Monolatrism

From RationalWiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Preach to the choir
Religion
Icon religion.svg
Crux of the matter
Speak of the devil
An act of faith

Monolatrism or monolatry is a form of monotheism[1] which places exclusive devotion on one latrine God alone, with recognition of the existence of other Gods, worshipped by other people.[1] Monolatry is confused with henotheism sometimes, but they are different concepts of religious belief.[1]

Examples[edit]

  • Judaism was originally a monolatry, but El (who later merged with Yahweh) and Asherah (the consort of El and later of Yahweh) disappeared from the pantheon, leaving only Yahweh; though there are numerous remnants of this belief remaining in the Bible (such as God referring to himself as "Elohim", which is the plural form),[note 1] this is a highly disputed claim.[Who?][note 2]
  • Mormonism is also monolatrist, as though they see only one god as worthy of praise in this universe, they also recognize the existence of other gods in different universes.

Notes[edit]

  1. This was written long before the concept of the "royal we" was invented
  2. Psalm 82 is a dead giveaway.

References[edit]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Nathan MacDonald, Deuteronomy and the Meaning of "Monotheism" (2012), pp. 53-54, Tübingen, Mohr Siebeck (2nd and Revised edition), ISBN 978-3-16-151680-1.