polytheism
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.
Bundle → Layer → Finding → Questions Filled
4 bundles · 8 layers · 8 findings · 16 questions
Understand What polytheism is.
Concept
Concept and forms.
Concept
Concept.
- What is polytheism, how do pantheons work, and how do traditions describe themselves in relation to the category? provenance
- Is the presentation attributed and free of endorsement or disparagement? boundary
Traditions
Traditions.
Traditions
Traditions.
- Which ancient and living traditions are described as polytheistic, and how do adherents and scholars describe them? provenance
- Which entry fits a specific tradition? action
Practice Practices.
Worship
Worship and ritual.
Worship
Worship.
- How are multiple deities worshipped in temples, festivals and household practice? provenance
- Which entry fits a specific practice? action
Myth
Mythology.
Myth
Myth.
- How do myths organise pantheons and explain the world in polytheistic traditions? provenance
- Which entry fits mythology? action
Perspectives Other perspectives.
Monotheist
Monotheist views.
Monotheist
Monotheist.
- How do Islamic, Jewish and Christian traditions describe polytheism, such as through concepts of shirk and shituf, in their own terms? provenance
- Is the presentation neutral between traditions? boundary
Scholarship
Scholarly debates.
Scholarship
Scholarship.
- How do scholars debate the category of polytheism and its application to traditions such as Hinduism, with positions attributed? provenance
- Which entry fits religious studies? action
Learn History and teaching.
History
History.
History
History.
- How have polytheistic traditions developed, declined and revived historically? provenance
- Which references are standard? provenance
Teach
Teaching.
Teach
Teaching.
- How can polytheism be taught respectfully in religious studies? action
- Which misconceptions arise? provenance
Classifiers Filled
- Family
- Thing Registry
- Category
- Society, people and institutions
- Entry kind
- thing
- Plane
- SOC
- Domain
- SOC.ORG
- Other names and narrower kinds
- Sanamahism, Shituf, Apokpa Marup, Bathouism, Arabian polytheism, shirk
What it is Filled
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.
Why it exists Filled
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.
Distinguishing features Filled
- Multiple deities
- Pantheon structure
- Ancient and living forms
- Contested categorisation
What robots and AI may and may not do Filled
Must not
- 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.
Only with a human decision
- Publishing material on sacred practices that communities restrict.
May
- Describe polytheistic traditions with sources and in their own terms.
- Distinguish ancient and living polytheistic traditions.
Moral aspects Filled
- Living polytheistic traditions have faced persecution and contempt.
- Religious belief deserves respect regardless of a reader's own views.
Who is affected
- Practitioners
- Religious communities
- Students
Owners Filled
Steward
Nobody: a category of belief; each tradition is held by its community.
Links to other meta-models Filled
parent
- Q620805 - registry parent class
related
- theism - category
- God - conceptions of deity
- religion in India - traditions often described as polytheistic
- folk religion - related religious forms
What else AI and robots need to interact with it Filled
Identity and identifiers required Filled
- Vercy registry: vr.tr.polytheism
- Wikidata: Q9163 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q9163)
Direct properties not applicable Not applicable
Not applicable
Plane SOC: no invented physical properties.
Recognition optional Filled
- Worship of multiple deities
- Pantheons with roles
- Monotheism worships one deity; henotheism worships one among many
- Not physical; a religious world view.
Capabilities and actions required Filled
- explain forms with attribution
- describe pantheons and practices
- present other views with attribution
- avoid endorsement or disparagement
Hazards and failure modes required Filled
- Disparaging or endorsing beliefs
- Imposing categories on traditions that reject them
- Presenting monotheist critiques as neutral
Standards and interfaces required Filled
- Freedom of religion protections
- Academic standards in religious studies
- No regulation of belief
Context of use required Filled
- 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 Filled
- Wikidata item Q9163: polytheism - identity and sense of the item
- Wikipedia: Polytheism - general description of the item
Open questions
- Should each polytheistic tradition be a separate entry?
- How should scholarship be linked?
- How should categorisation disputes be attributed?
Machine files
Provenance
thing registry research (pass 2) · unreviewed
Built from: models/things/publications/thing-q9163/spec.json