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Monotheism is the belief that one god is the only deity.[1][2][3][4][5] A distinction may be made between exclusive monotheism, in which the one God is a singular existence, and both inclusive and pluriform monotheism, in which multiple gods or godly forms are recognized, but each are postulated as extensions of the same God.[2]
Monotheism is distinguished from henotheism, a religious system in which the believer worships one god without denying that others may worship different gods with equal validity, and monolatrism, the recognition of the existence of many gods but with the consistent worship of only one deity.[6] The term monolatry was perhaps first used by Julius Wellhausen.[7]
The prophets of ancient Israel were among the earliest preachers of monotheism, establishing it as a foundational tenet of the Jewish religious tradition, which endures as one of its most profound and enduring legacies.[8] Monotheism characterizes the traditions of Zoroastrianism,[9] Bábism, the Baháʼí Faith, Christianity,[10] Deism, Druzism,[11] Eckankar, Sikhism, Manichaeism, Islam, Judaism, Samaritanism, Mandaeism, Rastafari, Seicho-no-Ie, Tenrikyo, Yazidism, and Atenism. Elements of monotheistic thought are found in early religions such as
ancient Chinese religion, Tengrism, and Yahwism.[2][12][13]
^"14.2: Types of Religions". 4 June 2020.
^ abc"Monotheism". Encyclopædia Britannica. 24 May 2023.
^Monotheism. Hutchinson Encyclopedia (12th edition). p. 644.
^Cross, F.L.; Livingstone, E.A., eds. (1974). "Monotheism". The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (2 ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
^William Wainwright (2018). "Monotheism". Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University.
^Frank E. Eakin, Jr. The Religion and Culture of Israel (Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1971), 70.
^Mackintosh, Robert (1916). "Monolatry and Henotheism". Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics. Vol. VIII. p. 810. Retrieved Jan 21, 2016.
^Cleveland, William L. (2004). A History of the Modern Middle East (3rd ed.). WestView Press. pp. 2–3. ISBN 0-8133-4048-9. Monotheism was first preached by the prophets of ancient Israel and is one of the most significant and enduring legacies of the Jewish faith.
^Ferrero, Mario (2021). "From Polytheism to Monotheism: Zoroaster and Some Economic Theory". Homo Oeconomicus. 38 (1–4): 77–108. doi:10.1007/s41412-021-00113-4.
^Christianity's status as monotheistic is affirmed in, among other sources, the Catholic Encyclopedia (article "Monotheism Archived 2018-07-04 at the Wayback Machine"); William F. Albright, From the Stone Age to Christianity; H. Richard Niebuhr; About.com, Monotheistic Religion resources Archived 2006-05-21 at the Wayback Machine; Kirsch, God Against the Gods; Woodhead, An Introduction to Christianity; The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia Monotheism Archived 2007-10-12 at the Wayback Machine; The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, monotheism; New Dictionary of Theology, Paul Archived 2018-07-04 at the Wayback Machine, pp. 496–499; Meconi. "Pagan Monotheism in Late Antiquity". pp. 111ff.
^Obeid, Anis (2006). The Druze & Their Faith in Tawhid. Syracuse University Press. p. 1. ISBN 978-0-8156-5257-1. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
^Hayes, Christine (2012). "Understanding Biblical Monotheism". Introduction to the Bible. The Open Yale Courses Series. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. pp. 15–28. ISBN 9780300181791. JSTOR j.ctt32bxpm.6.
^References:
McDaniel, J. (2013-09-20). "A Modern Hindu Monotheism: Indonesian Hindus as 'People of the Book'". The Journal of Hindu Studies. 6 (3). Oxford University Press (OUP): 333–362. doi:10.1093/jhs/hit030. ISSN 1756-4255.
Zoroastrian Studies: The Iranian Religion and Various Monographs, 1928 – Page 31, A. V. Williams Jackson – 2003
Global Institutions of Religion: Ancient Movers, Modern Shakers – Page 88, Katherine Marshall – 2013
Ethnic Groups of South Asia and the Pacific: An Encyclopedia – Page 348, James B. Minahan – 2012
Monotheism is the belief that one god is the only deity. A distinction may be made between exclusive monotheism, in which the one God is a singular existence...
