I'm looking for any information about monotheistic religions (other than Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) - especially any references to a faith with a FEMALE deity.
Thank you!
This question has been asked, with various answers, online. For example, at Yahoo posts: https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20101226121145AAsK2pr
Some versions of early Christian Gnostic traditions (not purely monotheistic though) Include female deities. Le me know if interested in further details.
Sometimes in Christianity, the Holy Spirit is considered to be feminine
And in the ancient Rites of Samothrace, Axieros could be a goddess
The monotheism, strictly so called, of the Abrahamic faiths (Judaism, Christianity and Islam) holds that God is not gendered at all. Neither male nor female. The creator of all beings cannot itself be any kind of a being, cannot have a body, and therefore cannot be either male or female. In Judaism and Christianity, however (and I'm afraid I don't know about Islam) there are plenty of ways of talking about God using female metaphors - speaking of God as mother for example. So though no monotheistic tradition may have a male or female deity, monotheists are quite happy to use both male and female language about God.
An early christian sect in arabic region called collirydian regards Mary as a part of trinity. However Collyridian was considered heretical among christians.
The analytical psychologist Carl Gustaf Jung suggests that Virgin Mary should be an integral part of the Christian (Roman Catholic) concept og Deity. For him Mary complements the Trinity, and instead of the concept of Trinity (three persons in one), he suggests that of Quaternity (four persons) in the Christian concept of God. Please, see: “Marriages Made in Heaven: Trinity Finally Becomes a Quaternity – to be continued”: https://stottilien.com/2012/03/18/marriages-made-in-heaven-trinity-finally-becomes-a-quaternity-draft-not-complete/
The ancient Hebrew mystics quite frequently referred to Creator as e'ma ila'a, "Great Mother," or "Mother who is on High." They applied this reference specifically to our pre-religion name for what we call God: elo'heem, which, in turn, is the only god-name mentioned in the Hebraic Creation story, that is, in the Hebrew original, not the pathetic translations. At its root, elo'heem is a plural word in ancient Hebrew implying multiple divine powers at work, which is characteristic of the feminine, since the feminine is always more than herself, being capable as she is, of creating and birthing others from within her Self. And that is why our ancient sages referred to elo'heem as e'ma ila'a. Bottom line, however, Gilbert Markus stated it perfectly, that God is neither feminine nor masculine, but is beyond anything we can possibly fathom or define or identify. The application of "he" or "she" or Great Mother, or "Father who art in Heaven" (also Judaic in origin), are but our meager mortal attempts at grasping the ungraspable, knowing the unknowable. So when we call God "Great Mother," for instance, we are not implying that this is what God is, but that this is how we experience God in its role as Creator, since our earthly mothers are our best available dramatizations of Creation.
You might find some hints within African Traditional Religion. While many authors would argue that the African religious construal is polytheistic rather than monotheistic -because of the presence of many gods. Most African scholars of religion and practitioners alike, hold the opposite claim that African religion is polytheistic. Their explanation is that the divine realm is a hierarchy within which God the supreme being occupies the highest rank, followed by other divinities, then deities, then ancestors, etc, all of which make up the African pantheon. The attached except from a book edited by Jacob Olupona mentions some religious systems in Africa where women deities play a prominent role. I hope it helps. Good luck with your research.
Thank you all so much for your help! Jenn and I really appreciate it!
We will post an update by tomorrow evening.
Founded in the 19th century, Christian Science has ever since followed the concept of a supreme being as Father/Mother.
While not strictly monotheistic, more accurately an example of monarchical polytheism with a single high deity and many lesser deities, traditional Japanese religion -- Shinto -- is rare in having a female deity -- Amaterasu no-mikami -- as its high god.
In India there is a god that has a multiple arms and is supposed to be female, Ishtar, the sun god is supposed to be female there are many derivations of such and is supposed to be where we get the name Sunday. Interestingly enough the most ancient sacred day Saturday (Shabbat) was transferred to Sunday as a day of worship.
