Monotheistic

Monotheism is the belief that one God is the only, or at least the dominant deity. Cross, F.L.; Livingstone, E.A., eds. (1974). "Monotheism". The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (2 ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. A distinction may be made between exclusive monotheism, in which the one God is a singular existence, and both inclusive and pluriform monotheism, in which multiple gods or godly forms are recognized, but each are postulated as extensions of the same God.

Monotheism is distinguished from henotheism, a religious system in which the believer worships one god without denying that others may worship different gods with equal validity, and monolatrism, the recognition of the existence of many gods but with the consistent worship of only one deity. The term '' monolatry'' was perhaps first used by Julius Wellhausen.

Monotheism characterizes the traditions of Abrahamic religions such as Judaism, Samaritanism, Christianity,Christianity's status as monotheistic is affirmed in, among other sources, the '' Catholic Encyclopedia'' (article
Monotheism
"); William F. Albright, ''From the Stone Age to Christianity''; H. Richard Niebuhr; About.com
''Monotheistic Religion resources''
; Kirsch, ''God Against the Gods''; Woodhead, ''An Introduction to Christianity''; The Columbia Electronic Encyclopediabr>''Monotheism''
; The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy
''monotheism''
New Dictionary of Theology

, pp. 496–499; Meconi. "Pagan Monotheism in Late Antiquity". pp. 111ff. Islam, the Baha'i Faith and the early derivatives of these faiths, including Druzism.

Other early monotheistic traditions include Atenism of ancient Egypt, Platonic and Neoplatonic belief in the Monad, Mandaeism, Manichaeism, Waaqeffanna, and Zoroastrianism.

Monotheistic traditions from post-antiquity and the early modern period comprise Deism, Yazidism, and Sikhism, with varying degrees of influence from Abrahamic monotheism. Many new religious movements are monotheistic such as Bábism, the Baháʼí Faith, Seicho-No-Ie, and Tenrikyo.

Narrow monotheism and wide monotheism exist on a spectrum of belief. Narrow monotheism holds that only one exclusive deity exists, disallowing others, while wide monotheism acknowledges one supreme deity and permits lesser deities. Elements of wide monotheistic thought are found in early religions such as
ancient Chinese religion, Tengrism, and Yahwism.

Etymology and usage

The word '' monotheism'' was coined from the Greek (''monos'') meaning "single" and (''theos'') meaning "god". The term was coined by Henry More (1614–1687).

Monotheism is a complex and nuanced concept. The biblical authors had various ways of understanding God and the divine, shaped by their historical and cultural contexts. The notion of monotheism that is used today was developed much later, influenced by the Enlightenment and Christian views. Many definitions of monotheism are too modern, western, and Christian-centered to account for the diversity and complexity of the ancient sources, which include not only the biblical texts, but also other writings, inscriptions, and material remains that help reconstruct the ancient beliefs and practices of the people of Judah and Israel.

The term "monotheism" is often contrasted with " polytheism", but many scholars prefer other terms such as monolatry, henotheism, or one-god discourse.

History

Quasi-monotheistic claims of the existence of a universal deity date to the Late Bronze Age, with Akhenaten's '' Great Hymn to the Aten'' from the 14th century BCE. Some 19th–20th century liberal or skeptical scholars proposed that ancient Israelite religion only gradually evolved into monotheism during or after the Babylonian Exile, influenced by Zoroastrianism. However, archaeological discoveries—such as the city of Ur of the Chaldees, long dismissed by these critics—have vindicated the biblical account of early monotheistic patriarchs like Abraham, supporting a much earlier date for Israelite monotheism.

In the Iron-Age South Asian Vedic period, a possible inclination towards monotheism emerged. The Rigveda exhibits notions of monism of the Brahman, particularly in the comparatively late tenth book, which is dated to the early Iron Age, e.g. in the Nasadiya Sukta. Later, ancient Hindu theology was monist, but was not strictly monotheistic in worship because it still maintained the existence of many gods, who were envisioned as aspects of one supreme God, Brahman.

