Who believed polytheism?

Answer 1

Polytheism

Polytheism was quite strong in ancient Egyptian culture, which means it was around at least 5000 years ago. Evidence suggests it and other similarly aged religions grew up in the same way we know the Roman religion did; it probably developed from a single widespread "natural gods" religion (everything had a spirit, including trees, the home and rivers) into the specific forms seen in different areas.

Answer 2

Polytheism didn't really originate, or not really as a finite date.

It was something that evolved from human curiosity about the world, and a need for an explanation.

• Answer 2

Archaeology has shown that no ancient society ever existed that did not believe in the supernatural, though some quickly reverted to idolatry.
Based upon a massive worldwide study of the most ancient inscriptions and the earliest levels of civilization, Dr. Wilhelm Schmidt (in his twelve-volume Der Ursprung Der Gottesidee) concluded that the original belief was monotheistic; a belief in One God (see footnote 1, below). It was a simple belief in the Creator (Dyeus Pater; Sky-Father) with no imagery of any kind. It gave way within two hundred years to polytheism and idolatry, but its traces could still be seen by the careful researcher.

Answer 3

No single person started Polytheism. Polytheism was a development of many societies and peoples, as well as leaders, spiritual interpretations, and off shooting or ostracized groups from those religions and spiritual structures.

Answer 4

Polytheism has been around for hundreds of thousands of years since the beginning of Mankind. However the first noted and most influential polytheistic civilization was Mesopotamia.

Answer:

According to tradition, polytheism was a descent and an aberration that came after the earlier (original) monotheism. This change occurred around 3500 BCE, a couple of centuries after God created the world.

Answer 5

Early native Americans such as the mayans and incas

ANSWER:

It would appear to be even earlier than those mentioned above. Shortly after Noah and his family exited the Ark, his grandson, Cush began building the Tower of Babel along with his son Nimrod. It is said that Nimrod was a mighty one on earth and wanted to be like God. After God destroyed the tower, He scattered the peoples and confused their language. Nimrod began the 1st 'empire' with cities and many worshipped him. His mother Seriramis also was power hungry but when her son/husband Nimrod died via execution in Egypt, she created a 'religion' of worshipping her resurrected son and herself - the famed Babylonian Mystery Religion that evolved into many other named ones.

Religions of many lands/peoples all seem to share basic tenets of this original. They include the Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, Japanese, Teutonic, Celtic, Hindu, and American Indians. The 'Mother & Child' theme, as well as the trinity theory seem to be threaded throughout these.

Answer 6

Many people did and do believe in multiple deities and gods.

There are multitudes of different polytheistic beliefs, such as a reconstruction of ancient Hellenic,Egyptian,Mesopotamian,Norse and Roman Polytheistic beliefs in modern society, to the many individual and not necessarily organized ones of different cultures and peoples.

Answer 7

Polytheism was actually around before monotheism. Ancient people thought that it was more practical to have multiple gods than to have one.

Actually Polytheism was new during the times of the antediluvian world. Adam, Cain and Abel worshiped one God ( Monotheism in the begging) Until the decent of the Watchers,annunaki, b'nai elohim, fallen angels. The Book of Enoch records how the rebel angels taught magic, war, Astrology and all over kinds of peculiar rites found in the mystery religions common to polytheism.

Records of cultures all around the world record that a great flood took over the earth as evident in the 4 great oceans. The antediluvian world was destoryed because of exceeding corruption according to the Egyptians who told Solon who told Plato in the story of timaeus and critias; which is where the Atlantis flood story comes. In the dead sea scrolls we see ancient Jewish texts which tell of where the b'nai Elohim or fallen angels come and corrupt human and animal DNA. Which later took on different forms of hybrid creatures as found in the Egyptian pictures and stories of the chimera. These hybrid creatures also known as giants, supermen, men of old and renown, old ones, caused or forced people into slavery and worship. This is where Nimrod later gets stories possibly from his father Cush and greatfather Ham who surely experienced this peculiar world. And why the world had to be destroyed. Floods and earth quakes have occured in many regions in notable areas where polytheism is praticed.

Answer 8

The development of polytheism is described in Maimonides' Mishneh Torah (Hilchot Avodat Kochavim ch.1).

Quote:
During the times of Enosh (a couple of centuries after the Creation), the wise men of that generation gave worthless counsel. They said that since God had created the stars and spheres and placed them on high, accordingly it is fitting for people to praise and glorify them and to treat them with honor. They perceived this to be the will of God, that people should praise and honor the stars and offer sacrifices to them. This was the origin of the worship of false gods, and its rationale.
After many years passed, there arose also false prophets, who announced that God had commanded them to say: Serve this star - or all the stars - sacrifice to it, offer libations to it, build a temple for it and make an image of it so that people could bow to its image. The false prophet would tell them of a form that he had conceived, and say that this is the image of the particular star, claiming that this was revealed to him in a vision.

In this manner, the people began to make images in temples and on the tops of mountains and hills. They would gather together and bow down to these images. Thus, these practices spread throughout the world. People would serve images, idols and statues with strange practices, one more distorted than the other; offer sacrifices to them, and bow down to them.

As the years passed, God's glorious and awesome name was forgotten by the entire population.

The world continued in this fashion until the pillar of the world, Abraham, was born.