In pre-Islamic tradition, Allah had a female partner, Allat, but in a polytheistic system. Even in Canaan's testimonies of the first jahwism we often find a wife of Jahwé.
Very simply, the worship of Diana (Artemis) in Ephesus was a monotheistic worship of a female deity. There were several cults in Ephesus that were monotheistic with a female deity, it is worth while to look at Ephesus to see their worship practices and the gods they were attracted to.
I'd second Gilbert Markus' comments, I've recently been reading a book on this subject you might find interesting - Elizabeth Rankin Geitz's Gender and the Nicene Creed. I have not read but would suggest the following might also be worthwhile:
- Paul R. Smith's Is It Okay to Call God "Mother"?
- Daniel Berrigan's Wisdom: The Feminine Face of God.
- Cynthian Bourgeault and Rami Shapiro's Embracing the Divine Feminine.
- Virginia Ramey Mollenkott's The Divine Feminine.
AND...I highly recommend Raphael Pattai's amazing work: "The Hebrew Goddess" (Wayne State University Press [1990]) with Foreword by Merlin Stone.
In Ancient Israel, Yahweh was often thought to have a consort. See
- http://www.ancientpages.com/2017/04/12/ancient-yahweh-asherah-inscriptions-kuntillet-ajrud-remain-unsolved-biblical-mystery/
- http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-sites-places/puzzling-finds-from-kuntillet-ajrud%E2%80%94a-drawing-of-god-labeled-yahweh-and-his-asherah-or-the-egyptian-god-bes/
- http://cojs.org/who-or-what-was-yahwehs-asherah/
- http://www.baslibrary.org/aspects-monotheism/0/0/3/folk-religion-early-israel-did-yahweh-have-consort
... and whatever else Google adds to it.
Also, in Egyptian religion, mainly in its New Kingdom versions, the world was thought to have descended from the Ogdoad, which were four pairs of primeval gods and goddesses.
However, to tell you the truth, I can't think of any religion where the chief deity would be explicitly feminine. As many would point out, Christian God is genderless. But the Bible very often depicts him in activities that were typical of men (warrior, potter, king), so it's hard to imagine that ancient communities of faith would think of God in feminine terms. An exception to this is found e.g. with Luke. See Luke 13:34; 15:8, etc.
Michael Buban is right in general about the generally masculine imagery used of God in the Hebrew Bible. But exceptions might include the fact that both Adam and Eve, male and female, are made in the image of God - equally, it would seem. Hosea 11:3-4 represents God as a mother, supporting, guiding and feeding her child. Isaiah 66:13 says (in God's voice), 'As a mother comforts her child, so I would comfort you.' Psalm 131:2 compares teh soul trusting in God to 'a weaned child on its mother's breast'. Certainly stereotypically masculine images of Gode appear more often, but the feminine imagery is more common than sometimes supposed -and this list is by no means exhaustive.
I do not think that there is a religion of Unitarianism has become a preacher of God female..However, if you want to search for females in history and their role in God, they will find many of them in ancient beliefs in the civilization of Babylon and Assyria, as well as in the civilization of ancient Egypt and Greece
I invite you to browse the book and they are the god of the writer Richard Dawkins in the philosophy of religions
V.I. Ivanov, russian thinker, poet, and philologist wrote about ancient female monotheism
The concept of masculinity as attached to God in Hebrew holy writ is not really the case. God is both presented as masculine and feminine. Even the two creation accounts by the Priestly authors (Gen 1:26-28) and the Yahwist authors (Gen 2:1:16-23), it will be seen that God created human beings as both male and female in the image and likeness of God, which means that the God of the Hebrew scripture is both masculine and feminine. Secondly, it is absolutely wrong to postulate with all amount of mathematical exactitude that from the account in Gen 2:16ff a woman ('ishah) was created from the ribs of man ('ish) since both of them were created from the same being called 'Adam. Adam in this sense was neither male or female but what came out of Adam was male human being ('ish) and female human being ('ishah). So the concept of masculine monotheism is not really the presentation of the Hebrew scripture. Though the name 'Adam is used in some other sense is used for masculine gender, in the case of human creation, it is not so. From Chapter three of Genesis,
The fact of feminine and masculine nature of Hebrew God is affirmed all over the Old Testament.(see Hos 11:3-4 and Psalm 131:2 among other texts
In the times of Paul, the apostle, he confronted the men of the temple of Diana in Ephesus in Act 19: 26-28 (KJV).
