Polytheist

[Sarah]

One who believes in, or maintains the doctrine of, a pluralityof gods.

[Sarah]

Someone who believe in and/or worships more than one deity; the antonym for monotheist. Polytheism is common in contemporary Paganism, and many non-western religions, such as Shinto and some forms of Hinduism. It and was also a feature of many ancient religions, such as the religion of the Ancient Greeks. There are two subtypes of polytheists, soft polytheists and hard polytheists. Soft polytheists believe that they believe in many gods and goddesses but consider them all to be aspects of one God or one Goddess. It is common in some forms of Hinduism, as well as in some contemporary Pagan religions, such as Wicca. In contrast, hard polytheists believe all gods to be distinct entities, each one with his or her own characteristics and personality. Hard polytheism is a feature of some contemporary Pagan religions, especially the ones leaning more towards reconstruction of the religious beliefs of ancient cultures, such as Hellenic Polytheism, Asatru, Kemetism, and Celtic polytheism.