In China, the orthodox faith system held by most dynasties since at least the Shang dynasty (1766 BCE) until the modern period centered on the worship of '' Shangdi'' (literally "Above Sovereign", generally translated as "God") or Heaven as an omnipotent force.Homer H. Dubs, "Theism and Naturalism in Ancient Chinese Philosophy", ''Philosophy of East and West'', Vol. 9, No. 3/4, 1959 However, this faith system was not truly monotheistic since other lesser gods and spirits, which varied with locality, were also worshipped along with ''Shangdi''. Still, later variants such as Mohism (470 BCE–c.391 BCE) approached true monotheism, teaching that the function of lesser gods and ancestral spirits is merely to carry out the will of ''Shangdi'', akin to the angels in Abrahamic religions which in turn counts as only one god.

Since the sixth century BCE, Zoroastrians have believed in the supremacy of one God above all: Ahura Mazda as the "Maker of All" and the first being before all others. The prophet Zoroaster is credited with the founding of the first monotheistic religion in history sometime as early as the middle of the second millennium BCE, leaving a lasting influence on other belief systems such as Second Temple Judaism and, through it, on later monotheistic religions. Scholars are conflicted whether Zoroastrianism is best characterized as monotheistic, polytheistic, or henotheistic religion due to the centrality of Ahriman as a component or opposite force of Ahura Mazda.

Post-exilic Judaism, after the late 6th century BCE, was the first religion to conceive the notion of a personal monotheistic God within a monist context. The concept of ethical monotheism, which holds that morality stems from God alone and that its laws are unchanging, first occurred in Judaism, but is now a core tenet of most modern monotheistic religions, including Christianity, Islam, Sikhism, and Baháʼí Faith.

Also from the 6th century BCE, Thales (followed by other Monists, such as Anaximander, Anaximenes, Heraclitus, Parmenides) proposed that nature can be explained by reference to a single unitary principle that pervades everything. Numerous ancient Greek philosophers, including Xenophanes of Colophon and Antisthenes, believed in a similar polytheistic monism that bore some similarities to monotheism. The first known reference to a unitary God is Plato's Demiurge (divine Craftsman), followed by Aristotle's unmoved mover, both of which would profoundly influence Jewish and Christian theology.

According to contemporary Jewish, Christian and Islamic tradition, monotheism was the original religion of humanity; this original religion is sometimes referred to as "the Adamic religion", or, in the terms of Andrew Lang, the " Urreligion". Scholars of religion largely abandoned that view in the 19th and 20th centuries in favour of an evolutionary progression from animism via polytheism to monotheism. More recently, Karen Armstrong and other authors have returned to the idea of an evolutionary progression beginning with animism, which developed into polytheism, which developed into henotheism, which developed into monolatry, which developed into true monotheism. This order was reversed by Austrian anthropologist Wilhelm Schmidt, who had postulated an '' Urmonotheismus'', "original" or "primitive monotheism" in the 1910s. The evolution of monotheism is bound with universal monarchies.

It was objected that Judaism, Christianity, and Islam had grown up in opposition to polytheism as had Greek philosophical monotheism.

Narrow and wide monotheism

"Narrow monotheism" is a religion that believes in only one deity, disallowing the possibility of there being other deities. "Wide monotheism" is a religion that believes in only one supreme deity, allowing the possibility of there being other lesser deities. A narrow monotheistic religion will often regard other monotheistic religions as worshipping its own specific deity under a different name or form (hence the Abrahamic religions believe they worship the same one God). A wide monotheistic religion will often regard other monotheistic religions as worshipping deities lesser than its own specific deitiy (hence Atenism believes Yahweh to be a lesser deity to Aten). Examples of narrow monotheist religions includes: Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Sikhism, and Baháʼí Faith. Examples of wide monotheism include: Atenism, Native American worship of the Great Spirit, Hinduism, Chiniese religions, Tengrism, Mandaeism, Rastafari, Yazidism, Zoroastrianism, Proto-Indo-European religion, Hellenistic religion, and Andaman Islands religion.Ostler, Jeffry. The Plains Sioux and U.S. Colonialism from Lewis and Clark to Wounded Knee. Cambridge University Press, Jul 5, 2004. , pg 26.

Regions

Africa

Eastern Africa

According to Robin Dunbar, an evolutionary psychologist, the emergence of doctrinal religions is closely linked to environmental and social factors. He argues that large, densely populated societies—often arising in agriculturally productive regions—required more formalized religious structures to maintain social cohesion. In particular, the shift from small, kin-based communities to larger settlements increased the need for moralizing gods and centralized rituals. Additionally, the climatic stability of the Northern Subtropical Zone during the Neolithic facilitated surplus food production, enabling religious specialists to emerge and institutionalize belief systems.