26 Moreover ye see and hear, that not alone at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul hath persuaded and turned away much people, saying that they be no gods, which are made with hands:
27 So that not only this our craft is in danger to be set at nought; but also that the temple of the great goddess Diana should be despised, and her magnificence should be destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worshippeth.
28 And when they heard these sayings, they were full of wrath, and cried out, saying, Great is Diana of the Ephesians.
Female deities are common in the Old Testament, the Baalims (Baal, and the Asherah), to include Gentile Nations 1 Kings 18:19 (NKJV)
19 Now therefore, send and gather all Israel to me on Mount Carmel, the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal, and the four hundred prophets of Asherah (Female Canaanite goddess), who eat at Jezebel's table." As suggested, God can be a female deity is not true. God is not a female deity nor a mother. He knows how to care for his children. In the New Testament, Jesus taught us to pray, “Say our Father in Heaven” is his opening statement in Matt. 6:9.
We are unaware of any female deity in today’s religions, not say there are not any in third world countries.
The article attached is from the Huffpost 01/21/2011: Goddess Durga: A Divine Female Role Model for Our Times? By Laura Amazzone.
We are at a global crossroads. Environmental devastation, economic upheaval, political corruption and unconscionable acts of man-made violence threaten the precious equilibrium of our planet. Racism, sexism, homophobia, war, violence, genocide, human trafficking — it is hard not to feel overwhelmed by the massive injustice perpetuated by humans against our own species and ultimately the fragile web of all life on this planet. How do we make sense of the destruction? When all seems futile, how do we approach formidable life experiences from a place of compassion for both self and other? To whom do we turn for guidance?
To many in the West, the orthodox religious traditions we grew up within have failed to provide solace. Many of us are looking for a spiritual model that addresses the needs of the tumultuous 21st century and yet is grounded in respect for the interconnectedness of all life. While some have found guidance in indigenous beliefs, western mystical traditions or eastern philosophy, the ululating call of the divine feminine seems to be making itself heard across the board.
Most of us are familiar with Greek mythology and its pantheon of goddesses and gods; however, fewer are aware that there is a thriving tradition of goddess worship in South Asia where devotion to the divine as Compassionate Mother and Fiercely Protective Female Warrior has existed for millennia. In fact, there is not one, but thousands of manifestations of goddess in South Asia. In Hinduism human diversity is expressed by this vast pantheon of deities; and yet, as one of the most popular goddess myths reminds us, despite our differences, we are indeed all One.
The Devi Mahatmya or the Great Glory of the Goddess is a 5th century myth that offers potent teachings relevant to this day and age. The heroine of this story about the victory of good over evil is Durga, Goddess of Divine Justice, Invincible Power, and Impenetrable Compassion. Her name, Durga, means fortress, and speaks to the unassailable essence of our inherent nature. Durga is also known as the Remover of Fear and Difficulty for she always comes to the aid of any who call on her in distress.
According to the myth, demonic forces are threatening to conquer the world and take down any who do not agree with their agenda. Despite the gods’ intentions to stop the demons, the methods they use only perpetuate the violence. Moreover, this demon king has received a boon from the creator God Brahma, which makes him undefeatable by any man, god or demon. When Brahma asks the demon if he wants to be exempt from defeat by a female as well, the demon’s inflated ego puffs up with pride. To the demon, battling a woman is an easy win — he declines.
