Monotheism

A reference page linking a name, group, or concept to the materials that discuss it.

Belief in a single God as the only deity, rather than merely the highest among several gods.

Modern conceptual diagram: a single symbol illustrates the sole deity in the definition of monotheism. It is neither the historical symbol of a particular religion nor a sequence of religious developmentIL Archive · CC BYLicense · Image source

Text

Monotheism recognises a single deity rather than a hierarchy containing several gods. It must be distinguished from worship centred on one god while acknowledging others. Applying these categories to ancient texts requires attention to date, genre and the claims of each source; religious history is not assumed to follow one inevitable sequence. ^[1] ^[2]

References and notes

Mark S. Smith, The Origins of Biblical Monotheism, Oxford University Press (2001) Publisher’s abstract and contents on divine structures and monotheism. Modern scholarship, not a quotation of a particular Ugaritic text or a full-book reading. Return to the text ↑
Celene Ibrahim, Islam and Monotheism, Cambridge University Press (2022) The God in Islamic Theology excerpt consulted while preparing the article; link to the book, which was not read in full. Return to the text ↑

Research history

Substantive changes are retained here. Minor copy edits remain in the internal operational log.

Edition 2 · 10 October 2026 · editor:aladmin

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IL Archive, «Monotheism», Edition 2, https://ilarchive.com/en/entities/monotheism