Polytheism distorts the true picture of god it undermines his character. Polytheism from greek, polytheismos is the worship of or belief in multiple deities, which are usually assembled into a pantheon of gods and goddesses, along with their own religions and rituals. May 18, 2010 as with holy books, philosophies are thought up and written by our human minds. Hinduism, over 1million gods and goddesses that are worshipped by hindus worldwide. World religions introduction to sociology lumen learning. The psychology that was at work in the reform movements is illustrated best by the rise of raja ram mohun roy to name and fame in a short time.
Monotheism is directly opposed to polytheism, which is belief in more than one god, and to atheism, a disbelief in all deities. Monotheism is the belief in a single creator god and the lack of belief in any other creator. Polytheism can be a terribly confusing affair to monotheists. Im an american pagan here, wondering what are some hindu perceptions of other polytheistic faiths, such as the greek deities. Learn how hindiusm adopted to polytheism multiple gods with an indepth narration from the groundup. Hindu views on monotheism hinduism is a religion which incorporates diverse views on the concept of god. On the other hand hinduism says that there is only one almighty. Feb 12, 2014 wendy donigers book is a tribute to hinduisms complexity, not an insult. Polytheism and monotheism in hinduism hindu website. Monotheism in judaism as a harbinger of science, eretz acheret magazine. The christians believe that each god is equal in power and glory, and that these three are one. Henotheism was the term used by scholars such as max muller to describe the theology of vedic religion.
That is how the hindu reform movements started in the nineteenth century. Muller noted that the hymns of the rigveda, the oldest scripture of hinduism, mention many deities, but praises them successively as the one ultimate, supreme god, alternatively as one supreme goddess, thereby asserting that the essence of the deities was unitary, and the deities. Christianity, and islam, which share a common tradition of monotheism, the belief in one god. Dating back thousands of years, it is one of the oldest religions in the world, with a history going beyond that of the many abrahamic faiths in the world. They gave out a call for purging hinduism of its polytheism so that hinduism could be saved. Hinduism is an indian religion and dharma, or way of life, widely practiced in the indian subcontinent and parts of southeast asia. It is interesting to see how different faiths have responded to the spread of monotheism, such as hiding their true faiths via syncretisms with christianity such as haitian voodou or maya religion, and i share your respect for the polytheistic faiths that have survived such as hinduism. It comes from the word poly meaning, many, and theism where we get the word god. Scripture for jewish, christian, and muslim religions is considered to be the word of god, and therefore infallible. Hindus believe that everything is god or contains the energy of god therefore is worthy of worship, be it icons or symbols or nature itself. This is true with those responses, but gods do not need to be all powerful. An illuminating discourse on the fundamentals of hinduism. Monotheism characterizes the traditions of judaism, christianity, and islam.
While many cultures practice monotheism, some practice polytheism. People often think that hinduism is a polytheistic religion. They had no holy books in the sense of being inspired or the word. So, it doesnt really matter if you believe those, or. Ram swarup, for example, points to the vedas as being specifically polytheistic, 15 and states that, only some form of polytheism alone can do justice to this variety and richness. Bias, monotheism, polytheism and arguments religious forums. Hindu polytheism bollingen series general danielou, alain on. The history of the war between monotheism and polytheism. Learn and hinduism buddhism islam religion christianity sikhism with free interactive flashcards. Many other hindus, however, view polytheism as far preferable to monotheism. Worship of one god, monotheism in hinduism by jayaram v this article is about the origin and development of the concept of god in hinduism in the context of the vedas in general and the isa upanishad in particular and whether the elements of monotheism entered hinduism indigenously through prevailing traditions or through some external source such as judaism or christianity. Polytheism is the worship of many gods, demi gods or deities and in the modern world it is epitomised in the eastern religions, particularly hinduism. It begins with pharoah akhenaton, who attempted and failed to transform egypt from a polytheistic society to one that worshipped only the sun god, spends substantial time on the history of judaism, and then focuses, for most of the book. A distinction may be made between exclusive monotheism, and both inclusive monotheism and pluriform panentheistic monotheism which, while recognising various distinct gods, postulate some.
Like there is a god of war, and there is a god of the sun, and the god of the land, and the god of the sea, etc. Vedantism was the closest to their own monotheism a set of faith practices bourgeois in. Polytheism its worth noting that in each of the three abrahamic religions that we just named, you may hear people praying to someone other than the main deity. The difference between polytheism and monotheism, including christian tritheism three boxes in one box, is the number of boxes one imagines putting the source some call gods into. There are many polytheistic religions including hinduism, taoism, shintoism and mahayana buddhism, just to name some. The early vedic religious understanding of brahman underwent a series of abstractions in the hindu scriptures that followed the vedic scriptures.
