Monotheistic Religions Vs. Polytheistic Religions

Religion has changed and evolved for as long as man has been on earth, producing many different religions and beliefs. In the modern age, most religions that are still practiced are monotheistic religions, meaning they worship only one god. Back in earlier days, polytheistic religions, the worship of many gods, were the only religion that was known. Differences in peoples that practiced monotheistic religions and peoples that practiced polytheistic religions are very apparent throughout history.

Polytheism (poly- meaning many and -theism meaning belief in a god) or the practice of worshipping many gods, does not occur in many of the dominant modern religions (Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, etc...) You can tell a lot about a society by looking at its religion. Civilizations that have been polytheistic tend to have been more violent with harsher, less forgiving laws. For example, the Civilization of Ancient Mesopotamia that developed between two rivers, the Euphrates and Tigris, in an area of land known as the Fertile Crescent which occupies the modern-day countries of Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Isreal Kuwait, west and south western Iran and south-eastern Turkey. Ancient Mesopotamia practiced the first known religion, which was polytheistic and worshipped many gods. These gods were not like the loving, forgiving God we think of nowadays. They were mercurial, meaning they had quick and changeable temperaments, and moody, often punishing people for no apparent reason. Because there were multiple gods, all with different personalities, there was often conflict among them, as they had many of the same bad traits that humans do. In reality, the multiple gods in polytheistic religions were exactly like humans, only they had the power to rule the earth. They resented the existence of humans and once they even sent a great flood to wipe out all of man. This flood idea may sound familiar to you, but it was not because mankind was corrupt and evil, as it is monotheistic versions, but because humans were too noisy and annoyed the gods. So when one couldn't trust their own gods to protect them, how could lowly humans be trusted? Because their gods were deceitful, people didn't trust others to be good, so when crimes were committed, the punishments were very harsh. You may recall the Mesopotamian society came up with the first known written law, called Hammurabi's Code. The main idea in this work is equality . . . but literal equality. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. If, by accident, you hurt someone, that person was allowed revenge by doing the same to you. If you killed a woman, the father of that woman could kill your daughter; an eye for an eye. Throughout history, you can see that polytheistic religions created societies that tend to be more violent and rigidly governed.

Monotheism (mono- meaning one and -theism meaning the belief in a god) started much later than polytheism. The Jews could be considered the founders of this monotheistic idea, although there were a few instances of such religions in previous times. Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism are all monotheistic religions. Some people consider Hinduism to be a polytheistic religion, although they believe in one main God and all other gods and goddesses are different manifestations of that one god so, technically, they are monotheistic. Throughout history, people had accepted the idea that many gods ruled, but a group of people came up with the revolutionary idea that there was only one god and that this one God was omnipresent (all present), omnipotent (all powerful), and omniscient (all knowing). Since this God was the only God around, hence the only higher power and didn't have to get the upper leg on any other gods, he was also kinder and more forgiving. Monotheistic religions, throughout history, have had a different outlook on punishments. Morals were more humane, people were told to turn the other cheek and love their enemy just like they love their friends. Laws focused more on compensating for the loss of the victim than making the accused feel the same pain that they had caused.

There is a huge difference between monotheistic and polytheistic religions and those differences influence the societies that worship them. Polytheistic communities tended to be harsher while monotheistic communities seem to have been more humane and forgiving.

Sources: Hammurabi's Code, Adapa the Man, Mesopotamian Creation Story, The Bible, The Epic of Gilgamesh