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Polytheism
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Polytheism is belief in, or worship of, multiple gods or divinities. The word comes from the Greek words [P]oly+theoi, literally "many gods." Most ancient religions were polytheistic, holding to pantheons of traditional deities, often accumulated over centuries of cultural interchange and experience. Present-day polytheistic religions include Hinduism (but see below); Shinto; some forms of Wicca; Vodun; and Asatru. Buddhism is regarded by some non-practioners as polytheistic although this view of the religion is rejected by most believers. Some Jewish and Islamic scholars regard the Christian doctrine of the trinity as bordering on polytheism, a view that Christians in general strongly reject.
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Polytheism is belief in or worship of multiple gods or deities. The word comes from the Greek words [P]oly theoi, literally "many gods." Ancient Greek and Roman religions were polytheistic, holding to a pantheon of traditional deities. Polytheism is in most cases the origin of later monotheism, where one of the divinities becomes the only worshipped one.
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Polytheism means a religious situation which allows for the worship of several gods. This idea is not, of itself, a new one. In fact polytheism has probably been around longer than monotheism (a scenario where the existence of only one god is admitted to). The ancient Greeks had a polytheistic religion, as did the Norse. Hinduism is an example of a polytheistic religion that is still upheld in many parts of the world. Religions which cast heavenly bodies or natural phenomena as divine spirits are polytheistic as well, since they allow for the worship of more than one entity.
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Polytheism eventually gave rise to some inevitable but uncomfortable questions. Who is the most powerful of the deities? Which one of them came first? Who created the others? After initial jostling Varun, who was then considered as the deity of the heavens, became the leader. In a sense this was natural because the sky is all encompassing and oversees the movements of the heavenly bodies.
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Polytheism is viewed by many monotheists as a form of idolatry. Monotheists argue that all power comes from God alone, and not from any other supernatural gods or agents. If polytheistic theories are correct, then "God" is, at best, merely the strongest of the gods; such a being might not have omnipotence, and ... such a god might not have a sovereign will. As monotheists believe God is the only god, they generally considered it sinful to endorse polytheism.
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Polytheism cannot be cleanly separated from the animist beliefs prevalent in most ethnic religions. The gods of polytheism are in many cases the highest order of a continuum of supernatural beings or spirits, which may include ancestors), demons, wights and others. In some cases these spirits are divided into celestial or chthonic classes, and belief in the existence of all these beings does not imply that all are worshipped.
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Polytheism