Different traditions of hinduism have different theistic views, and these views have been described by scholars as polytheism, monotheism, henotheism, panentheism, pantheism, monism, agnostic, humanism, atheism or nontheism monotheism is the belief in a single creator god and the lack of belief in any other creator. So, it doesnt really matter if you believe those, or make one up of your own when it comes to god concepts. Apr 22, 2017 plus, polytheism to me has more options of spiritual growth. Often a point of contention in religious debates, the idea of god. Common notion about hinduism is that there are multiple gods and infact there can be millions of them. With many branches of polytheism, it is impossible to define them all in a single book.
Instead, there are several ways that one can classify hinduism as there. Trimurtifrom left to right vishnu, shiva, and brahma, the three hindu gods of the trimurti. Major proponents of the monotheistic nature of hinduism point to the fundamental trinity of brahma, shiva and vishnu as three aspects of a single entity, similar to the christian trinity of god, jesus and the holy ghost. Theistic hinduism encompasses both monotheistic and. Mar 07, 2004 god against the gods depicts the emergence and eventual triumph of monotheism over polytheism in the west. God, the father, god, the son christ and god, the holy ghost spirit. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. It is an ancient religion, also called santana dharma, and the faith of the majority in india. And all in all polytheism is the opposite of monotheism which is the worshipping of only one god, as their names say since mono is used to refer to one and poly is used when referring to multiple.
If you are a seller for this product, would you like to. This divine essence is usually referred to as brahman or atman, but. As an old religion, hinduism inherits religious concepts spanning monotheism, polytheism, panentheism, pantheism, monism, and atheism among others. The origin of hinduism is shrouded in antiquity of the distant past far beyond the times of known history. Yes, hinduism also says that god is beutiful and powerful etc etc as what polythiesm religions says. So, all illuminated souls have been given some powers and also responsibilities to function in this creation. God against the gods depicts the emergence and eventual triumph of monotheism over polytheism in the west. First is the idea that monotheism is a higher form, if not the highest form of religion, which is both debatable and controversial.
On the moabite stone king mesha speaks just as samuel or joshua might have spoken. Im aware of a wide variance within the hindu faith, so im not expecting answers that all hindus would subscribe to, just beliefs and information that helped form those beliefs. Please read the books of swamy vivekananda, ramakrishna paramahamsa, bhagavad geeta and other books on hinduism. Hinduism includes elements of what western thought might call monism, theism, pantheism and polytheism, but as part of a many sided and multileveled approached to the sacred that honors the freedom of the individual to search out the truth from all perspectives.
Hinduism incorporates diverse views on the concept of god. Hinduism is monotheistic religion from the beginning. Polytheism is however reconcilable with inclusive monotheism, which claims that all deities are just different names or forms of a single god. Exclusive monotheism, on the other hand, actively opposes polytheism. Why do christians believe in one god evidence in holy books.
But in reality, there is only one god and rest are not gods but dieties devas or demigods. Sep, 2019 the religion that i was born into was hinduism. The history of religions, however, indicates many phenomena and concepts that should warn against oversimplification in this matter. What are 3 monotheistic religions and their holy books. This view also implies the superiority of monotheism over different formulations of the sacred that may have their own value. Polytheism creates many gods but misses the one true god. Lastly, as no people have been recorded or discovered with an inborn craving or racebias making for monotheism, but on the contrary the lower and prevalent popular instinct is always polytheistic, we must attribute a profound influence to the inspiration of prophets and great thinkers to account for the victory, or even for the emergence, of monotheism at certain times among certain peoples. Monotheism is the belief in a single creator god who is almighty, omnipotent, omniscient and omnibenevolent. Vedantism was the closest to their own monotheism a set of faith practices bourgeois in their mood and conduct. In the world in which the bible was written, polytheism was the rule.
Hard polytheism project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks. As such, it is distinguished from polytheism, the belief in the existence of many gods, from atheism, the belief that there is no god, and from agnosticism, the belief that the existence or nonexistence of a god or of gods is unknown or unknowable. First i need to differentiate between monotheism with polytheism because even in polytheist religions, one god is quite often supreme. The worship of many gods is called polytheism while the worship of one god is called monotheism. It is a paradox, which hinduism addresses with great subtlety and openness, while some traditions fail to appreciate it or embrace it. Buddhism and hinduism monotheistic interfaith dialogue basics. Monotheism has been defined as the belief in the existence of only one god that created the world, is allpowerful and intervenes in the world. Brahma is the creator aspect of the supreme being, shiva is the destroyer and vishnu is the preserver. Monotheism, belief in the existence of one god, or in the oneness of god. Unlike vedic religion, which is pure monotheism, holy bible preaches the doctrine of trinity, i. In most religions which accept polytheism, the different gods and goddesses are representations of forces of nature or ancestral principles, and can be viewed either as. The supreme god of hinduism has several different names and natures. Hinduism, a premier religion since the dawn of civilization, advocated the concept of god to make humans understand that. Polytheistic religions have no such belief, allowing not only different views of religious practices but even different interpretations of their deities.
