Monotheism is the belief or doctrine that there is one—and only one—god or deity. which is to worship one god while denying the existence of other gods. In this case, monotheism is distinguished from polytheism, the belief in the existence of many gods, from atheism, the belief that there is no god, and from agnosticism, the belief that the existence or nonexistence of a god or of gods is unknown or unknowable. Groups in Ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt practiced some form of polytheism and monotheism.
Monotheism comes from the combination of the Greek prefixes monos-, “alone” or “single,” and theo-, “god.” There are many words that come from the Greek base theo-: theology, polytheist, and atheism, to name a few.
Many religions in the world are classified as monotheistic, and the preeminent examples are Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The three religions trace their origins back to Abraham, who, in Genesis, had humanity’s first relationship with God after the failures of Noah’s flood and the Tower of Babel. Judaism and Christianity trace their tie to Abraham through his son Isaac, and Islam traces it through his son Ishmael.
There are several ancient civilizations that were monotheistic. Zoroastrianism was the main monotheist religion in Persia. They believed in one god called Ahura Mazda.
A person who believes in only one god can be called a monotheist. The adjective form, monotheistic, is typically used in terms like monotheistic religions and monotheistic beliefs.
Monotheism