Dunbar identifies two early monotheistic traditions in sub-Saharan Africa. The Cushitic-speaking populations of the central Nile Valley (present-day Sudan) circa 5th millennium BCE worshipped Waaq, a singular sky deity whose veneration persists among some Cushitic groups. Later, Nilotic-speaking societies migrating southward developed or adopted similar beliefs, with singular deities such as Engai of the Maasai, though often combined with ancestral reverence and spirit veneration. Many Southern Nilotic peoples such as the Samburu and Datooga have substantial Cushitic ancestry from the Savanna Pastoral Neolithic communities believed to be of Cushitic origin.

Waaq is the name of a singular God in the traditional religion of many Cushitic people in the Horn of Africa, denoting an early monotheistic religion. However, this religion was mostly replaced with the Abrahamic religions, such as Islam in the case of the Somali. The term ''barwaaqo'' in the Somali language means prosperity still includes the name of Waaq. The Somali rendition of the Ethiopian prosperity party is ''Xisbiga Barwaaqo''. The Somali city of Abudwak means 'worship Waaq' in Somali. Some Oromo still follow the traditional monotheistic religion called Waaqeffanna in the Oromo language.

Irreechaa is an annual thanksgiving festival celebrated by the Oromo people, primarily in Ethiopia, marking the end of the rainy season and the beginning of the harvest. It is a spiritual occasion dedicated to Waaq, the supreme God in traditional Oromo belief, symbolizing gratitude for nature's abundance. The festival is observed in various regions, with its largest celebration taking place in Addis Ababa, where tens of thousands of people gather near bodies of water to offer prayers, songs, and traditional rituals. Irreechaa not only reflects deep-rooted cultural practices but also promotes unity and peace among the Oromo community and beyond.

Ancient Egypt

=Atenism

=

Amenhotep IV initially introduced Atenism in Year 5 of his reign (1348/1346 BCE) during the 18th dynasty of the New Kingdom. He raised Aten, once a relatively obscure Egyptian solar deity representing the disk of the sun, to the status of Supreme God in the Egyptian pantheon. To emphasise the change, Aten's name was written in the cartouche form normally reserved for Pharaohs, an innovation of Atenism. This religious reformation appears to coincide with the proclamation of a Sed festival, a sort of royal jubilee intended to reinforce the Pharaoh's divine powers of kingship. Traditionally held in the thirtieth year of the Pharaoh's reign, this possibly was a festival in honour of Amenhotep III, who some Egyptologists think had a coregency with his son Amenhotep IV of two to twelve years.

Year 5 is believed to mark the beginning of Amenhotep IV's construction of a new capital, Akhetaten (''Horizon of the Aten''), at the site known today as Amarna. Evidence of this appears on three of the boundary stelae used to mark the boundaries of this new capital. At this time, Amenhotep IV officially changed his name to Akhenaten (''Agreeable to Aten'') as evidence of his new worship. The date given for the event has been estimated to fall around January 2 of that year. In Year 7 of his reign (1346/1344 BCE), the capital was moved from Thebes to Akhetaten (near modern Amarna), though construction of the city seems to have continued for two more years. In shifting his court from the traditional ceremonial centres Akhenaten was signalling a dramatic transformation in the focus of religious and political power.

The move separated the Pharaoh and his court from the influence of the priesthood and from the traditional centres of worship, but his decree had deeper religious significance too—taken in conjunction with his name change, it is possible that the move to Amarna was also meant as a signal of Akhenaten's symbolic death and rebirth. It may also have coincided with the death of his father and the end of the coregency. In addition to constructing a new capital in honor of Aten, Akhenaten also oversaw the construction of some of the most massive temple complexes in ancient Egypt, including one at Karnak and one at Thebes, close to the old temple of Amun.

In Year 9 (1344/1342 BCE), Akhenaten declared a more radical version of his new religion, declaring Aten not merely the supreme god of the Egyptian pantheon, but the only God of Egypt, with himself as the sole intermediary between the Aten and the Egyptian people. Key features of Atenism included a ban on idols and other images of the Aten, with the exception of a rayed solar disc, in which the rays (commonly depicted ending in hands) appear to represent the unseen spirit of Aten. Akhenaten made it however clear that the image of the Aten only represented the god, but that the god transcended creation and so could not be fully understood or represented. Aten was addressed by Akhenaten in prayers, such as the '' Great Hymn to the Aten'': "O Sole God beside whom there is none".

