geekbot

Most Neopagans worship various Gods and Goddesses; some of them stick to one culture and others are not, while others believe in the deity within. The terms for worship are: animism, dualism, henotheism, monotheism, pantheism, polytheism, and autotheism.

Animism is the belief that spirits inhabit every existing thing, including plants, minerals, animals and, including all the elements, air, water, earth, and fire. This was probably the first form of worship.

Dualism is the belief (sometimes known as Gnosticism) that there are only two fundamental things or substances or constituents of things in the world at large or in the human soul. An example would be that both good and evil simultaneously exist and that they balance each other even though they are independent of each other.

Henotheism is the belief in one god, but at the same time does not deny the existence of other gods. It is a variation of polytheism which holds that there are many gods, but one of them is supreme and the other ones are only ancillary and don’t have the same level of “god-ness”. Some forms of Greek and Roman classical polytheism fall into this category. Hinduism is another very widespread example. The term has come to mean in recent years that one believes in multiple god/esses, though the worshipper “borrows” from various cultural groups and may worship one above the others. An example would be worshipping a Greco-Roman god for one reason and then asking a Celtic god for something else. This form of henotheism supposedly occurred commonly in early Judaism and as such is very much discouraged in the Torah or Old Testament.

Monolatrism- forms a type of henotheism. Its adherents believe that many gods do exist, but these gods can exert their power only on those who worship them. Thus, a monolatrist may believe in the reality of both the Egyptian gods and the god described in the Bible, but sees him or herself as a member of only one of these religions. The gods that he/she worships affects their life; the other gods do not.

New Age is a synthesis of many beliefs, some Christian some Pagan.

Pantheism is the belief that god is the universe and the universe is god — or, more generally, that the universe is divine. It is most often explained as having the feeling that existence has a divine or awe-inspiring aspect.

Polytheism is the belief in more than one god/dess. In some beliefs it is said that all these god/desses are of equal power and authority while in others, there is a hierarchy. This is best demonstrated by the Greco-Roman deity structure.

Panentheism is the belief that god is both immanent in creation and transcendent to it. God creates, contains and sustains the universe, but exists partly outside of it. Dualism is an illusion. Matter and spirit are two sides of the same coin. They come from the same source and share the same essential nature.

Suitheism is the belief in the deity of one’s own self without denying the existence of other god/desses. This is common in Thelema and among Left-Hand Path occultists.