Polytheism In Hinduism

The term polytheism, derived from the Greek “polytheia,” is defined by both Merrian-Webster and dictionary.com as the doctrine of, or belief in, more than one god or in many gods. The term first appeared in print around 1613, along with several other words related to religion including caste, cult, fetish, guru, imam, Sabbatarian and yogi. Urban Dictionary expands upon the more proper definitions by adding the worship of goddesses to their definition, as well as categorizing the definitions into “soft” and “hard” forms. “Soft polytheism” is defined as belief in many gods and goddesses, but also includes a belief that they are all aspects of a singular, supreme God or Goddess. Followers of the religion known as Wicca, a sort of modern day

Hinduism is a polytheistic religion with hundreds of millions of followers, most of whom are inhabitants of India. Many religious scholars believe Hinduism to be the oldest recorded religion in the world, as most of the original Hindu scripture is written in Sanskrit, which is the one of the oldest known forms of writing. Hinduism has no founder and is believed to be derived from many ancient religions. In fact, Hindus believe that anyone who is a devout religious follower, be they polytheists or monotheists, are also devout Hindus (Monk 21). While the Hindu faith as a whole is unstructured, there are many sects of Hinduism that are structured and follow a strict moral code. Regardless of the sect followers belong to or which of the millions of Hindu gods they pray to, they are all connected in their belief in one Divine Reality and one universal self, known as Brahman (Monk

Because these religions do not have text or scriptural aspects, most of their practices are recorded and passed down from generation to generation via oral history. Native American religion and tradition is deeply rooted in nature and respect for the world around them. Native Americans believed in many spirits and in the spirit world. Many of their customs and traditions revolved around a particular tribal need, such as a need for rain, food or healing of the sick. As with Buddhism, some believe that rather than being actual religious practices, Native American customs and traditions were more of a guide to interacting with the world around them and a way of