Religion Encyclopedia

In theology, monotheism (from Greek μόνος "one" and θεός "god") is the belief in the existence of one deity, or in the oneness of God. In a Western context, the concept of "monotheism" tends to be dominated by the concept of the god of the Abrahamic religions and the Platonic concept of God as put forward by Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite.

The concept of monotheism has largely been defined in contrast with polytheistic religions, and monotheism tends to overlap with other Unitary concepts, such as monism.

Whereas monotheism is a self-description of religions subsumed under this term, there is no equivalent self-description for polytheist religions: monotheism asserts itself by opposing polytheism, while polytheism does not use the same argumentative device, as it includes a concept of divine unity despite worshipping a plethora of gods. By the same token, monotheistic religions may still include concepts of a plurality of the divine, for example the Trinity, in which God is one Being in three Personal dimensions (the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit). Additionally, Christians believe Jesus to have two natures (Divine and Human), each possessing the full attributes of that nature, without mixture or intermingling of those attributes. Although Christian theology reserves worship for the Divine, the distinction between worshipping the Divine nature of Jesus but not the human nature of Jesus can be difficult for non-Christians (and even Christian laity) to follow.

Christians of a catholic tradition venerate the Saints among them Mary as human beings that had remarkable qualities, have lived their faith in God to the extreme and continue to assist in the process of salvation for others.

[This article has used small or large portions from the essay Monotheism, and is therefore is in GFDL copyright. All pictures without the name of the photographer are also in GFDL. Pictures with photographer names are under various copyright provisions.]

written by DRSC