polytheism

[pol-ee-thee-iz-uhm, pol-ee-thee-iz-uhm]

noun

1. the doctrine of or belief in more than one god or in many gods.

polytheism

/ ˈpɒlɪθiːˌɪzəm, ˌpɒlɪˈθiːɪzəm /

noun

1. the worship of or belief in more than one god

polytheism

1. The belief in more than one god. The ancient Greeks, for example, were polytheists; their gods included Apollo, Athena, Dionysus, and Zeus. (Compare monotheism.)

Other Word Forms

• polytheist noun
• polytheistic adjective
• polytheistical adjective
• polytheistically adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of polytheism¹

1605–15; poly- + theism; compare French polythéisme

Example Sentences

Moses' motive, Freud hypothesized, was to preserve a sect of the ancient Egyptian religion which rejected polytheism and only worshipped the sun god, Aten.

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“That feels like it’s really specific to L.A. as a cosmopolitan city. Greek polytheism is all about the ability to absorb other gods, and there is an inherent cultural exchange that’s a part of that.”

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By Gray’s account, they ignore polytheism and animism almost entirely, while insisting on reading verses of Genesis or lines of the Nicene Creed as if they were primitive scientific theories.

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Another wrote that the "mementoes" are a "means of leading people to polytheism", along with a photograph of one of the statues.

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Veneration of objects or idols, and hints to polytheism, run in conflict with the Wahhabis strain of Islam that is growing in popularity in Java.

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Related Words

• tritheism