Theism

Theism is the religious belief that at least one god exists.

Different Theisms

All of these are rough definitions of the theisms; they are almost always different. We can split them all into different groups:

• atheism — the opposite of theism; not believing in any gods or deities
• deism — believing that god(s) exist, but that they don't take part in our lives.
• agnosticism — believing we cannot know whether god(s) exist
• gnosticism — believing that we can know for certain whether a god(s) exist.

Gnosticism and agnosticism can be combined with other forms of theism. For example, it is possible to be an agnostic atheist, or a gnostic theist. In common usage, some people group atheism and agnosticism together under the group of nontheism — absence of clear belief in any deity.

The main types of theism are:

• polytheism — believing that many gods or goddesses exist (sometimes known as paganism)
• monotheism — belief that only one god exists (Christians, Muslims and Jews believe in monotheism.)
• ditheism — belief that two gods exist and they are both equal (Wiccans believe in a God and Goddess, or Lord and Lady, who have equal control/power.)

This is another way to group different theisms, based on the nature of the gods.

• pantheism — god and the universe are the same
• panentheism — the universe is part of god
• dystheism or maltheism — that god or the gods are evil.

There is also these types:

• Animism: believing that everything is alive and spirits are in all things, and that all things have souls.
• Monolatry: there is (or may be) more than one god, but they are all expressions of the supreme god.
• Henotheism: there is (or may be) more than one god, but only one is the supreme.
• Kathenotheism: there is more than one god, but only one at a time should be worshipped. Each is supreme in turn.