Link: Abraham's biography

Based upon a massive worldwide study of the most ancient inscriptions and the earliest levels of civilization, Dr. Wilhelm Schmidt (in his twelve-volume Der Ursprung Der Gottesidee) concluded that the original belief had been monotheistic; a belief in One God (see footnote 1, below). It was a simple belief in the Creator (Dyeus Pater; Sky-Father) with no imagery of any kind. It gave way relatively quickly to polytheism and idolatry, but its traces could still be seen by the careful researcher, just as (for example) Proto-Indo European has left indelible marks within the later languages. Other traditions also are traceable worldwide, such as the religious significance of the number seven, and the immortality of the soul.

The process by which the awareness of One God gave way to a belief in many gods, has been described by Scandinavian researchers (see footnote 2) as splitting ("Gottespaltung"): the people gradually viewed God's attributes of truth, righteousness, fertility etc., as separate from Him, and afterwards personified and worshiped the attributes themselves, until God was largely forgotten.

Footnotes

1) Albright, "From the Stone Age," p.170; and J.A. Wilson, "The Culture of ancient Egypt," p.129. Also Baron, "A Social and Religious History," vol. I, p.44 and 311. Also James Meek, "Hebrew Origins," p.188, quoting Langdon, Lagrange and John Ross. Also Martin Nilsson, Handbuch der Altertumswissenschaften, 2nd ed., p.61, 141, 220 and 394.

2) G. W. Anderson, in "The Old Testament and Modern Study," p.287. Also Friedrich Baethgen, in Beitraege zur Semitischen Religionsgeschichte, p.288. Also Pallotino, "The Etruscans," p. 158 and 167.

Answer 9

It actually happened twice, in the second century after Creation, and in the second century after the Flood. One thing that researchers agree upon is that mankind has always believed in a Higher Power. Archaeology has shown that no ancient society ever existed that did not believe in the supernatural.

• Link: Can you show me that God exists?
  

Based upon a massive worldwide study of the most ancient inscriptions and the earliest levels of civilization, Dr. Wilhelm Schmidt (in his twelve-volume Der Ursprung Der Gottesidee) concluded that the original belief was monotheistic; a belief in One God (see footnote 1, below). It was a simple belief in the Creator (Dyeus Pater; Sky-Father) with no imagery of any kind. It gave way relatively quickly to polytheism and idolatry, but its traces could still be seen by the careful researcher, just as (for example) Proto-Indo European has left indelible marks within the later languages. Other traditions also are traceable worldwide, such as the religious significance of the number seven, and the immortality of the soul.

The process by which the awareness of One God gave way to a belief in many gods, has been described by Scandinavian researchers (see footnote 2) as splitting ("Gottespaltung"): the people gradually viewed God's attributes of truth, righteousness, fertility etc., as separate from Him, and afterwards personified and worshiped the attributes themselves, until God was largely forgotten.

According to Jewish tradition also, (Rashi commentary, Genesis 4:26), monotheism is more ancient than polytheism. Maimonides describes the process by which polytheism began: "A couple of centuries after the Creation, mankind made a great mistake. They said that since God had created the stars and spheres and placed them on high, accordingly it is fitting for people to praise and glorify them and to treat them with honor. They perceived this to be the will of God, that people should exalt and honor the stars. They began to praise and glorify them with words, and prostrate themselves before them, because by doing so, they would (according to their false conception) be indirectly honoring God too."

• Link: The full quote from Maimonides
  

This descent into polytheism contributed to the gradual weakening of any sense of religious belief and was also used as justification for excessive and licentious behavior, since the caprices which were narrated concerning the idols were adopted as an excuse to imitate their putative actions.

The original belief is what Abraham reinstated through his teaching of ethical monotheism.

See also the other Related Link.

• Link: Abraham's monotheism
  

Footnotes

1) Albright, "From the Stone Age," p.170; and J.A. Wilson, "The Culture of Ancient Egypt," p.129. Also Baron, "A Social and Religious History," vol. I, p.44 and 311. Also James Meek, "Hebrew Origins," p.188, quoting Langdon, Lagrange and John Ross. Also Martin Nilsson, Handbuch der Altertumswissenschaften, 2nd ed., p.61, 141, 220 and 394.

2) G. W. Anderson, in "The Old Testament and Modern Study," p.287. Also Friedrich Baethgen, in Beitraege zur Semitischen Religionsgeschichte, p.288. Also Pallotino, "The Etruscans," p. 158 and 167.

Answer 10

Everywhere, more or less at the same time.

At first, the entire ancient world possessed the original traditions of the Creation, the existence of the human soul and the afterlife, the special status of the number seven, the dignity of the dead, etc.

Archaeology has shown that no ancient society ever existed that did not believe in the supernatural.

• Link: Can you show me that God exists?
  

Based upon a massive worldwide study of the most ancient inscriptions and the earliest levels of civilization, Dr. Wilhelm Schmidt (in his twelve-volume Der Ursprung Der Gottesidee) concluded that the original belief was monotheistic; a belief in One God. It was a simple belief in the Creator (Dyeus Pater; Sky-Father) with no imagery of any kind. It gave way relatively quickly to ubiquitous polytheism and idolatry, but its traces could still be seen by the careful researcher, just as (for example) Proto-Indo European has left indelible marks within the later languages.

The process by which the awareness of One God gave way to a belief in many gods, has been described by Scandinavian researchers as splitting ("Gottespaltung"): the people gradually viewed God's attributes of truth, righteousness, fertility etc., as separate from Him, and afterwards personified and worshiped the attributes themselves, until God was largely forgotten.