The details of Atenist theology are still unclear. The exclusion of all but one god and the prohibition of idols was a radical departure from Egyptian tradition, but scholars see Akhenaten as a practitioner of monolatry rather than monotheism, as he did not actively deny the existence of other gods; he simply refrained from worshiping any but Aten. Akhenaten associated Aten with Ra and put forward the eminence of Aten as the renewal of the kingship of Ra.

Under Akhenaten's successors, Egypt reverted to its traditional religion, and Akhenaten himself came to be reviled as a heretic.

= Other monotheistic traditions

=
Some Egyptian ethical text authors believed in only a single god ruling over the universe.

Central Africa

Bukongo' is the traditional religion of the Kongo people, originating from Central Africa ( the former "Ntotila kya Kongo" established parts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Angola, and the Republic of Congo ). It is based on the belief in a supreme God called Nzambi a Mpungu Tulendo, an abstract, formless entity representing the cycle of the Nza (the Universe) and the source of all life. While it includes practices related to the ancestral community (''bakulu'') and natural forces that can be embodied by Nzambi a Mpungu, these entities are regarded as respected intermediaries, not as independent deities. As such, Bukongo can be classified as a hierarchical monotheism, with a spiritual structure centered on a single, supreme God.

Americas

Native American religion

Native American religions may be monotheistic, polytheistic, henotheistic, animistic, or some combination thereof. Cherokee religion, for example, is monotheist as well as pantheist.

The Great Spirit, called '' Wakan Tanka'' among the Sioux, and '' Gitche Manitou'' in Algonquian, is a conception of universal spiritual force, or supreme being prevalent among some Native American and First Nation cultures.Thomas, Robert Murray. Manitou and God: North-American Indian Religions and Christian Culture. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2007. pg 35. According to Lakota activist Russell Means a better translation of ''Wakan Tanka'' is the Great Mystery.Means, Robert. Where White Men Fear to Tread: The Autobiography of Russell Means. Macmillan, 1995. pg 241. Indeed, "Wanka Tanka" among the Lakota was considered a "council of gods" in pre-Columbian times, and their religion is not monotheistic.

Some researchers have interpreted Aztec philosophy as fundamentally monotheistic or panentheistic. While the populace at large believed in a polytheistic pantheon, Aztec priests and nobles might have come to an interpretation of Teotl as a single universal force with many facets. There has been criticism to this idea, however, most notably that many assertions of this supposed monotheism might actually come from post-Conquistador bias, imposing an Antiquity pagan model onto the Aztec.

Asia

South Asia

=Hinduism

=

As an old religion, Hinduism inherits religious concepts spanning monotheism, polytheism, panentheism, pantheism, monism, and atheism among others; and its concept of God is complex and depends upon each individual and the tradition and philosophy followed.

Hindu views are broad and range from monism, through pantheism and panentheism (alternatively called monistic theism by some scholars) to monotheism and even atheism. Hinduism cannot be said to be purely polytheistic. Hindu religious leaders have repeatedly stressed that while God's forms are many and the ways to communicate with him are many, God is one. The '' puja'' of the '' murti'' is a way to communicate with the abstract one god (''Brahman'') which creates, sustains and dissolves creation.

Rig Veda 1.164.46,
:'
:'
:"They call him Indra, Mitra, Varuṇa, Agni, and he is heavenly nobly-winged Garuda.
:To what is One, sages give many a title they call it Agni, Yama, Mātariśvan." (trans. Griffith)

Traditions of Gaudiya Vaishnavas, the Nimbarka Sampradaya and followers of Swaminarayan and Vallabha consider Krishna to be the source of all avatars,'' Swaminarayan bicentenary commemoration volume, 1781-1981.'' p. 154: ...Shri Vallabhacharya ndShri Swaminarayan... Both of them designate the highest reality as Krishna, who is both the highest avatara and also the source of other avataras. To quote R. Kaladhar Bhatt in this context. "In this transcendental devotieon (Nirguna Bhakti), the sole Deity and only" is Krishna
New Dimensions in Vedanta Philosophy - Page 154
, Sahajānanda, Vedanta. 1981 and the source of Vishnu himself, or to be the same as Narayana. As such, he is therefore regarded as '' Svayam Bhagavan''.page 132