After eons of senseless violence, the male gods convene and call forth the Supreme Mother Goddess behind all existence. Only she is powerful enough to stop the bloodshed. The initial chapter of Durga’s mythic journey of restoring harmony to the world tells how the demon king learns a beautiful female is waiting to engage in battle with him. He orders his two favorite demon generals to bring her to him so he can force her into wedlock. However, the generals do not have a chance against the all-powerful goddess. As they approach her, the composed goddess emits a flame from her finger that restores them to a state of tranquility and compassion. Outraged, the demon demands that the goddess engage directly with him in battle. She does.
The demon becomes more and more furious as he faces the great goddess. He hurls mountains, uproots forests and causes earthquakes with his all-consuming anger against the possible loss of power and control. Every time one of Durga’s arrows flies at him, the demon changes form from water buffalo, to tiger, to man until finally she grabs him, pins his neck down with her foot and sends a spear through his heart.
Metaphorically, we can consider Durga as the wisdom of the heart, untainted by cultural, religious and societal conditioning. The buffalo demon symbolizes our ignorance, reactions and ego attachments. The constantly shifting appearance of the demon speaks to our irrational behavior and the need to pin down the destructive causes of our negative emotions: anger, jealousy, pride, greed and delusion. His shape shifting is symbolic of the grasping ignorant mind that continuously jumps from one desire to another. The demon’s uncontrollable rage, destroying everything in its path without regard for the consequences, is a fitting analogy for the violence we face today. This myth asks us to consider how we choose to express our anger — whether we will use our rage against injustice in constructive ways, or if we will be divisive, fearful and blaming, thereby poisoning our environment. The fiercely compassionate divine feminine nature will help free us from the afflicted ego and return to the penetrating wisdom of divine love. Goddess Durga may not solve all the world’s problems at the moment, but as this ancient scripture teaches, she is the impenetrable place of calm within our hearts from which we can choose actions that promote harmony and unity rather than selfish harmful acts.
In the myth, after the demon has finally been defeated and the gods gather to celebrate, Mother Durga promises to return whenever any of her children are in distress. As we face crises on both a personal and planetary level, might we call on this ancient divine female force of compassion and courage to help us confront and transform that which threatens the well being and contentment of all beings on this planet?
The Devi Mahatmya teaches that the grace of goddess is unconditional and will never be withheld from anyone — ego demon or not. Through her fierce love toward self and other, harmony will be restored within and around us. We need only invoke Durga to help us remember our true nature and that divine love conquers all.
A fascinating discussion. What about the Mother Goddess of Catalhuyuk, a possible single deity.
Yes, there are several religions that worship a single female deity. I've listed them here for you. They are monotheistic in the sense that many of these believe that Goddess is the only deity which exists, and that other goddesses and gods are either her children or "avatars" of the original female deity (tending more toward henotheism). Deanism and Filianism are purely monotheistic. As for being "major" religions...I'm not sure how to define major. They certainly are widespread and very ancient.
1. Magoism : worships the Korean creator-goddess Mago. Magoists believe that Mago was the original cosmic mother goddess of Asia. Helen Hye-Sook Hwang wrote of it in The Mago Way: Re-discovering Mago, the Great Goddess from East Asia.
2. Deanism : A modern religion that worships Dea or "Mother God" and reveres the feminine godhead exclusively as the one and only divinity. Their holy text is A Gospel of Our Mother God.
3. Filianism : Another modern religion that is related to Deanism, but focuses on the Mother God and her Divine Daughter and the Janyati (feminine angelic beings).
4. Shaktiism : A version of Hinduism (some say that Shaktiism pre-dates Hinduism) that worships Shakti as the supreme Goddess and original creatrix of the universe. Shakti is also the life-force within all beings. The Devi Gita or Spiritual Counsel of the Goddess is the text most often associated with Shaktiism.
5. Lakshmi-worship : Another Hindu path wherein Lakshmi is worshipped as the Supreme Feminine Godhead, the female face of God.
