Monotheism is a myth fed to us by the patriarchy. In fact, you will find that behind “monotheistic religions” there is a blind monolatry in the shadows and in some cases blatant Polytheism
The Abrahamic Belief Systems dominate modern-day society’s understanding of religion. This is especially in countries like mine – the United States. With the mass adoption of these beliefs – mostly as the result of violent colonization and indoctrination – the concept of worshipping or just believing in multiple Gods becomes mythic. If we add goddess into the mix then the distaste grows stronger.
No religion is truly monotheistic. In fact, we often find that standing beside the patriarchal worship of a masculine all-powerful God there exists an often ignored and equally powerful partner. At the core of spirituality, there is equality between the two and the highest of powers would either have to transcend both aspects or carry them dichotomously.
Monolatry, Monotheism, and Polytheism
My family says I like to play with words, I’d say I disagree but I got my Bachelor’s in English and Creative Writing. I think most people lack the basic understanding of language that is necessary to participate in conversations in spirituality, which is to no fault of anyone but the blind indoctrination forced upon us by schooling and religion. If we know less, we are less likely to present valid arguments against what we have been taught. I honestly don’t recall quite when I picked up the word, but it was a stepping stone in my spiritual journey. I went from Monolatrist Christian to Christian Witch, to Omnist Witch, rather comfortably.
So what exactly are the running definitions for these words? I am sure you are aware of monotheism and polytheism. Monotheism is the belief in and worship of one God. Polytheism is the worship of many Gods. Many people believe that those are the two types of belief systems. But what about those that believe other Gods exist but only worship one? That is where we find monolatry. If we look at the basis of monotheism “religious texts,” we will find they are far from monotheistic.
The Myth of Monotheism
Excerpts can be found in Christianity and Judaism such as: “The King of kings, The Lord of lords,” and “Thou shalt put no gods before me.” These texts request its followers to prioritize one God over all others, the texts admit the undeniable truth that there are others. It is important for people to differentiate between “the” true God and “your” true God.
When we look at the ancient texts of Judaism (that were later translated and picked apart to create the Old Testament of the Bible) we even find that there is not just one worshipped God. This brings us back to our previous discussion of the Divine Feminine. Both in Christianity and Judaism, we see that there was an abandonment of the feminine deities that once stood beside or outside of the male God. Two of my personal favorites to reference are Sophia (we see more about her in Christian Gnosticism) and Asherah (often referred to as God’s Wife although there’s a deep history there.) These are just two goddesses that we see removed from these texts and turned into false idols or myths. In fact, Asherah and Yahweh can be traced to the polytheistic Canaanite religion.
This rejection of gods that were never truly seen as nonexistent shows that the switch from polytheism to monotheism was not really a simple conversion and may not have truly happened. What we are truly looking at is Monolatry disguised as Monotheism. The goal is to create stigmatization, separation, and blind loyalty.
Historical Underpinnings of Divine Feminine
Throughout spiritual and religious history, the Divine Feminine is often split into three. (A concept adopted by “monotheistic” Christianity). In Celtic Lore we see this depicted through the triple goddess. In Ancient Greece, we hear the stories of the Fates. In Northwestern Europe we saw the Matronae, a group of goddesses almost always depicted in groups of three. In the previously mentioned Canaanite beliefs, we see Asherah alongside Astarte and Anath. This ideal was clearly taken to heart at the rise of Wicca when we saw the adoption of the Triple Goddess of Maiden, Mother, and Crone.
What we can derive from these distinct cultures is an image of what the divine feminine is meant to truly encompass: Sex, Fertility, Nurturing, Intuition, Leadership, Wisdom, and Warrior. Two of these ideas (Warrior and Leader) tend to be attributed solely to the divine masculine, but I would argue that this idea lacks historical and traditional backing. When looking back we often find depictions of the female war goddesses, like Athena and Scáthach. And at the forefront of all belief systems we have a mother of the universe (the ultimate leader). These influences take hold in the veiled goddess of monotheistic religions.
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