When Krishna is recognized to be ''Svayam Bhagavan'', it can be understood that this is the belief of Gaudiya Vaishnavism, the Vallabha Sampradaya, "Early Vaishnava worship focuses on three deities who become fused together, namely Vasudeva-Krishna, Krishna-Gopala, and Narayana, who in turn all become identified with Vishnu. Put simply, Vasudeva-Krishna and Krishna-Gopala were worshiped by groups generally referred to as Bhagavatas, while Narayana was worshipped by the Pancaratra sect." and the Nimbarka Sampradaya, where Krishna is accepted to be the source of all other avatars, and the source of Vishnu himself. This belief is drawn primarily "from the famous statement of the Bhagavatam" (1.3.28).''Essential Hinduism'' S. Rosen, 2006, Greenwood Publishing Grou
p.124
A viewpoint differing from this theological concept is the concept of Krishna as an '' avatar'' of Narayana or Vishnu. It should be however noted that although it is usual to speak of Vishnu as the source of the avataras, this is only one of the names of the God of Vaishnavism, who is also known as Narayana, Vasudeva and Krishna and behind each of those names there is a divine figure with attributed supremacy in Vaishnavism.

The Rig Veda discusses monotheistic thought, as do the Atharva Veda and Yajur Veda:
"Devas are always looking to the supreme abode of Vishnu" (''tad viṣṇoḥ paramaṁ padaṁ sadā paśyanti sṻrayaḥ'' Rig Veda 1.22.20)

"The One Truth, sages know by many names" ( Rig Veda 1.164.46)

"When at first the unborn sprung into being, He won His own dominion beyond which nothing higher has been in existence" (Atharva Veda 10.7.31)

"There is none to compare with Him. There is no parallel to Him, whose glory, verily, is great." ( Yajur Veda 32.3)

The number of auspicious qualities of God are countless, with the following six qualities (''bhaga'') being the most important:
* ''Jñāna'' (omniscience), defined as the power to know about all beings simultaneously
* '' Aishvarya'' (sovereignty, derived from the word Ishvara), which consists in unchallenged rule over all
* ''Shakti'' (energy), or power, which is the capacity to make the impossible possible
* ''Bala'' (strength), which is the capacity to support everything by will and without any fatigue
* ''Vīrya'' (vigor), which indicates the power to retain immateriality as the supreme being in spite of being the material cause of mutable creations
* ''Tejas'' (splendor), which expresses His self-sufficiency and the capacity to overpower everything by His spiritual effulgence

In the Shaivite tradition, the '' Shri Rudram'' (Sanskrit श्री रुद्रम्), to which the Chamakam (चमकम्) is added by scriptural tradition, is a Hindu '' stotra'' dedicated to Rudra (an epithet of Shiva), taken from the Yajurveda (TS 4.5, 4.7). Shri Rudram is also known as ''Sri Rudraprasna'', ', and ''Rudradhyaya''. The text is important in Vedanta where Shiva is equated to the Universal supreme God. The hymn is an early example of enumerating the names of a deity, a tradition developed extensively in the sahasranama literature of Hinduism.

The Nyaya school of Hinduism has made several arguments regarding a monotheistic view. The Naiyanikas have given an argument that such a god can only be one. In the ''Nyaya Kusumanjali'', this is discussed against the proposition of the '' Mimamsa'' school that let us assume there were many demigods ('' devas'') and sages (''rishis'') in the beginning, who wrote the Vedas and created the world. Nyaya says that:

In other words, Nyaya says that the polytheist would have to give elaborate proofs for the existence and origin of his several celestial spirits, none of which would be logical, and that it is more logical to assume one eternal, omniscient god.

Many other Hindus, however, view polytheism as far preferable to monotheism. The famous Hindu revitalist leader Ram Swarup, for example, points to the Vedas as being specifically polytheistic, and states that, "only some form of polytheism alone can do justice to this variety and richness."

Sita Ram Goel, another 20th-century Hindu historian, wrote:

=Sikhism

=

Sikhi is a monotheistic and a revealed religion. God in Sikhism is called Akal Purakh (which means "The Immortal Being") or '' Vāhigurū'' (Wondrous Enlightener). However, other names like Rama, Brahman, Khuda, Allah, etc. are also used to refer to the same God, who is shapeless, timeless, and sightless: ''niraṅkār'', ''akaal'', and ''alakh''. Sikhi presents a unique perspective where God is present ('' sarav viāpak'') in all of its creation and does not exist outside of its creation. God must be seen from "the inward eye", or the "heart". Sikhs follow the Aad Guru Granth Sahib and are instructed to meditate on the Naam (Name of God - '' Vāhigurū'') to progress towards enlightenment, as its rigorous application permits the existence of communication between God and human beings.

