Ever wonder what all those -ism's mean? Paganism - we know that one. Monotheism...well, most everyone would know that one, I'm thinking. What about Atheism and Agnosticism...do you know the difference? Well, I was curious, so I decided that others might be too...
Monotheism
Monotheism is the belief in a single, universal, and all-encompassing deity. Christianity, Judaism and Islam are the principal monotheistic religions.Monotheistic religions are exclusive by nature, meaning they don't just believe in and worship one god, but that they deny the existence of the gods of any other religions.
About the only thing monotheistic religions have in common is the belief in a single god - where Christianity attributes human qualities to it's god (anthropomorphism), it is considered blasphemous in Islam to do the same. It is a common belief that "this" god created all of reality and is totally self-sufficient and non-dependent on any other being.
The origins of monotheism is unclear, though the first recorded monotheistic system was in Egypt during the rule of Akhenaten (18th Dynasty), which did not long survive his death.
Polytheism
Polytheism is the belief in, or worship of, a multitude of gods. Each deity is distinguised by special functions or attributes and they are generally organized into a cosmic family. These gods also take on human characteristics and are usually the subject of many myths and legends, attempting to explain the mysterious aspects in life.As polytheistic religions evolved, their pantheons grew, collecting together deities worshipped in cities or places as empires extended. An older culture's pantheon would overcome a newer pantheon in conquests, leading to many deities being known in two places under the same name. Over time the lesser gods whould diminish in staure or vanish altogether, with their function being attributed to more popular or influential gods.
Few ancient religions were not polytheistic. Some of the more well known are the Sumerians, the Egyptians, the Greeks, the Norse and the Aztecs, among many others.
There are two schools in those with polytheistic beliefs, that each god is it's own seperate, distinct being, and that each god is simply a representation of one single, all-encompassing god.
Pantheism
Pantheism is the view that the unvierse, nature and god are equivalent. Pantheists usually deny the existence of a "personal" god, one that possesses the characteristics of a person, such as the ability to make decisions. Many never even use the word 'god' as they believe there are too many religious connotations.Pantheism has been likened to atheism, mostly because it rejects the idea of a personal creator god. There are also two schools of thought in pantheism; Naturalistic pantheism holds the belief that the univrese either originated itself out of nothing or has existed forever, and stresses the positive aspects of life and nature. Modern scientific pantheism believes that evolution and self organization can be accounted for the design of the universe.
Pantheism definitly smacks of atheism, however there are some small differences. The book most recognized as containing the most complete attempt at explaning pantheism is Spinoza's "Ethics", written in 1675. John Toland purportedly coined the term "pantheist" in 1720.
"I believe in Spinoza's god who reveals Himself in the orderly harmony of what exists, not in a God who concerns himslef with fates and actions of human beings" Albert Einstein.
Atheism and Agnosticism
(Atheism and Agnosticism are closely related, therefore I put them together.)Atheism is characterized by the absence of belief in the existence of gods. "Strong" atheism is an explicitly held belief that God does not (or cannot) exist, "Weak" atheism is disbelief in the existence of god, though without the assertation that deities do not exist.
Agnosticism is the belief that the question of whether a higher power exists or not is unknowable. An agnostic is someone who believes that we do not know for sure whether deities exist, and doubtfully ever will know.
It is nearly impossible to "define" Atheism, there are so many different...factions and beliefs that it is just complicated. The best I can say to genearlize Atheism, is that atheists don't believe in god(s), after that, it gets involved.