{"schema":"https://ver.cy/schemas/card/1.0.0","id":"vr.tr.polytheism","code":"thing-q9163","url":"https://ver.cy/models/thing/q9163/","name":"polytheism","alternateNames":["Sanamahism","Shituf","Apokpa Marup","Bathouism","Arabian polytheism","shirk"],"kind":"thing","status":"published","version":"0.2.0-wave.2","language":"en","classifiers":{"family":"Thing Registry","category":"Society, people and institutions","entryKind":"thing","plane":"SOC","domain":["SOC.ORG"],"industry":[],"navPath":"","tags":[],"facets":{}},"whatItIs":"The belief in and worship of multiple deities, typically organised in a pantheon with distinct roles, found in ancient religions of Egypt, Greece, Rome, Mesopotamia and Arabia, in living traditions such as Hinduism in many interpretations, Shinto, and Indigenous and regional religions such as Sanamahism and Bathouism, and in modern revivals; monotheistic traditions describe polytheism in their own terms, such as the Islamic concept of shirk or the Jewish concept of shituf, and all positions are presented here with attribution.","purpose":"Let an agent explain polytheism and its forms across religions with attribution, describe pantheons and practices, present how other traditions view polytheism with attribution, and avoid endorsing or disparaging any belief.","scope":{"in":[],"out":[],"boundaries":[]},"distinguishingFeatures":["Multiple deities","Pantheon structure","Ancient and living forms","Contested categorisation"],"structure":{"bundles":[{"id":"understand","name":"Understand","description":"What polytheism is.","layers":[{"id":"concept","name":"Concept","description":"Concept and forms.","findings":[{"id":"concept-finding","name":"Concept","description":"Concept.","questions":[{"text":"What is polytheism, how do pantheons work, and how do traditions describe themselves in relation to the category?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Is the presentation attributed and free of endorsement or disparagement?","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"traditions","name":"Traditions","description":"Traditions.","findings":[{"id":"traditions-finding","name":"Traditions","description":"Traditions.","questions":[{"text":"Which ancient and living traditions are described as polytheistic, and how do adherents and scholars describe them?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits a specific tradition?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"practice","name":"Practice","description":"Practices.","layers":[{"id":"worship","name":"Worship","description":"Worship and ritual.","findings":[{"id":"worship-finding","name":"Worship","description":"Worship.","questions":[{"text":"How are multiple deities worshipped in temples, festivals and household practice?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits a specific practice?","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"myth","name":"Myth","description":"Mythology.","findings":[{"id":"myth-finding","name":"Myth","description":"Myth.","questions":[{"text":"How do myths organise pantheons and explain the world in polytheistic traditions?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits mythology?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"perspectives","name":"Perspectives","description":"Other perspectives.","layers":[{"id":"monotheist","name":"Monotheist","description":"Monotheist views.","findings":[{"id":"monotheist-finding","name":"Monotheist","description":"Monotheist.","questions":[{"text":"How do Islamic, Jewish and Christian traditions describe polytheism, such as through concepts of shirk and shituf, in their own terms?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Is the presentation neutral between traditions?","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"scholarship","name":"Scholarship","description":"Scholarly debates.","findings":[{"id":"scholarship-finding","name":"Scholarship","description":"Scholarship.","questions":[{"text":"How do scholars debate the category of polytheism and its application to traditions such as Hinduism, with positions attributed?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits religious studies?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"learn","name":"Learn","description":"History and teaching.","layers":[{"id":"history","name":"History","description":"History.","findings":[{"id":"history-finding","name":"History","description":"History.","questions":[{"text":"How have polytheistic traditions developed, declined and revived historically?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which references are standard?","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"teach","name":"Teach","description":"Teaching.","findings":[{"id":"teach-finding","name":"Teach","description":"Teaching.","questions":[{"text":"How can polytheism be taught respectfully in religious studies?","kind":"action"},{"text":"Which misconceptions arise?","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]}]},"agentConduct":{"may":["Describe polytheistic traditions with sources and in their own terms.","Distinguish ancient and living polytheistic traditions."],"mustNot":["Endorse or disparage polytheistic beliefs.","Apply the label polytheism to traditions that reject it without noting the dispute.","Present living traditions as primitive or extinct.","Treat deities of living traditions as fictional characters for entertainment without care."],"requiresHuman":["Publishing material on sacred practices that communities restrict."]},"ethics":{"considerations":["Living polytheistic traditions have faced persecution and contempt.","Religious belief deserves respect regardless of a reader's own views."],"affectedParties":["Practitioners","Religious communities","Students"]},"owners":{"steward":"Nobody: a category of belief; each tradition is held by its community.","roles":[],"masterSystems":[]},"relations":[{"target":"Q620805","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"theism","type":"related","note":"category"},{"target":"God","type":"related","note":"conceptions of deity"},{"target":"religion in India","type":"related","note":"traditions often described as polytheistic"},{"target":"folk religion","type":"related","note":"related religious forms"}],"interaction":{"identity":{"applicability":"required","items":["Vercy registry: vr.tr.polytheism","Wikidata: Q9163 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q9163)"]},"properties":{"applicability":"not-applicable","items":[]},"recognition":{"applicability":"optional","items":["Worship of multiple deities","Pantheons with roles","Monotheism worships one deity; henotheism worships one among many","Not physical; a religious world view."]},"capabilities":{"applicability":"required","items":["explain forms with attribution","describe pantheons and practices","present other views with attribution","avoid endorsement or disparagement"]},"hazards":{"applicability":"required","items":["Disparaging or endorsing beliefs","Imposing categories on traditions that reject them","Presenting monotheist critiques as neutral"]},"interfaces":{"applicability":"required","items":["Freedom of religion protections","Academic standards in religious studies","No regulation of belief"]},"context":{"applicability":"required","items":["Belief in multiple deities.","ancient polytheisms of Egypt, Greece, Rome and Mesopotamia","pre-Islamic Arabian polytheism","Hindu and other South Asian traditions as variously interpreted","Indigenous and regional polytheisms such as Sanamahism and Bathouism","modern polytheist revivals"]}},"sources":[{"title":"Wikidata item Q9163: polytheism","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q9163","note":"identity and sense of the item"},{"title":"Wikipedia: Polytheism","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polytheism","note":"general description of the item"}],"openQuestions":["Should each polytheistic tradition be a separate entry?","How should scholarship be linked?","How should categorisation disputes be attributed?"],"resources":{"spec":"/models/things/publications/thing-q9163/spec.json"},"provenance":{"origin":"thing registry research (pass 2)","builtFrom":["models/things/publications/thing-q9163/spec.json"],"providers":["Claude"],"researchStatus":"unreviewed","generatedAt":"2026-09-12T03:36:19Z","builder":"tools/build_cards.py@1.0.0"},"completeness":{"sections":{"classifiers":"filled","whatItIs":"filled","purpose":"filled","distinguishingFeatures":"filled","structure":"filled","agentConduct":"filled","ethics":"filled","owners":"filled","relations":"filled","interaction.identity":"filled","interaction.properties":"not-applicable","interaction.recognition":"filled","interaction.capabilities":"filled","interaction.hazards":"filled","interaction.interfaces":"filled","interaction.context":"filled","sources":"filled"},"notes":{"_gate":"Published through the thing publication gate 1.0 on 2026-10-06T19:52:03+00:00: completeness 1.00; sense: Wikidata description; 2 live sources; review by codex: pass","interaction.properties":"Plane SOC: no invented physical properties."},"score":1.0}}