Babylonian captivity, eventually emerging as a firm religious movement of monotheism. With the Fall of Babylon, under influence of the Persian religion Zoroastrianism...
comprises a wide range of beliefs about God and Divinity, such as henotheism, monotheism, polytheism, panentheism, pantheism, pandeism, monism, agnosticism, atheism...
rituals. Polytheism is a type of theism. Within theism, it contrasts with monotheism, the belief in a singular God who is, in most cases, transcendent. In...
The People of Monotheism may translate several Arabic terms: Ahl al-Tawḥīd (Arabic: أهل التوحيد), a name the Druze use for themselves. Literally, "The...
A deity, or "god" (with lowercase g), refers to a supernatural being. Monotheism is the belief that there is only one deity, referred to as ‘’God’’ (with...
Moses and Monotheism (German: Der Mann Moses und die monotheistische Religion, lit. 'The man Moses and the monotheist religion') is a 1939 book about the...
تَوْحِيد, romanized: tawḥīd, lit. 'oneness [of God]') is the concept of monotheism in Islam. Tawhid is the religion's central and single most important concept...
periods of fidelity to Yahweh. Some scholars date the start of widespread monotheism to the 8th century BCE, and view it as a response to Neo-Assyrian aggression...
Criticism of monotheism has occurred throughout history. Critics have described monotheism as a cause of ignorance, oppression, and violence. David Hume...
conception of God that is found in classical theism—or conception found in monotheism—or gods found in polytheistic religions—or a belief in God or gods without...
the word, and Friedrich Welcker (1784–1868) used it to depict primitive monotheism among ancient Greeks. Max Müller (1823–1900), a German philologist and...
Ethical monotheism is a form of exclusive monotheism in which God is believed to be the only god as well as the source for one's standards of morality...
forms of persecution in the Netherlands. Judaism maintains a tradition of monotheism that excludes the possibility of a Trinity. In Judaism, God is understood...
of the Earth, world, and universe in human religion and mythology. In monotheism, the single God is often also the creator. A number of monolatristic traditions...
of monotheism has been noted by many scholars, including Jonathan Kirsch in his book God Against The Gods: The History of the War Between Monotheism and...
by some accounts, Yahweh-centric monolatry) and transitioned towards monotheism, where Yahweh was proclaimed as the creator deity and the only entity...
be loosely defined, as it is used by different belief systems. Under monotheism and polytheism this is clearly delineated. However, in pantheism and animism...
"like the rest of the Zoroastrian texts, the Old Avesta does not teach monotheism". However Sayem describes Zoroastrianism as one of the oldest monotheistic...
patronized, and the religion he attempted to establish, foreshadowing monotheism. The future Akhenaten was born Amenhotep, a younger son of pharaoh Amenhotep...
perhaps first used by Julius Wellhausen. Monolatry is distinguished from monotheism, which asserts the existence of only one god, and henotheism, a religious...
exist, but that only one of these deities may be validly worshipped. Monotheism is the belief that only one deity exists.[excessive citations] A monotheistic...
depicted religion as evolving with human culture, from polytheism to monotheism. The Religionsgeschichtliche Schule emerged at a time when scholarly study...
God's holiness. Isaiah 44:6 contains the first clear statement of Yahwist monotheism: "I am the first and I am the last; beside me there is no God". In Isaiah...
sense of human lifetime and human fate, in polytheistic religions. In monotheism, Time can still be personified, like Father Time. Huh Hemsut Shai Ikenga...
primary distinction between classical pagans and Christians was not one of monotheism versus polytheism, as not all pagans were strictly polytheist. Throughout...
Christians and Jews. Hanifs – native pre-Islamic Arabs who "professed a rigid monotheism" – are also sometimes listed alongside Jews and Christians in pre-Islamic...