deity

(noun)

A preternatural or supernatural human or non-human being or entity, or an object that possesses miraculous or supernatural attributes, powers or superpowers (e.g. a god or goddess).

Related Terms

  • monotheism
  • polytheism

Examples of deity in the following topics:

  • Theism and Monotheism

    • It refers to any belief system that incorporates the existence of a deity.
    • A deity is a supernatural being thought of as holy, divine or sacred.
    • When only one deity is recognized, the faith tradition is called monotheistic.
    • Faith traditions involving more than one deity are called polytheistic.
    • Polytheism can also be subdivided according to how individual deities are regarded: Henotheism is the belief that while only one deity is worshiped other deities may exist and other people are justified in worshiping those other deities.
  • Beliefs

    • Such a state may relate to the existence, characteristics, and worship of a deity or deities; divine intervention in the universe and human life; or values and practices centered on the teachings of a spiritual leader.
    • Throughout history, various groups of people have considered themselves as chosen by a deity for a purpose, such as to act as the deity's agent on earth.
  • Magic and Supernaturalism

    • In pre-monotheistic religious traditions, there is no fundamental distinction between religious practice and magic; tutelary deities concerned with magic are sometimes called "hermetic deities" or "spirit guides. "
  • Animism

    • Often, these spirits are thought to be the souls of deceased relatives, and they are not worshiped as deities.
  • The Nature of Religion

    • Edward Burnett Tylor defined religion as simply "the belief in spiritual beings. " He argued, in 1871, that narrowing the definition to mean the belief in a supreme deity or judgment after death would exclude many peoples from the category of religious and thus "has the fault of identifying religion rather with particular developments than with the deeper motive which underlies them. " He also argued that the belief in spiritual beings exists in all known societies.
  • Types of States

    • Theocracy is a form of government in which a god or deity is recognized as the state's supreme civil ruler, or in a broader sense, a form of government in which a state is governed by immediate divine guidance or by officials who are regarded as divinely guided.
  • Religious Experience

    • The believer discovers that he or she is not distinct from other objects, the cosmos, the deity, or other realities, but part of a grand interconnected whole.
  • Types of Governments

    • Theocracy is a form of government in which a god or deity is recognized as the state's supreme civil ruler, or in a broader sense, a form of government in which a state is governed by immediate divine guidance or by officials who are regarded as divinely guided.
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