticism will hold that neither the belief that God exists nor the belief that God does not exist is rational.
10. "The view that all limited or finite things are dependent in some way on one supreme or ultimate reality of which one may also speak in personal terms." Encyclopedia Britannica; "The doctrine that there is one transcendant, personal God who freely created all that exists out of nothing, and who preserves and governs it. He is believed to be self-existent, present everywhere, all powerful, all knowing, and perfectly good, and therefore worthy of human worship." The Oxford Dictionary of World Religions; "Theism, as the word is currently employed, may be said to denote a philosophical system which accepts a transcendent and personal God who not only created but preserves and governs the world, the contingency of which does not exclude miracles and the exercise of human freedom." The Oxford Dictionary of The Christian Church (1997)
11. According to the Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church the term was first used by Ralph Cudworth in his 1678 work Intellectual System
12. "the view that all limited or finite things are dependent in some way on one supreme or ultimate reality of which one may also speak in personal terms". Encyclopedia Britannica, 2011 edition
13. AskOxford: deism
14. Webster's New International Dictionary of the English Language (G. & C. Merriam, 1924) defines deism as "belief in the existence of a personal god, with disbelief in Christian teaching, or with a purely rationalistic interpretation of Scripture".
15. "Philosophical Dictionary: Pacifism-Particular".
16. AskOxford: polytheism
17. Matthew 5:38 "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect"
18. Luke 17:21 "The Kingdom of God is within you"

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