What is the name of a religion where there are many gods?

The religious worldview, which is called polytheism (“polytheism”), is based on a person’s belief that there are different deities. The origin of this term is associated with the Greek words “polis” - “many” and “theos” - “god”. It was first used by the Jewish writer Philo of Alexandria. After Christianity spread across the European continent and the Mediterranean region, the term “paganism” began to be used instead. The term "polytheism" was reintroduced into use by the French philosopher and politician Jean Bodin in his Heptaplomeres.

Polytheism is the belief of people in different gods

The Bible and polytheism

In the Holy Scriptures, the term “paganism” is used as a betrayal of the one God. Under King Solomon and the later rulers of Israel, Jews worshiped deities in sacred groves and mountains, including:

Chemos;
Astarte;
Moloch;
Dagon;
Baal.

The Old Testament says that the Jews turned away from the One God of Israel, for which they were punished. They were conquered by the pagans. The Assyrians captured the Northern Kingdom of Israel, and later the inhabitants of Judea submitted to the Babylonians, whom they captured and took away from their native land.

Several theories of the origin of polytheism

In Christianity, “polytheism” refers to the Fall. Until the 18th century, European philosophers mainly studied ancient mythology. Later, several theories emerged that explain that humans were originally polytheists. This idea was first proposed by the Scottish philosopher David Hume, who argued that "ignorant mankind" had believed in several different deities since primitive times. The formation of such a worldview was influenced by the “everyday affairs, hopes and fears” of people. The human mind has gradually evolved. Contemplating natural phenomena, the inhabitants of the Earth began to lean more and more towards the idea that all this was created by one God.

The studies of mythology by the German philosopher and writer Johann Herder and the Scottish poet James Macpherson led them to the conclusion that it was folk wisdom clothed in literary form.

In "Primitive Culture" by the British ethnographer Edward Tylor, which appeared in parallel with Darwin's "The Descent of Man", there is an assumption that primitive people tried to understand their dreams, as a result of which they concluded that there was a certain spirit that controlled everything, including living nature and material objects . Tylor believed that the “primary religion” became the ancestor of all other movements.

According to English religious scholar James Frazer, belief in the existence of supernatural forces led to the emergence of cults and magic.

The works of the German philosopher F. Schelling contain a definition of mythology as a natural religion, the emergence of truth in which was influenced by the natural civilizational process.

“Pre-logical” primitive thinking, according to anthropologist Lucien Lévy-Bruhl, is fundamentally different from the logic of modern people.

In the 20-volume “The Origin of the Idea of God” by the Austrian ethnographer W. Schmidt, primitive monotheism (proto-monotheism) is presented as the belief in a single Deity that originally existed throughout the entire Earth, who created all things. Later it was lost by people and became the basis for other polytheistic religious movements.

Polytheism has a mythological component in which the unconscious plays a major role.

Types of polytheism

Animism refers to a cult associated with animate objects.
Material things endowed with supernatural powers are the basis of fetishism.
A certain natural phenomenon, plant or animal could be related to a specific people - this is the essence of totemism.

Followers of zoolatry deify animals.
Planets, stars and other celestial bodies are objects of worship for adherents of Sabeanism.
Nature and the earth obey the chthonic gods, to whom people who believe in their existence pray.
Supporters of the cult of ancestors believe that relatives who have passed on to another world influence their lives.

The essence of polytheism

The different gods in polytheistic religions have a clear hierarchy. The power of each of them differs in its power. All of them have different appearances and govern in specific social and natural spheres:

They interact with each other. Each deity is characterized by individual preferences and character. They all obeyed the supreme god, but not the only one. Among the Sumerians, Slavs and ancient Egyptians it was the sun god; Greek and Roman deities were ruled by Zeus or Jupiter. The gods of one people could be recognized by another tribe.

In ancient times, polytheism was based on mythology, within which there were gods and heroes. There are several theogonic myths, which tell where the gods came from, and cosmogonic myths, which tell how the world came into being. Myths replaced ancient people:

Practical polytheism is based on rituals that help people establish contact with the gods and receive help from them. Gratitude to higher powers is offered in the form of a sacrifice. People who had knowledge of how to properly interact with deities and performed practical rituals had much more power than mere mortals. This is how magic appeared, which can be called part of polytheism, since the deities are closely related to nature, which obeys them. Communicating directly with one or another deity, the magician could influence the political, military and economic activities of his people, ensuring their success with the help of properly performed rituals.

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Currently, the church does not hesitate to preach obvious and undisguised polytheism, which is essentially no different from the pantheon of pagan gods of Ancient Greece or Ancient Rome. There, in addition to the supreme god, for example the Greek Zeus, there were also gods of lower rank, each responsible for his own “diocese”. Athena, who was part of the family of the 12 main Olympic gods of Greece, for example, patronized wisdom, science, art, Hades led the underground kingdom of the dead, Amphitrite was responsible for maritime affairs, Ares was the god of war and patronized warriors, Artemis helped childbirth, patronized flora and fauna, Hera preserved family foundations, patronized marriage and conjugal love, helped pregnant women and mothers, and so on.

Even a not very careful examination reveals the traditional use by the Christian Church of old pagan gods in the new cult and, at the same time, elementary idolatry and spirit worship of the pantheon of deities. For example, the pagan god Dionysus turns into the Christian Saint Dionysius, the god Demetrius turns into Saint Dmitry, the goddess Pallas Athena turns into Saint Palladia, the god Hermes becomes Saint Hermes, Nikon becomes Saint Nicanor, the nymph Aura Placida splits into Saint Aura and Saint Placida. The pagan liturgical formulas of the ancient world gave rise to other Christian saints: “ rogare et donare ” became the names of Saints Rogatian and Donatian, “ flore et lux ” became Saints Florus and Lucia, the wish “ perpetuum felicitate ” served as the basis for the names of Saints Perepetua and Felicity.

This fact was recognized by the Greek philosopher Porphyry (232-304). He wrote: “If you (Christians) say that with God stand angels, inaccessible to passions, immortal and incorruptible by nature, whom we (pagans) call gods due to their closeness to the deity, then is it worth arguing about the name, and there is no need Do you think that the difference is only in the name?

Christianity today says that God is one. But at the same time, the “one god” splits into the “holy trinity” - father, son and holy spirit. Somewhere nearby, but a little further apart and lower, stands the Virgin Mary. In addition to them, you can recruit a whole company of gods and deities of even lower rank - the vice of Elijah, for example - as well as countless numbers of “saints” and “saints”, “martyrs” and “great martyrs”, “new martyrs” and “passion-bearers”, etc. d. etc. They, like the ancient gods of the second row, each have their own “diocese”: some patronize the military, some specifically only paratroopers, some sailors, some women in labor, some travelers, and so on, and so on, and so on...

Christianity entirely inherited from Judaism the entire complex hierarchy of heavenly inhabitants that is found in the Old Testament. The Christian teaching about the hierarchy of “higher powers” is presented in most detail in the work of pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite “On the Heavenly Hierarchy.” Many Christian customs and liturgies arose under the influence of his teachings. Dionysius names nine angelic ranks, three classes of three ranks each. First class: seraphim, cherubim and thrones. Second class: domination, strength and power. Third class: beginnings, archangels and angels. However, this is not a final gradation, since Dionysius says that “how many ranks of heavenly Beings, what they are and how their secret orders are carried out - knows this exactly, as I think, only God, the Author of their Hierarchy.” Irenaeus of Lyons also recognizes a multi-level supermundane hierarchy in his work “Proof of the Apostolic Preaching.” He writes: “The world is surrounded by seven heavens, in which dwell the powers and angels and archangels, performing the service of worship of God Almighty and Creator of all.”

The church father Origen from the distant 3rd century AD instructs us about the diversity of gods and the specifics of using their names. “These names (of powers, archangels, angels), if they are spoken in the proper and proper order and sequence, have special power. But other names, if they are pronounced in Egyptian, have their effect on certain daimons (demigods), whose power extends only to objects specific to them; and other names, if they are spoken in Persian, have power over completely different spirits, and so among every people names are adapted for certain needs. And in this case, it turns out that the daimons on earth and who have received various places as their inheritance are assigned (established) names according to local and tribal dialects.” But what kind of inheritance do the demigods get into their possession? And Origen answers this question by referring to a famous quote from the Bible (Deuteronomy 32:8-9).

The Church has long realized that it preaches polytheism and, without advertising this sad fact for it, tries in every possible way to obscure it with verbiage. Even at the dawn of Christianity, the theologian Macarius wrote: “Honoring the saints as faithful servants, saints and friends of God, the holy church at the same time calls on them in prayers not as any gods who can help us with their own power, but as our representatives before God - the only source and the dispenser of all gifts and mercies to creatures, as our representatives and intercessors, having the power of intercession from Christ.” As they say, the same eggs, only a side view. These words in no way detract from the divine character of the “saints” mentioned. After all, both the Roman and Greek lower gods were called advokati (intercessors), tutelares (patrons) and interctssores (intermediaries). The Apostle Paul called Jesus the mediator between God and man (1 Tim. 2:5).

But what is decisive is not the name of the deity, but his functions and the cult given to him. In this respect, Christian “saints” are the same gods. Their icons hang in churches next to the icons of Jesus. They are the same ethereal, supernatural beings who have a special influence on the destinies of people. Altars and temples are erected for them, they receive candles and incense, church hymns are sung to them and prayers are addressed, and gifts are presented. Church holidays are held in their honor. On the day of their memory, a “bloodless sacrifice” is made in churches. Night vigils are held in their honor. Consequently, today there is no fundamental difference between God and a “saint”. I think the reader will agree with me.

In order not to bore the reader, in support of what has been said, I will very briefly cite the “life” of only one “saint,” St. George the Victorious. According to church legend, George was born around 280 AD in the city of Cappadocia, in Asia Minor, into a noble Christian family. He entered military service with the Romans. In the wars with the Persians he commanded a cohort and showed amazing courage. When Emperor Diocletian began to fight Christianity, George did not renounce his faith, for which he endured “great torment.” They pressed him down with a heavy stone, covered him in a pit with quicklime for three days, put red-hot iron boots on his feet, etc. and so on. But that's not the main thing. Having suffered enough, George miraculously acquired the ability to resurrect the dead and heal the sick. He even expelled the demons from their temple of Apollo (pagan!!!). In the end, on the orders of Diocletian, his head was cut off. But, as they say, “nothing on earth passes without a trace.” George’s faithful servant, Pasikrates, who remained faithful to his master to the end, and was personally present at his exploits, torments, miracles and death, “reliably” described everything he saw. He also transferred George’s body to Palestine and buried it in the city of Lydda (Lod). But that's not all! From the holy relics of George (this means someone dug up his grave, pulled out and dismembered his decaying corpse?!) many people received healing and help. Well, tell me, dear reader, what’s not a mini-Jesus? And such “saints” in the Christian pantheon are not companies, but battalions and divisions! After reading this, you somehow begin to be suspicious of the Gospel story about Jesus Christ.

At the same time, in Byzantium, in Rus' and in other countries, there was a separate legend, “The Miracle of George about the Serpent.”

It is necessary to say about one more side of the myth about the “saints”, more precisely, about the “holy relics”. The reader, I think, has seen more than once or twice on TV a priest or a “democrat” who, with angelic faces, spoke about the inhumane attitude of the communists towards their leader: they did not bury him, but put him on public display; it is necessary to bury, to bury the mortal body in the earth. What do they do themselves? Today, Christians do not just flaunt, but kiss and drag mummified parts of human corpses around cities and towns, passing them off as “holy relics.” Moreover, the holy church is not at all embarrassed by the sad fact that the parts of corpses attributed to this or that “saint” far exceed all conceivable limits. I will cite the calculations of the researcher Lalanne, carried out by him back in 1847. According to his information, at that time in the Christian world there were bodies: George the Victorious - 30, Prophet Isaiah - 3, John the Baptist - 10, Apostle Peter - 16, Evangelist Luke - 8, Evangelist Matthew - 5, Apostle Andrew - 5; heads: Evangelist Luke – 9, Evangelist Matthew – 8, Apostle Andrew – 6; other parts of the body: the Apostle Paul - 18, the Apostle Andrew - 17, John Chrysostom - 15, John the Baptist - 11, the Evangelist Matthew - 12, and so on, and so on, and so on... In this incomplete list I have given only the names of the most famous "saints". Naturally, the church is categorically against genetic analysis of the remains: one must believe, not identify! As in the case of the Shroud of Turin.

It should be noted that the Jews acted much more decently: if their Abraham, Jacob, Isaac, Moses and the great prophets are buried unknown, then they do not make a mouse fuss with their “relics”.

Modern polytheism

Buddhism

In Buddhism there is the concept of "Devas". This is how the followers of this religious movement call their “deities” who live in “devaloka”. Numerous creatures belonging to different classes and worlds live there. The less position a deity occupies, the closer it is to man.

The only goal of a Buddhist is complete deliverance from the suffering of samsara and the achievement of nirvana.

Jainism

The main task of a follower of this religious movement is liberation from samsara. Jainism has gathered numerous gods under one “roof”, but the main ones are considered to be:

They have freed themselves from inner passions and exist with an enlightened consciousness. The highest goal of a follower of Jainism is to become a genie (victor). Deities who have wasted positive karma are reborn into other beings.

In Jainism, there are yakshas and yakshinis - “vyantaras” (wandering gods) who have supernatural powers, including the ability to change shape and size. Vyanthars are surrounded by a certain genie when he leads his earthly life. These deities accompany the births and deaths of samsara.

Characteristics of animism

Animism is the belief in the existence of spirits, souls, and the spirituality of nature. The term "animism" comes from the Latin word anima and means "spirit, soul"

. This term was first proposed by the English ethnographer E.B. Taylor. According to Taylor, animism is the initial form of religion. The religious beliefs of animism are that there are certain deities that control the process of less developed living beings, there are spirits, souls, and also many lives through which something indestructible passes, changing forms. According to the scientist, animism originates in the “philosophizing of the primitive savage,” who became interested in such phenomena as sleep, dreaming, death, and so on.

Here we should consider the question: how, in fact, does a person differ from an animal?

This is interesting

How is a person different from an animal?

In school biology lessons we often heard that man is the king among animals. This opinion is actively supported by many modern scientists. Just by briefly looking at the results of his “reign,” we can easily see what successes the man achieved during his reign. Enormous damage caused to the surrounding nature, hundreds of exterminated species of animals and as many more on the verge of extinction... It is difficult to imagine that any ruler is capable of deliberately destroying his kingdom, so the logical question becomes, how is a person different from an animal, and are we so different? from our smaller brothers? And if so, then with what?

By and large, there are not many differences, and one of them is that a person is aware of his mortality. And this makes him look for answers to questions. And this is another difference between a person and an animal: he is not satisfied with the instinctive existence inherent in nature, he strives for self-knowledge. And it was the emergence of such a quality as the desire for self-knowledge that, most likely, once became the beginning of human evolution, when a certain spiritual principle awakened in him.

So, from the point of view of animism, everything has its own soul. Both man and stone are both living beings. And as the above scientists could see, this statement is not without truth. So E.F. Karsky said that the reason for the emergence of such an initial form of religion as animism was that when the Slav realized himself not only as a physical body, but also as a soul, he, by analogy, endowed the entire world around him with this quality.

And can we say that the Slavic idea that everything around is alive is false? Based on the findings of scientists, for example, about how water and plants react to words. How much evidence is there already that plants are able to hear, see, think and communicate with each other?

Based on this, we can say that animism is not just a primitive religion, it is one of the first stages of human spiritual development. After all, if a person begins to understand that around him there are not just pieces of matter that can be used at his own discretion, but living beings, then this takes his relationship with the outside world to a qualitatively new level. The main principle of the life of our ancestors said: “Live according to conscience, in harmony with nature.” And in philosophy, animism is not just some kind of belief in spirits, it is precisely the understanding that the material world is far from being so material, as they say, to the core.

The term "animism" opens up to us a deeper philosophy, a deeper perception of reality. Yes, to some extent it can be said that the concept of animism and its origin is largely connected, for example, with a lack of understanding of certain phenomena, when the property of “wrath of the gods” was attributed to an ordinary thunderstorm, and so on.

The development of society and science, the understanding of many processes have given us answers to many questions, but this does not negate the relevance of the basic idea of animism, which is that the world around us is alive, especially since modern scientific discoveries only confirm this.

POLYTHEISM

(gr. - polytheism) - worship of several gods. Each god has his own name, his own appearance, his own history, performs his own function in people’s lives, and people perform special rituals in relation to him. The gods were associated with different types of human activities, different areas of life and problems. Polytheism was the third stage in the evolution of people's religious ideas: before it there was belief in spirits (totemism), then animism. Polytheism was the basis of paganism. Monotheism (monotheism) arose within polytheism, finally winning with the advent of the God-man Jesus Christ to earth.

See what POLYTHEISM is in other dictionaries:

POLYTHEISM

(Polytheism). This is the name given to belief in many different gods, i.e. polytheism. Polytheism formally differs from pantheism, i.e. belief in an impersonal God. look

POLYTHEISM

POLYTHEISM (from the Greek polys - many and theos - God) polytheism, the veneration of several or many gods. The opposite is monotheism. Philosophical en. look

POLYTHEISM

(Greek, Lat. polytheism). Ancient P. was not a further development of prehistoric. polydaemonism, but the result of historical. connections of individual villages. look

POLYTHEISM

(from Poly. and Greek theós - god) polytheism, veneration of many gods. P. arose in early class society; it developed from polydemonism - revered. look

POLYTHEISM

(Greek polytheism) pagan belief in the plurality of gods, existing separately and independently of each other and not merging with the nature of the Universe. Poly. look

POLYTHEISM

Polytheism is the belief in several or many gods. The opposite of monotheism is monotheism. Polytheism is an early form of religious consciousness, it. look

POLYTHEISM

1) Spelling of the word: polytheism2) Stress in the word: polytheism3) Division of the word into syllables (word hyphenation): polytheism4) Phonetic transcription. look

POLYTHEISM

Polytheism (poly... + Greek theos - god) - polytheism, belief in many gods. Large explanatory dictionary of cultural studies..Kononenko B.I..2003. Synonyms. look

POLYTHEISM

polytheism religion, polytheism, paganism. Ant. monotheism Dictionary of Russian synonyms. polytheism see polytheism Dictionary of synonyms of the Russian language. Pra. look

POLYTHEISM

(Polytheism; Polytheismus) - belief in several gods or worship of several gods instead of one. Jung used this concept within the historical con. look

POLYTHEISM

(from the Greek πολί - many and θεος - god) - “polytheism”, belief in many gods as opposed to monotheism - monotheism. On the opposing views of Hume and. look

POLYTHEISM

Polytheism (from the Greek πολί - many and θεος - god) - “polytheism”, belief in many gods as opposed to monotheism - monotheism. About opposing views. look

POLYTHEISM

(Greek poly many and theos god) polytheism, the worship of several gods as opposed to monotheism (monotheism). Occurs during the decomposition of primitive look

POLYTHEISM

-a, m. book. A religion that recognizes the existence of many gods; polytheism; opposite monotheism. [From Greek. πολύ a lot and θεός - god] Synonyms: polytheists. look

POLYTHEISM

polytheism, polytheisms, polytheism, polytheisms, polytheism, polytheisms, polytheism, polytheisms, polytheism, polytheisms, polytheisms. look

POLYTHEISM

Stress in the word: polyte`izmStress falls on the letter: iUnstressed vowels in the word: polyte`izm

POLYTHEISM

(Greek, polytheism): a system of religious ideas based on belief in many gods. Hinduism is a polytheistic religion. look

POLYTHEISM

polytheismפּוֹלִיתֵיאִיזם ז'* * *אמונה באלים רביםפוליתאיזםSynonyms: polytheism, religion, paganism

Living and inanimate nature

However, let's return to our question: what can be considered alive and what not? Plants that are spoken to kindly grow faster and produce more flowers; Water over which pleasant words are spoken becomes healing. What if it turns out that stones can move? No, not in the back of a KamAZ, but fully, like living beings.

This phenomenon was discovered on the dried-up lake Racetrack Playa in Death Valley. Imagine the bottom of a long-dried lake, along which... stones are moving. No, of course, not at such a speed that it could be seen, but... this is what it looks like:

The stones do not move constantly, but a couple of times a year or less. But traces of movement remain for a long time, and it is through these traces that their movement can be tracked.

And although scientists find explanations for such movements that this is the result of sliding on the surface of ice in winter, there is no doubt that the world around us can manifest itself as a real living organism. Thus, the world around us is alive

. And our ancestors knew about this more than us, but we will talk about this a little later.