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 | At first glance, a person who is investigating the entire "God" concept for the first time might conclude that all of these diverse deities are purely human creations. That is: God did not create humanity -- humanity created Gods. |
| However, in practice, most people believe that the God or Goddess or Gods or Goddesses of their faith tradition is or are real, whereas all of the thousands of other deities are human creations, who are nonexistent, except in the minds of humans. |
Beliefs about deity cover a wide range, including:
| Agnosticism: having reached no conclusion whether God exists. (See Agnosticism) | ||||||
| Animism. The belief that all entities have life force, a soul or mind. For example, rocks, trees and mountains have an awareness of their surroundings: (e.g. Native aboriginal religions). | ||||||
| Atheism:
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| Deism: The belief that God exists, but is remote, unknowable and uninvolved. They believe that God created the universe, set it going, left, but has not taken an active interest in it since. This was a popular belief among intellectuals during and after the American revolution. It shows up in the U.S. Declaration of Independence, and its references to to "Nature's God," and "Creator." It is a rapidly growing believe today. | ||||||
| Duotheism (a.k.a. Bitheism): belief in a dual divinity: (e.g. Wicca and Zoroastrianism). In the case of Wicca, one deity is female, the other male; in Zoroastrianism one is all good while the other is all evil. | ||||||
| Henotheism. belief in many deities of which only one is
the supreme deity. This may involve:
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| Monism: The belief that what people perceive as deity, humanity and the rest of the universe is in fact all of one substance - that divisions among the body, mind, flesh, spirit, material, physical are not real. All are simply aspects of one being. | ||||||
| Monotheism: The belief in a single God. Examples include Islam, Judaism, and Sikhism). Within Christianity, most denominations consider themselves to be monotheistic, even though they teach the existence of three separate persons in the Trinity. Some believe that religiously inspired violence is often found among monotheists. | ||||||
| Panentheism: The belief that the entire universe -- substances, forces and laws -- is God; the universe is God's body. God transcends the universe as well. (e.g. some components of New Age belief). | ||||||
| Pantheism: The belief that every existing entity (humans, animals, etc.) together, is a part of God. They do not see God as having a personality, the ability to make decisions, etc. Rather, God is the very spiritual essence of the entire universe. | ||||||
| Polytheism: belief in many Gods and Goddesses: (e.g. various Neopagan religions. Hinduism is often looked upon in the west as a polytheistic religion). | ||||||
| Trinity: belief in a single deity who has three aspects (e.g. historical Christianity, whose members generally believe in Trinity formed by a Father, Son and Holy Spirit who they view as being a single entity). Christians often look upon God as being omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent and omnibeneficient (all knowing, all powerful, all present and all good.) Some liberal Christians believe that such a list of attributes is logically contradictory. |
Many specific denominations and faith groups are difficult to categorize. For example, a religion might teach the belief in a single God, and a large number of minor deities, heroes, or saints who have some powers normally restricted to deities. It might be considered a monotheistic religion in theory or a polytheistic/henotheistic religion in practice.
This essay continues below.
Sponsored link:
Faith groups' beliefs about other topics:
There is essentially no consensus among religions on any factor related to:
| religious belief, ritual, organization |
| family structure |
| personal sexual behavior |
Some examples (in alphabetic order) are:
| Abortion: allowed, prohibited, allowed under some circumstances |
| Adult celibacy: encouraged, accepted, discouraged |
| Afterlife: unknown, heaven/hell, purgatory, limbo, reincarnation, transmigration of the soul, nirvana. |
| Animal sacrifices: common, rare, prohibited |
| Appearance: no real rules, beard, shave, no makeup, no jewelry |
| Artificial birth control: forbidden, ignored, encouraged |
| Calendars: Gregorian (secular calendar), Julian, various moon or sun-based calendars |
| Clergy celibacy: required, optional, discouraged |
| Clergy gender: male only, female only, either |
| Clergy present: yes, no |
| Days for rituals: daily, Saturday, Sunday, special days, full moons, new moons, equinoxes, solstices... |
| Documentation: oral tradition, written tradition, combination |
| Family organization: male has power; power shared |
| Family types: nuclear, extended, polygamous, intentional community |
| Gender of deities: all male, all female, both genders, no gender |
| Homosexual orientation: eligible/not eligible for membership & clergy; eligible/not eligible for union ceremonies; disordered, sinful, morally neutral. |
| Meeting place: church, synagogue, mosque, temple, outside in nature, room |
| Nature of deities: permeates universe, remote, intimate, within |
| Nature of humanity: inherently sinful; naturally good |
| New Year: Jan 1, Jan 14, Spring Equinox, May 18, Sep 14, Nov. 1... |
| Number of deities: 0,1,2, trinity, many |
| Origin of the universe: belief in Evolution, belief in a creation story |
| Prayer: encouraged, non-existent; at defined times of the day, while alone, while in groups |
| Premarital sex: encouraged, forbidden, tolerated |
| Religious calendar: lunar, solar, mixed |
| Role of women: equal, restricted, superior |
| Sacred texts: inerrant, contain mistakes and ignorable items, none (oral tradition) |
| Surgical modifications: none allowed, circumcision of males, female genital mutilation |
| Special clothing: kirpan, turban, temple undergarments, yarmulke, tallith, tefillin, phylacteries, rosary, tasbih, takiyah... |
| Symbols: cross, crucifix, fish, 5 pointed star, 6 pointed star, 8 spoked wheel, crescent, goat head... |
Related section of this web site:
| Comparing different religions and faith groups. |
|
Home page > Christianity > Christian personalities > God > here |
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or Home page > Religious information > God > here |
|
or Home page > Religious information > here |
|
or Home page > Spirituality > God > here |
|
or Home page > Comparison of religions > here |
Copyright ©1996 to 2006 by Ontario Consultants on
Religious Tolerance
Latest update: 2006-JUN-08
Author: B.A. Robinson
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