Is polytheism a reality or a relic of the past?

One of the oldest forms of relation to reality is religious consciousness. It always corresponded to the vital needs of the human spirit. Every need, including spiritual one, requires satisfaction.

Types of ideas about the gods

There are several types of human notions of the gods:

• Polytheism is faith in polytheism;
• Pantheism - belief in one God, identified with nature and the world as a whole;
• Deism - belief in God the Creator existing beyond the limits of human history;
• Monotheism (theism) - faith in the only God as the supreme force of the personal and moral, the Creator, who is responsible for his creation.

Definition of polytheism

Polytheism is a religious teaching based on faith in several gods. The word itself is of Greek origin and is literally translated as polytheism. The polytheists believe that there are many gods, each of which has its own character, habits and preferences. Each god (goddess) has its own sphere of influence. Gods can enter into a relationship with each other.

Prerequisites for Polytheism

No phenomenon in society does not arise by itself. For the emergence of polytheism also had its own prerequisites:

1. Various phenomena of nature and the life of peoples. People were able to identify various natural phenomena with individual deities. They believed that the whole world can not be controlled by a single God.
2. The idea of re-divine reincarnation. This idea is characteristic of early Hinduism. And if we consider it to be correct, the deification of each of the subsequent incarnations leads to the existence of many gods.
3. Hierarchy of the social system. It seemed to humanity that if a society clearly traces hierarchy, organization, structure (family, tribe, state), then in the other world there must be many gods, each of which takes its place in the divine pantheon and has certain duties.

Polytheism in the myths of ancient cultures

To understand what polytheism is, it is enough to turn to the myths of Ancient Greece. So, for example, Poseidon was the god of the sea and the whole water element, the goddess of the earth was Gaia, and the god of war and destruction was Ares. The head of the ancient Greek divine pantheon was Zeus - the most powerful of all. Proponents of polytheism can worship different gods in different ways, they can honor any particular, chosen god. It is noteworthy that polytheism in the worship of its tribal gods does not exclude the possibility of recognizing the divine beings of other nations.

Determine what is polytheism, you can and according to the myths of ancient Rome. It is remarkable that the ancient Romans, like the ancient Greeks, worshiped the gods who were responsible for the same natural phenomena. Only the names of the gods differed, their appearance and predilection. In the Old Slavonic religion, worship is also observed for various gods, who were identified with the sun, the moon, and thunder.

Polytheism as the starting point for subsequent religions

Most scholars believe that polytheism is the oldest form of people's religious beliefs, which is typical of the Bronze Age and the Iron Age and up to the present time. This type of religion was characteristic of antiquity, which was clearly manifested in ancient Greek and Roman polytheism. Belief in many gods existed among the Slavic and Germanic tribes.

Polytheism gradually declined, but its principles can be observed in modern religions, such as Buddhism, Shintoism, Hinduism and others. In addition, in recent years in Europe there has been an increase in the number of supporters of new-speaking, also based on faith in many gods. New types of religious beliefs, such as pantheism, atheism and monotheism, have replaced ancient polytheism.

What is monotheism?

Monotheism is a religious doctrine of one single God or deity. In Greek, the word "monotheism" literally means "monotheism". Religions based on faith in one God include Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. The oldest religion, based on the principles of monotheism, which has survived to this day, is Zoroastrianism.

Although there is an opinion that monotheism was the very first religion on Earth, which eventually distorted and passed into polytheism, historical evidence and archaeological findings suggest the opposite. The earliest modern religion of this trend is Judaism, which at first had the character of polytheism, but in the 7th century BC it moved to a new level.

Monotheism first arose as a cult of the preference of one particular deity over others. And only then did the tendency to accept different deities for different hypostases of one God, and after that a religion arose based on faith in one and only God.

Monotheism and polytheism: eternal confrontation

Polytheism is opposed to monotheism - faith in one God. He is also an opponent of atheism, denying the existence of any gods or deities. Until now, the origin and interrelation of polytheism and monotheism has been the subject of controversy, both among anthropologists and among historians of religions. Nevertheless, most scholars and scholars still tend to believe that polytheism first arose, which then grew into monotheism. In the Bible, polytheism is a betrayal of the one God, and he is identified with paganism.

It would be wrong to believe that polytheism has completely degenerated these days. Of course, modern polytheists are not so many, and their beliefs are not as vividly shaped as in antiquity, but polytheism is the type of religion that never exhausts itself and will always find its supporters.