Sikhism is a monotheistic faith that arose in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent during the 16th and 17th centuries. Sikhs believe in one, timeless, omnipresent, supreme creator. The opening verse of the Guru Granth Sahib, known as the Mul Mantra, signifies this:

:
: Transliteration: ikk ōankār sat(i)-nām(u) karatā purakh(u) nirabha'u niravair(u) akāla mūrat(i) ajūnī saibhan(g) gur(a) prasād(i).
:One Universal creator God, The supreme Unchangeable Truth, The Creator of the Universe, Beyond Fear, Beyond Hatred, Beyond Death, Beyond Birth, Self-Existent, by Guru's Grace.

The word "ੴ" ("Ik ōaṅkār") has two components. The first is ੧, the digit "1" in Gurmukhi signifying the singularity of the creator. Together the word means: "One Universal creator God".

It is often said that the 1430 pages of the Guru Granth Sahib are all expansions on the Mul Mantra. Although the Sikhs have many names for God, some derived from Islam and Hinduism, they all refer to the same Supreme Being.

The Sikh holy scriptures refer to the One God who pervades the whole of space and is the creator of all beings in the universe. The following quotation from the Guru Granth Sahib highlights this point:

However, there is a strong case for arguing that the Guru Granth Sahib teaches monism due to its non-dualistic tendencies:

Sikhs believe that God has been given many names, but they all refer to the One God, VāhiGurū. Sikh holy scripture (Guru Granth Sahib) speaks to all faiths and Sikhs believe that members of other religions such as Islam, Hinduism and Christianity all worship the same God, and the names Allah, Rahim, Karim, Hari, Raam and Paarbrahm are, therefore, frequently mentioned in the Sikh holy scripture (Guru Granth Sahib) . God in Sikhism is most commonly referred to as Akal Purakh (which means "The Immortal Being") or Waheguru, the Wondrous Enlightener.

East Asia

=Chinese religion

=

The orthodox faith system held by most dynasties of China since at least the Shang dynasty (1766 BCE) until the modern period centered on the worship of '' Shangdi'' (literally "Above Sovereign", generally translated as "High-god") or Heaven as a supreme being, standing above other gods. This faith system pre-dated the development of Confucianism and Taoism and the introduction of Buddhism and Christianity. It has some features of monotheism in that Heaven is seen as an omnipotent entity, a noncorporeal force with a personality transcending the world. However, this faith system was not truly monotheistic since other lesser gods and spirits, which varied with locality, were also worshiped along with ''Shangdi''. Still, later variants such as Mohism (470 BCE–c.391 BCE) approached true monotheism, teaching that the function of lesser gods and ancestral spirits is merely to carry out the will of ''Shangdi.'' In Mozi's ''Will of Heaven'' (天志), he writes:

Worship of ''Shangdi'' and Heaven in ancient China includes the erection of shrines, the last and greatest being the Temple of Heaven in Beijing, and the offering of prayers. The ruler of China in every Chinese dynasty would perform annual sacrificial rituals to ''Shangdi'', usually by slaughtering a completely healthy bull as sacrifice. Although its popularity gradually diminished after the advent of Taoism and Buddhism, among other religions, its concepts remained in use throughout the pre-modern period and have been incorporated in later religions in China, including terminology used by early Christians in China. Despite the rising of non-theistic and pantheistic spirituality contributed by Taoism and Buddhism, Shangdi was still praised up until the end of the Qing dynasty as the last ruler of the Qing declared himself son of heaven.

=Tengrism

=

Tengrism or Tangrism (sometimes stylized as Tengriism), occasionally referred to as Tengrianism, is a modern term for a Central Asian religion characterized by features of shamanism, animism, totemism, both polytheism and monotheism,Michael Fergus, Janar Jandosova
Kazakhstan: Coming of Age
Stacey International, 2003, p.91:
* "'' ..a profound combination of monotheism and polytheism that has come to be known as Tengrism.''" and ancestor worship. Historically, it was the prevailing religion of the Bulgars, Turks, Mongols, and Hungarians, as well as the Xiongnu and the Huns. It was the state religion of the six ancient Turkic states: Avar Khaganate, Old Great Bulgaria, First Bulgarian Empire, Göktürks Khaganate, Eastern Tourkia and Western Turkic Khaganate. In '' Irk Bitig'', Tengri is mentioned as ''Türük Tängrisi'' (God of Turks). The term is perceived among Turkic peoples as a ''national'' religion.

