These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'monotheism.' What Is The Difference Between “It’s” And “Its”? Monotheism is the belief in one god.

Send us feedback. Monotheism characterizes the traditions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and elements of the belief are discernible in numerous other religions. Monotheism is the view that there is only one such God. Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. The choice of either monotheism or polytheism, however, leads to problems, because neither can give a satisfactory answer to all questions that may reasonably be put.

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Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. When a few letters make a large difference. (Compare polytheism. To save this word, you'll need to log in. Learn a new word every day.

What made you want to look up monotheism? Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words? All rights reserved. ), The Most Epic Words You’re Probably Neglecting.

Monotheism is the belief that there is only one God in all places at all times. The soaring sublimity of the Moslem monotheism comes partly from its narrowness and abstractness. “Monotheism.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/monotheism. “Affect” vs. “Effect”: Use The Correct Word Every Time. The development of monotheism gave the problem a sharper point and a deeper meaning. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are all monotheistic religions. There were no gods of any kind that actually existed before God, and there will be no gods of any kind that actually exist after … Thus, monotheism is the belief in the existence of a single god. Monotheism is typically contrasted with polytheism (see below), which is a belief in many gods, and with atheism, which is an absence of any belief in any gods. The term monotheism comes from the Greek monos, (one) and theos (god). As such, it is distinguished from polytheism, the belief in the existence of many gods, from atheism, the belief that there is no god, and from agnosticism, the belief that the existence or nonexistence of a god or of gods is unknown or unknowable. Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free! the belief or doctrine that there is only one God, The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 13, No.

The weakness of polytheism is especially revealed in the realm of questions about the ultimate origin of things, whereas monotheism runs into difficulties in trying to answer the question concerning the origin of evil in a universe under the government of one god. Monotheism and polytheism are often thought of in rather simple terms—e.g., as merely a numerical contrast between the one and the many.

Delivered to your inbox! Monotheism definition, the doctrine or belief that there is only one God. The spectrum of views: monotheisms and quasi-monotheisms, Monotheistic elements in ancient Middle Eastern and Mediterranean religions, Monotheistic elements in Indian and Chinese religions, Kidipede History for Kids - Monotheism and Polytheism, Stanford Encyclopedia Of Philosophy - Monotheism, Jewish Virtual Library - Ethical Monotheism. Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible). the doctrine or belief that there is only one God. Get kids back-to-school ready with Expedition: Learn! There exists no historical material to prove that one system of belief is older than the other, although many scholars hold that monotheism is a higher form of religion and therefore must be a later development, assuming that what is higher came later.
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There is no valid reason to assume, for example, that monotheism is a later development in the history of religions than polytheism. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors.

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Monotheism definition is - the doctrine or belief that there is but one God.

Monotheism comes from the combination of the Greek prefixes monos-, “alone” or “single,” and theo-, “god.” Monotheism, belief in the existence of one god, or in the oneness of God.

Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020, Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition 10 Types Of Nouns Used In The English Language, A belief in one god. The question between polytheism and monotheism, which has loomed so large to some minds, never troubled him. The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition How to use monotheism in a sentence. Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

77, March, 1864. Monotheism is the belief in a single all-powerful god, as opposed to religions that believe in multiple gods. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins

The one and the many form no static contradistinction; there is, rather, a polarity and a dialectic tension between them.

A narrower definition of monotheism is the belief in the existence of only one god that created the world, is omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient, and intervenes in the world. Dictionary.com Unabridged

Professor of Science of Religions, State University of Groningen, The Netherlands. As such, it is distinguished from polytheism, the belief in the existence of many gods, from atheism, the belief that there is no god, and from agnosticism, the belief that the existence or nonexistence of … 1. monotheism - belief in a single God theism - the doctrine or belief in the existence of a God or gods Judaism - the monotheistic religion of the Jews having its spiritual and ethical principles embodied chiefly in the Torah and in the Talmud Because Judaism and Christianity are monotheistic religions, the monotheistic conception of the divine has assumed for Western culture the value of a self-evident axiom. There remains always an antithesis between the multiplicity of forms of the divine manifestations and the unity that can be thought or posited behind them. Monotheism is a religion or belief systemthat involves a single God.
See the full definition for monotheism in the English Language Learners Dictionary, Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for monotheism, Nglish: Translation of monotheism for Spanish Speakers, Britannica English: Translation of monotheism for Arabic Speakers, Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about monotheism. What Is The Difference Between “Furlough” vs. “Layoff”?

Absentee Ballot vs. Mail-In Ballot: Is There A Difference? Why Do “Left” And “Right” Mean Liberal And Conservative? That is, of course, with the proviso that your literary worship is not a monotheism.

The history of religions shows various efforts to combine unity and multiplicity in the conception of the divine. Author of. That's something that happens across all of Europe, across all of the world where, Those Jesuit scientist-adventurers reported to Rome that China was a brilliant civilisation whose traditions of ancestor worship and Confucian ethics were not pagan religious rites, but customs compatible with Christian, The opera is divided into three acts: first the pharaoh’s ascendency to the throne, then his embrace of, The pharaoh Akhenaten, reviled and stricken from official records for introducing, Post the Definition of monotheism to Facebook, Share the Definition of monotheism on Twitter, 9 Pairs of Words That Look the Same But Different. The monotheistic religions include the world's largest religions: Christianity,Judaism, Islam,and Sikhism.

Go ahead, test your mental legerity to see how many words you remember from last month! The history of religions, however, indicates many phenomena and concepts that should warn against oversimplification in this matter. The monotheism which we find in Greece and India generally took this form.

By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are widely practiced forms of monotheism. Monotheism, belief in the existence of one god, or in the oneness of God. After a brief discussion of monotheism’s historical origins, this entry looks at the five most … This unquestioned assumption becomes clear when it is realized that for Western culture there is no longer an acceptable choice between monotheism and polytheism but only a choice between monotheism, atheism, and agnosticism. Monotheists believe that this omnipotent, omniscient, ultimately good being is the creative ground for everything else. Moreover, it is not the oneness but the uniqueness of God that counts in monotheism; one god is not affirmed as the logical opposite of many gods but as an expression of divine might and power.