Was the first religion of humanity actually a belief in many gods?
While we often view monotheism as a modern peak of religious evolution, scholars suggest a much more complex history. From ancient Egyptian solar cults to the Vedic traditions of India, the transition from many gods to one involves a fascinating spectrum of belief.
The concept of monotheism—the belief in a single deity—is often misunderstood as a simple binary. In reality, it exists on a spectrum. 'Narrow monotheism' excludes all other gods, while 'wide monotheism' recognizes a supreme deity while permitting lesser ones. This distinction is vital when examining traditions like Atenism in 14th-century BCE Egypt. Under Akhenaten, the sun disk Aten was elevated to supreme status, but scholars often classify this as monolatry—the consistent worship of one god without denying the existence of others—rather than true, exclusive monotheism.
The history of these ideas is a subject of intense scholarly debate. For much of the 19th and 20th centuries, researchers believed religion evolved linearly from animism to polytheism and finally to monotheism. However, this view has been challenged. The 1910s saw Austrian anthropologist Wilhelm Schmidt propose 'Urmonotheismus,' or an original, primitive monotheism. Conversely, the Abrahamic traditions—Juda and Islam—often present monotheism as the original 'Adamic' religion of humanity.
Theological nuances also separate monotheism from monism. While monism suggests the universe is a single, unitary reality, monotheism maintains a fundamental distinction between the Creator and the created universe. This distinction is central to the Abrahamic faiths, where God is a personal being who establishes both natural and ethical orders. Even the term 'monotheism' itself is relatively recent, coined by Henry More in 1660, long after the religious practices it describes had already shaped global civilizations.
Source: Monotheism