Hinduism has been called the oldest religion in the world, and some practitioners and scholars refer to it as sanatana dharma, the eternal tradition, or the eternal way, beyond human history. However, to call hinduism monotheism would be, in most cases, erroneous as well. Hindus practice with many different books but some of the important. May 2002 hinduismmonotheism and polytheism reconciled. It was a revelation to me that monotheism was not a religious concept but an imperialist idea. As with holy books, philosophies are thought up and written by our human minds. In referring to abrahamic monotheistic religions, direct references are made to their holy books. Mar 17, 2015 hinduism is a decidedly theistic religion.
A broader definition of monotheism is the belief in one god. There is no valid reason to assume, for example, that monotheism is a. Monotheism is a form of theism, generally defined as the belief in a single deity though it has also been defined as the belief that one supreme being exists whose will is sovereign over all other beings similar concepts in practice and somewhat related include. Analyzing constructions of polytheistic and monotheistic religious. At that dawn of knowledge, the acknowledgement for supreme presence stemmed. Romans did the rites proscribed by tradition and shared common concepts about what is the appropriate behavior towards humans and gods. Scholars regard hinduism as a fusion or synthesis 9 note 4. Different traditions of hinduism have different theistic views, and these views have been described by scholars as polytheism, monotheism, henotheism, panentheism, pantheism, monism, agnostic humanism, atheism or nontheism. Wendy donigers book is a tribute to hinduisms complexity, not an insult. Polytheism characterizes the beliefs of hinduism, mahayana buddhism, confucianism, taoism and shintoism in the east, and also contemporary tribal religions in africa and the americas. For india, however, where roughly 80 percent of the population practices hinduism, diwali 2011 is and. Atheists and western monotheists together denigrate polytheists and. If we were to take into consideration the general meaning of the word monotheism judaism, christianity, islam and zoroastrianism, and some hindu philosophies could all be included.
Just as the holy rivers ganga ganges and yamuna yamuna join each other in the sacred. Monotheism is often contrasted with theistic dualism ditheism. Ancient religions worshipped many gods instead of the one, true god. It should be noted at the outset, however, that this is chiefly a western difficulty. Second, if hinduism is not monotheistic, the general implication is that hinduism must be polytheistic, meaning heathen, pagan, primitive, superstitious and idolatrous. As regards mesopotamia many of the records of its polytheism and the royal chronicles reveal the same religious justification of cruelty that disfigure the jewish annals. Polytheism is more logical than monotheism because for them its unrealistic to believe in one god who rules everything. When humans were getting into civilized life, it was realized that there were beginnings and ends. Wendy donigers book is a tribute to hinduisms complexity. Even hinduism, though not polytheistic belief in multiple godscreators, have that sense of connection because you have multiple incarnations and so forth working together. Especially in contemporary times, religious narrowmindedness is a. So called monotheism religions are just like seeing moon from earth.
In no particular order, they represent judaism, wicca, taoism, christianity. Both books philosophies are just projections and assumptions based on the individual or a group of individuals. The legacy of the monotheism in hindu india hindu history. Jan 18, 2016 common notion about hinduism is that there are multiple gods and infact there can be millions of them. Worship of one god, monotheism in hinduism by jayaram v this article is about the origin and development of the concept of god in hinduism in the context of the vedas in general and the isa upanishad in particular and whether the elements of monotheism entered hinduism indigenously through prevailing traditions or through some external source. Monotheism and polytheism are often thought of in rather simple termse. The concept of monotheism in islam and christianity. Also find out how hindu religion perceives different aspects of life with a specific god. Different traditions of hinduism have different theistic views, and these views have been described by scholars as polytheism, monotheism, henotheism, panentheism, pantheism, monism, agnostic, humanism, atheism or nontheism. In hinduism, polytheism and monotheism are like two sides of the same reality. Max muller,the well known interpreter and translator of hindu sanskrit texts writers note even coined a new term henotheism in order to explain the tendency of the. The major religions of the world hinduism, buddhism, islam, confucianism, christianity. These religions are widely practiced throughout the world and remain very popular in their ancestral areas.
Academically speaking, the ancient vedic scriptures, upon which hinduism is derived. Nov 23, 2009 because they dont have depth knowledge and answer for it. And all in all polytheism is the opposite of monotheism which is the worshipping of only one god, as their names say since mono is used to refer to. Most polytheistic gods are just powerful in certain areas. It was a profound study of monotheism, the central dogma of both islam and christianity, as well as a powerful presentation of what the monotheists denounce as hindu polytheism. I quote a text from in search of the cradle of civilization by george feuerstein, subbash kak and david frawley, the theosophical publishing house, 1995, p.
Ancient religions are characterized by the worship of a number of gods. Hinduism is the most ancient religion among all the great living religions in the world today. A novelist explains why the polytheism of hindus and their texts. What are your thoughts on other forms of polytheism. Multiple gods in hinduism, polytheism or monotheism. The broader definition of monotheism characterizes the traditions of babism, the baha. Whats the difference between polytheism and monotheism. Choose from 500 different sets of and hinduism buddhism islam religion christianity sikhism flashcards on quizlet. If by holy book you mean scripture, as modern abrahamic religions have holy books, then the answer is no.