6. Kuan Yin-worship : Kuanyin, also called Guanyin or Guan Yin Bodhissatva is a bodhisattva / immortal / buddha, a well-known figure to Taoism, Hinduism, Shinto, and Buddhism. She is also called Goddess Kuan Yin and revered by many as the Goddess for our times, or the avatar by which the Goddess reveals herself to humanity. I listed this here because she is worshipped by many people around the world as their one and only goddess, or as a "patron goddess". A similar phenomenon can be seen with Tara, a major female buddha.
7. Gaianism : honors Gaia, the divine Earth mother in spiritual thought and in protecting the physical planet Earth from pollution. Recognizes the Soul of Nature as Gaia, the earth's Goddess and mother of all life on the planet.
10. Goddess Movement: The general modern term given to all goddess-related paths, especially those who honor the divine feminine as a primordial, intrinsic or first-cause being. It encompasses many religions as well as including people who practice no religion but believe in the Goddess.
11. Goddessian: Any belief in the Goddess, usually as supreme deity, outside of belief in Wicca or Witchcraft. (People who believe in the Goddess but who are not Wiccan or Witches).
12. Classical Taoism : many believers in Classical Taoism (based on the Tao Te Ching, writings of Lao Tzu and perhaps Chuang Tzu as well) also believe that the Tao is a feminine force, and that the "Valley Spirit" or "Cosmic Female" mentioned many times in the Tao Te Ching is actually the Goddess. They usually believe that Tao is the ultimate reality, therefore Goddess is ultimate reality.
13. Dianic Wicca: a form of Wicca that worships the Goddess Diana exclusively and does not acknowledge other deities.
14. Stregheria : A form of Italian witchcraft tradition that also worships Diana as the first and most important divinity. Some forms of Stregheria acknowledge a male god also, but many do not.
15. Avalonian or Druidry: a Celtic and British belief which focuses on the Great Mother Goddess and the mystical Isle of Avalon. It is difficult to find information on the subject since much of it is tied up with Arthurian legends and myths, but practitioners of it still exist today. It is somewhat related to the Celtic pantheon of Tuatha De Dann "the tribe of the Goddess Danu" and their Great Goddess is named Danu.
16. Shinto: Many believers in this Nature-spirit religion (the original religion of Japan) believe that Amaterasu the Sun Goddess is the mother of all "kami" (the most important of all nature spirits).
17. Collyridianism (ancient): A derivative of Christianity, mostly consisting of women, who worshipped Mary as the supreme Goddess. It was a devotional religion wherein they offered cakes and libations to images of Mary.
18. Great Cosmic Mother (ancient): The primordial, theoretical religion proposed by anthropologists as the world's "first faith". It was written about in When God Was a Woman by Merlin Stone and The Great Cosmic Mother, Rediscovering the Religion of the Earth by Monica Sjoo and Barbara Mor.
So this is a very complete list. As you can see, there are many paths that honor a female deity. The Goddess has always been with us, and she always will be :)
Shinto by definition cannot be consider as a religion (in a 道、a way, and is syncretic). Moreover, far to be monotheistic, since Kami are not dieties, but is everything that is sacred.
Far to say that Amaterasu is just one among the kami and by chance happend to be the tutelary kami of the ruling family (in priesthood sense), but she was well generated by a male diety, even without the intervention of a woman. In Shinto cosmogony, about a hundred kami were generated before Amaterasu and she generate not many kami, some of which by chewing her brother sword. Her grandson was sent to Earth to rule, and his sone was the first emperor, hence there are just 3 generation between her and the "human" emperor, that by the way is a kami himself.
About Stregheria, if you mean by Grimassi thoery, Diana (or any other name you call her Uni, Tana, Diana) is always part of a duotheistic pair , which in case of Diana is Dianus.
Classical Taoism is cleary pantheistic, since in it's philosophical terms it puts an emphasis on the formlessness of the Tao. Anyway, at the top of the pantheon there are the "three pure ones" the pureset manifestation of Tao> "The Tao produced One; One produced Two; Two produced Three; Three produced All things. "
There are other mistakes in your list, which however go out from my area of interest, so I would like someone else double-check.
By the way> >
if the other gods and goddesses are children (hence they exist), by definition is not monotheistic.
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