In Chinese and Turco-Mongol traditions, the Supreme God is commonly referred to as the ruler of Heaven, or the Sky Lord granted with omnipotent powers, but it has largely diminished in those regions due to ancestor worship, Taoism's pantheistic views and Buddhism's rejection of a creator God. On some occasions in the mythology, the Sky Lord as identified as a male has been associated to mate with an Earth Mother, while some traditions kept the omnipotence of the Sky Lord unshared.

West Asia

=Abrahamic religions

=

Baháʼí Faith

God in the Baháʼí Faith is taught to be the Imperishable, uncreated Being Who is the source of existence, too great for humans to fully comprehend. Human primitive understanding of God is achieved through his revelations via his divine intermediary Manifestations. In the Baháʼí faith, such Christian doctrines as the Trinity are seen as compromising the Baháʼí view that God is single and has no equal,
and the very existence of the Baháʼí Faith is a challenge to the Islamic doctrine of the finality of Muhammad's revelation.

God in the Baháʼí Faith communicates to humanity through divine intermediaries, known as Manifestations of God. These Manifestations establish religion in the world. It is through these divine intermediaries that humans can approach God, and through them God brings divine revelation and law.

The Oneness of God is one of the core teachings of the Baháʼí Faith. The obligatory prayers in the Baháʼí Faith involve explicit monotheistic testimony. God is the imperishable, uncreated being who is the source of all existence. He is described as "a personal God, unknowable, inaccessible, the source of all Revelation, eternal, omniscient, omnipresent and almighty". Although transcendent and inaccessible directly, his image is reflected in his creation. The purpose of creation is for the created to have the capacity to know and love its creator. God communicates his will and purpose to humanity through intermediaries, known as Manifestations of God, who are the prophets and messengers that have founded religions from prehistoric times up to the present day.

Christianity

Among early Christians, there was considerable debate over the nature of the Godhead, with some denying the incarnation but not the deity of Jesus ( Docetism) and others later calling for an Arian conception of God. Despite at least one earlier local synod rejecting the claim of Arius, this Christological issue was to be one of the items addressed at the First Council of Nicaea.

The First Council of Nicaea, held in Nicaea (in present-day Turkey), convoked by the Roman Emperor Constantine I in 325, was the first ecumenical council of bishops of the Roman Empire, and most significantly resulted in the first uniform Christian doctrine, called the Nicene Creed. With the creation of the creed, a precedent was established for subsequent general ecumenical councils of bishops ( synods) to create statements of belief and canons of doctrinal orthodoxy—the intent being to define a common creed for the Church and address heretical ideas.

One purpose of the council was to resolve disagreements in Alexandria over the nature of Jesus in relationship to the Father; in particular, whether Jesus was of the same substance as God the Father or merely of similar substance. All but two bishops took the first position; while Arius' argument failed.

Christian orthodox traditions (Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and most Protestants) follow this decision, which was reaffirmed in 381 at the First Council of Constantinople and reached its full development through the work of the Cappadocian Fathers. They consider God to be a triune entity, called the Trinity, comprising three "persons", God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. These three are described as being "of the same substance" ().

Christians overwhelmingly assert that monotheism is central to the Christian faith, as the Nicene Creed (and others), which gives the orthodox Christian definition of the Trinity, begins: "I believe in one God". From earlier than the times of the Nicene Creed, 325 CE, various Christian figures advocated the triune mystery-nature of God as a normative profession of faith. According to Roger E. Olson and Christopher Hall, through prayer, meditation, study and practice, the Christian community concluded "that God must exist as both a unity and trinity", codifying this in ecumenical council at the end of the 4th century.

Most modern Christians believe the Godhead is triune, meaning that the three persons of the Trinity are in one union in which each person is also wholly God. They also hold to the doctrine of a man-god Christ Jesus as God incarnate. These Christians also do not believe that one of the three divine figures is God alone and the other two are not but that all three are mysteriously God and one. Other Christian religions, including Unitarian Universalism, Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormonism and others, do not share those views on the Trinity.

