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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

Theism: The belief that gods or deities exist and interact with the universe.

Some theistic religions are: Bahá'í Faith, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Sikhism, and Zoroastrianism.

Monotheism

• Monotheism: The belief in and worship of a single god.
  • Misotheism: the belief that God exists, but is actually evil

Polytheism

• Polytheism: The belief in and worship of multiple gods or deities.
  • Henotheism: The belief that there may be more than one deity, but one is supreme.
  • Monolatry: The belief that there may be more than one deity, but only one should be worshiped.
  • Kathenotheism: The belief that there is more than one deity, but only one deity at a time should be worshiped. Each is supreme in turn.

Deism

• Deism: The belief that a god or gods exists, but does not intervene within the universe.
  • Pandeism: The belief that God preceded the universe and created it, but is now equivalent with it.
  • Polydeism: The belief that multiple gods existed, but do not intervene with the universe.

Deities present in everything

• Pantheism: The belief that the physical universe is equivalent to God, and that there is no 'division'.
• Panentheism: Like Pantheism, the belief that the physical universe is joined to God. However, it also believes that God is greater than the universe.
• Cosmotheism: The belief that man is The Creator. Man and the cosmos are one, thus the will of man is the will of the cosmos and the will of the cosmos is the will of man.
• Animism: The belief that everything has a soul.

An example of a semi-theistic religion is Shintoism.

Nontheism

• Atheism: An absence of belief that gods exist; a rejection of theism
• Agnosticism: The belief the nature and existence of gods is unknown and cannot be known or proven.
  • Agnostic theists make the claim that knowledge of God or gods is not possible, but have a personal faith in God or gods, thus making it a theistic system of belief.

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.

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.
• he suspends judgment due to lack of evidence one way or another.

This position is personal agnosticism or weak agnosticism.

The final definition of an agnostic brings together both the epistemological and personal views, namely that an agnostic is one who believes in nothing. This is not an atheist, as an atheist lacks all belief; an agnostic in this sense is someone who believes but does not direct their belief toward any specific thing, being or deity.

References

1. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04679b.htm "Deism", in The Catholic Encyclopedia)
2. AskOxford: theism
3. AskOxford: monotheism
4. AskOxford: polytheism
5. AskOxford: deism
6. Philosophical Dictionary: Pacifism-Particular
7. AskOxford: animism
8. atheism - Definitions from Dictionary.com
9. ^ Nielsen, Kai. "Atheism". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 2008-01-16. …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 on how God is being conceived.
10. AskOxford: agnostic
11. 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...
12. Rowe, William L. (1998). "Atheism". In Edward Craig (ed.). Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Atheism is the position that affirms the nonexistence of God. It proposes positive disbelief rather than mere suspension of belief.
13. religioustolerance.org's short article on Definitions of the term "atheism" suggests that there is no consensus on the definition of the term. Simon Blackburn summarizes the situation in The Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy: "Atheism. Either the lack of belief in a god, or the belief that there is none." Most dictionaries (see the OneLook query for "atheism") first list one of the more narrow definitions.
14. ^ "Agnosticism". A Companion to Epistemology. Blackwell Publishing. 1992. pp. p. 10. {{cite encyclopedia}}: |pages= has extra text (help)

See also

• Open theism

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