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Theism

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Theism is the belief there might be one or more gods or goddesses. More specifically, it may also mean the belief there might be gods or godesses who is/are actively involved in maintaining the Universe. This secondary meaning is shown in context to other beliefs concerning the divine below, except that atheism is not a belief, it is just the absence of theism.

The term is attested in English from 1678.

Views, or the lack of them, concerning the conjecture that there might be gods are commonly divided into these categories:

  1. Atheism: an absence of the belief there might be gods.
  2. Agnosticism: The active denial and repudiation of any doctrine that there are propositions like the tenets of a religion that people ought to believe without logically satisfactory evidence.
  3. Deism: The doctrine that a god might have created the world but does not interact with it. This view emphasizes the deities' transcendence.
    • Polytheism: The belief that there might be many gods.
      1. Monolatry: The belief that there might be many gods, but only one of them is worthy of worship.
      2. Henotheism: The belief that there might be many gods, but only one might be supreme.
      3. Kathenotheism: The belief that there might more than one god, but only one god at a time should be worshipped. Each is given a turn at supremacy.
    • Monotheism: The belief there might be only one god.
  4. Panentheism: The belief that the world might be entirely contained within a god, while at the same time that god might be something greater than just the world.
  5. Pantheism: The belief that the world might be identical to a god.


Within Polytheism there are “Hard” and “Soft” varieties. Hard polytheism views the gods as being distinct and separate beings, Soft polytheism views the gods as being subsumed into a greater whole.

Within monotheism there are exclusive and inclusive forms. Exclusive monotheism can be monistic (Judaism, Islam), dualistic (Parsis/Zoroastrian) and pluralistic (Christianity). Some forms of Hinduism and Neopaganism could be considered Inclusive monotheism.

Finally, the distinction can be made between belief in the existence of gods, and assertions about their benevolence or morality, or the belief in God as the summum bonum: see eutheism and dystheism.

Typical theistic religions are Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Zoroastrianism, Saivism, Vaishnavism, Bahá'í, and Sikhism.

Compare: Atheism, Agnosticism

See also

Category: