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-isms of Beliefs and ReligionsToday, with the great variety of pagan paths, whether they are traditional or new, it may be a bit confusing if you are asked what kind of –ism your faith follows. Many may say that they are polytheists and leave it at that, even though they in academic reality probably would be seen as bitheists or, in some cases, even inclusive monotheists. So, divulge yourselves in my short guide to –isms of beliefs and discover things about your faith that you may not have known before. The Four Main Stances on Belief 1 Atheism Atheism is the denial of the existence of gods or higher powers. This can be an active belief, when one affirms the belief that no god/gods exists, or a more passive non-belief, these different kinds of atheism is sometimes referred to as strong- respectively weak atheism. Although atheism seems simple to grasp at first, some world religions could actually be called atheistic since they don’t believe in a personal god / personal gods, for example Buddhism. I’ve also encountered neo-pagans, wiccans to be more precise, that have stated that they are atheists, considering the deities to be psychological archetypes á la Carl Gustav Jung. 2 Agnosticism Agnosticism is the belief that you can’t know if deity/deities exists or not, and if they do you can’t acquire knowledge of them. 3 Theism (and deism) Theism is the belief in at least one distinct, personal, deity that acts within its/their creation. In this case, personal means that the deity is aware of itself as one entity. Deism is quite similar to theism, it too is the belief in at least one distinct deity, but what sets it apart from theism is that the deity/deities never act beyond creation. 3.1 Monotheism Monotheism is the belief that only one single deity exists and that the deity takes active part of his/her creation. This is the most well known kind of faith and most associate it with the three Abrahamitic religions; Judaism, Christianity and Islam. But some kinds of Goddess worship are just as monotheistic, and one of the earliest occurrences of monotheistic worship if found in ancient Egypt where Aten was worshipped as the only god for a brief period of time. Monotheism can be divided into two subcategories: 3.1.1 Inclusive Monotheism The belief in one, single deity; all other deities are only other names for the single, true deity. 3.1.2 Exclusive Monotheism The belief in one, single deity; all other deities are false; either demonic, made up or misconceptions. Instances of both these subcategories can be found in for example Christianity. 3.2 Bitheism Bitheism is the belief that there are two equal deities who exist in harmony. They often have harmonious polarities, like one being female and the other male. Wiccans who believe in the Lord and Lady (and that all other deities just are aspects of them) could be labeled bitheists. 3.3 Ditheism Ditheism is the belief that there are two equal deities who exist in constant strife and rivalry. Ditheistic polarities are mostly divided into the concepts of “good” and “evil” and one deity is thus considered evil and her/his counterpart as good. 3.4 Polytheism Polytheists believe in several deities. Polytheistic deities are often limited and not all-seeing or all-mighty. Polytheism can be divided into two subgroups: 3.4.1 Strong Polytheism The belief that the deities are separate and distinctive individuals. 3.4.2 Weak Polytheism The belief that the deities are parts of a greater whole. Most pagans consider themselves polytheists; traditional/reconstructional pagans are mostly adherents of strong polytheism, while many neo-pagans see the different gods as aspects of a greater whole. Hinduism is mostly seen as polytheistic; while this is true of a number of Hindu beliefs, it’s not the only world view held by Hindus, some other beliefs found in Hinduism is for example both monotheism and pantheism. 3.5 Henotheism Henotheists worship or follow one deity while acknowledging the existence of other deities. Traditional pagans (i.e. pagans who are trying to reconstruct an old faith) are often henotheists. 3.6 Monolatrism Monolatry is similar to henotheism in that you worship or follow one deity while acknowledging that there are others, but differ by considering the worshipped deity to be the only deity worthy of worship. It is speculated that the ancient Israelites actually were monolatrists and that their faith changed into monotheism at a later stage, influenced by the Aten-worship of Egypt. 3.7 (Mono)deism This belief is similar to monotheism in that there is one single, distinct deity. The difference is that the monodeistic deity created the world but who doesn’t act within her/his creation. The deity has left her/his creation with natural laws to self-govern any actions within it. (Mono)deism is a quite young belief-set that first emerged in the seventeenth century during the scientific revolution, and it became more widely spread during the enlightenment in the eighteenth century. Thus, it is mostly found among certain varieties of Christianity. There could also be Polydeism, but so far I’ve only encountered it as a theoretical construction. Any polydeists out there, please drop me an email and tell me more. 4 Spiritual, non-theistic beliefs 4.1 Pantheism Pantheism is the belief that the whole nature, world or universe is inhabited by a non-personal, spiritual entity, all is one, and nothing exists outside of this reality. Examples of spiritual paths that could be described as pantheistic are Kabalistic Judaism, some forms of Hinduism, some forms of Neo-Paganism and New Age (although that term is vague or mulit-faceted and not always accepted by those whom academics would name as New Age-followers). 4.2 Panentheism Panentheism is the belief that the whole nature, world or universe is inhabited by a non-personal, spiritual entity, all is one and that this entity goes on without end beyond this reality and time. The material world is but one part of the deity, a part that is manifested. Many Native American nations, Neoplatonists and Hermeticists are examples of panentheists. 4.3 Pandeism This is the belief that the whole nature, world or universe is created by a non-personal, spiritual entity, all is one, and nothing exists outside of this reality. This sounds as pantheism, but what sets the two apart is that deity is aware of itself in its state as a manifest universe in pantheism and might act within it, but in pandeism, the deity isn’t aware of its current state as a manifest universe. It is also implied that deity can or will go back to its state as a singular deity as it was before the creation of universe. To package it more neatly: deity was aware, created universe out of itself and as deity became manifest, and to some extent divided, it also became unaware of itself. 4.4 Animism Animism is the belief that everything in the world is inhabited by a spirit. Unlike the case with pan-/panentheism, these spirits are not part of a greater whole, but singular distinct entities. Animistic beliefs often exist within or alongside other sets of beliefs. Examples of faiths with a strong presence of animism are Shinto, European Paganism and Hinduism. Religion/Faith is a Tricky Subject Maybe my short introduction to –isms of belief made something clearer, but they might also have left you with new questions. The nature of human behavior is not to be clear cut and neither are her beliefs. In some cases terms might seem interchangeable, for example inclusive monotheism – weak polytheism, in others combinable, as mentioned are many polytheists also animists to name but one. But still, to be able to label your belief at least to some extent, hopefully makes easier to discuss the nature of belief and faiths, whether that discussion takes place among individuals with similar views or others with quite different opinions. I’ve also written this short guide to be a companion to other texts that are, or will be, published here on my site. Sources Wikipedia.org, accessed 2-3/2 2009 Nordisk Familjebok, Uggleupplagan, 1904-1926. |