Terms Study of Religion

Theism

Greek theos, “god”) is the belief in the existence of one or more divine beings

Monotheism

(Gk. monas, “one” and theos, “god”), is a belief that there exists only one divine being. In a broader sense monotheism may also denote belief in only one high or ultimate god (sometimes termed henotheism) with a plurality of lesser and non-ultimate
deities under the high god’s authority, or a plurality of lower manifestations of that ultimate god. In strict monotheism, there are no lesser deities, though there are angels or demons of a superhuman nature. These often function analogically to the lesser
deities in the broader type of monotheism, as intermediaries between God and the world

Theism

Greek theos, “god”) is the belief in the existence of one or more divine beings

Monotheism

(Gk. monas, “one” and theos, “god”), is a belief that there exists only one divine being. In a broader sense monotheism may also denote belief in only one high or ultimate god (sometimes termed henotheism) with a plurality of lesser and non-ultimate
deities under the high god’s authority, or a plurality of lower manifestations of that ultimate god. In strict monotheism, there are no lesser deities, though there are angels or demons of a superhuman nature. These often function analogically to the lesser
deities in the broader type of monotheism, as intermediaries between God and the world

Polytheism

(Gk. poly, “many” and theos, “god”), the belief in a plurality of gods. Polytheism has several varieties. It may posit a number of relatively co-equal deities. Or the gods may coexist under one or more superior divinities with authority over them. The latter pattern is sometimes termed henotheism

Pantheism

(Gk. pan, “all” and theos, “god”) The concept that all that exists, is, in some way, ultimately identical with the divine reality. In some forms of the systems, the universe is derived from the being of God; in other systems, the universe in all its parts constitutes the divine reality as its sum total

Panentheism

is a family of views dealing with the relationship between God and the world. In contrast to theism’s stress on divine immanence. In pantheistic views, God and the world are essentially identical; the divine is totally imminent. Such views are often closely related to *mysticism

Monism

The belief that only one substance exists, in contrast to pluralism. Monistic religions are therefore those which maintain that there is only one underlying substance (Lat., substantial, standing under) despite the multiplicity of appliances

Advaita Vedanta

is thus monastic, in contrast to *Dvaita [Oxford Concise Dictionary of World Religions, John Bowker (ed) p. 383]. This position is associated (founder) with Adishankara

Dvaita Vedanta

The Hindu philosophy and religious attitude which
maintains that the subject-object, Thou, the relationship between a worshipper and God persists, even in the final union; and that such union cannot be regarded as absorption
(in contrast to Advaita). This position is particularly associated with Madhava (1238-1317 CE) and is Known as Dvaita Vedanta [Oxford Concise Dictionary of World Religions, John Bowker (ed) p. 168 & Smith (ed) 326]. Also, *Vishistadvaita Vedanta its founder is Ramanuja (ca. 1130 CE). Nirgun Brahman (universal god) is rejected and Ishvara (personal god), his case associated with Vishnu. Bhakti (loving devotion) correct means to reach the supreme, Ishvara

Shamanism

is those practices and beliefs that center on communication with the spirits of nature and the spirits of the dead through the ritualized possession of a shaman who serves as a spirit medium.

Animism

(Latin anima, “soul”), is an obsolete term employed to describe the belief systems of traditional peoples that appear to hold that natural phenomena have spirits or souls. Introduced in 1871 by the British anthropologist E. B. Taylor (1832-1917), it
should be used with caution as a cross-cultural term of comparison or as designating a stage in the evolution of religion

Mysticism

No single definition of the term can cover the multiplicity of its uses. Thus, rather than erroneously seeking one monolithic definition, it appears best to recognize the diversity of experiences, doctrines, communities, and teachers identified as mystical —bound together by “family resemblances,” i.e., some aspects in common, some very different, all bearing an emphasis on the experiential states. At the same time, the ultimate reality with which mystics of diverse traditions become acquainted appears not to be a single object, at least not insofar as their reports and descriptions mean anything at all

Hinduism (mysticism)

Hinduism is one of the most mystical in emphasis of the major
world religions because of the high value it places on interior experience. The interior dimensions in the Hindu tradition might be said to have begun ca. 800 BC when it became accepted that the rewards of the Vedic sacrifice could be gained by a full
performance of the rite’s essentials. This turn led to an inward search for the deeper powers and realities within the human person that ran parallel to the outward search for the dominant realities and correspondences in the universe.