Some Christian faiths, such as Mormonism, argue that the Godhead is in fact three separate individuals which include God the Father, His Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost, each individual having a distinct purpose in the grand existence of human kind. Furthermore, Mormons believe that before the Council of Nicaea, the predominant belief among many early Christians was that the Godhead was three separate individuals. In support of this view, they cite early Christian examples of belief in subordinationism.

Unitarianism is a theological movement, named for its understanding of God as one person, in direct contrast to Trinitarianism.

Some in Judaism and some in Islam do not consider Trinitarian Christianity to be a pure form of monotheism due to the pluriform monotheistic Christian doctrine of the Trinity, classifying it as '' shituf'' in Judaism and as '' shirk'' in Islam. Trinitarian Christians, on the other hand, argue that the doctrine of the Trinity is a valid expression of monotheism, citing that the Trinity does not consist of three separate deities, but rather the three persons, who exist consubstantially (as one substance) within a single Godhead.

Islam

In Islam, God ( Allāh) is all-powerful and all-knowing, the Creator, Sustainer, Ordainer and Judge of the universe.Gerhard Böwering, ''God and his Attributes'', Encyclopedia of the Quran God in Islam is strictly singular (''tawhid'') unique (''wahid'') and inherently One (''ahad''), all-merciful and omnipotent."Allah." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2007. Encyclopædia Britannica Allāh exists on the '' Al-'Arsh'' , but the Quran states that "No vision can encompass Him, but He encompasses all vision. For He is the Most Subtle, All-Aware." () Allāh is the only God and the same God worshiped in Christianity and Judaism(Q).

Islam emerged in the 7th century CE in the context of both Christianity and Judaism, with some thematic elements similar to Gnosticism. Islamic belief states that Muhammad did not bring a new religion from God, but rather the same religion as practiced by Abraham, Moses, David, Jesus and all the other prophets of God. The assertion of Islam is that the message of God had been corrupted, distorted or lost over time, and the Quran was sent to Muhammad in order to correct the lost message of the Tawrat (Torah), Injil (Gospel) and Zabur.

The Quran asserts the existence of a single and absolute truth that transcends the world; a unique and indivisible being who is independent of the creation.Vincent J. Cornell, ''Encyclopedia of Religion'', Vol 5, pp.3561-3562 The Quran rejects binary modes of thinking such as the idea of a duality of God by arguing that both good and evil generate from God's creative act. God is a universal god rather than a local, tribal or parochial one; an absolute who integrates all affirmative values and brooks no evil.Asma Barlas, Believing Women in Islam, p.96 Ash'ari theology, which dominated Sunni Islam from the tenth to the nineteenth century, insists on ultimate divine transcendence and holds that divine unity is not accessible to human reason. Ash'arism teaches that human knowledge regarding it is limited to what has been revealed through the prophets, and on such paradoxes as God's creation of evil, revelation had to accept ''bila kayfa'' (without skinghow).

''Tawhid'' constitutes the foremost article of the Muslim profession of faith, "There is no god but God, Muhammad is the messenger of God.D. Gimaret, ''Tawhid'', Encyclopedia of Islam To attribute divinity to a created entity is the only unpardonable sin mentioned in the Quran. The entirety of the Islamic teaching rests on the principle of ''tawhid''.

Medieval Islamic philosopher Al-Ghazali offered a proof of monotheism from omnipotence, asserting there can only be one omnipotent being. For if there were two omnipotent beings, the first would either have power over the second (meaning the second is not omnipotent) or not (meaning the first is not omnipotent); thus implying that there could only be one omnipotent being.

As they traditionally profess a concept of monotheism with a singular entity as God, Judaism and Islam reject the Christian idea of monotheism. Judaism uses the term Shituf to refer to non-monotheistic ways of worshiping God. Although Muslims venerate Jesus ( Isa in Arabic) as a prophet and messiah, they do not accept the doctrine that he was a begotten son of God.

Judaism

Judaism is traditionally considered one of the oldest monotheistic religions in the world, although up to the 8th century BCE the Israelites were polytheistic, with their worship including the gods El, Baal, Asherah, and Astarte. Yahweh was originally the national god of the Kingdom of Israel and the Kingdom of Judah. During the 8th century BCE, the worship of Yahweh in Israel was in competition with many other cults, described by the Yahwist faction collectively as Baals. The oldest books of the Hebrew Bible

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