omnism—how can you believe in all gods?

There are a few basic types of religion and spirituality, and amongst these the most recognized are perhaps atheism and monotheism. However, there is much more than these two. Atheism is the belief in no gods, deities, or divine beings. Monotheism is the belief in one god or deity exclusively, often believing that this god is the one, supreme, all-encompassing god. Polytheism is the belief in multiple or many gods, and is commonly associated with paganism and ancient religions. Henotheism is the worship of one supreme god or deity without denying the existence of other gods or deities. Omnism is the belief in all gods (“omni” means all in Latin). The first question someone might ask when hearing about omnitheism is how can you worship every single god ever? And the answer is simple: I don’t. In fact, I don’t even try to. Many may often worship a handful of deities that are significant to them and their life, without denying the existence of others. Because I am an omnist, I believe in the existence of other gods, but recognizing their existence does not mean my own gods are any less real or important. In fact, there are some gods that I wouldn’t and shouldn’t worship, because they are a part of a closed practice.

I am constantly learning about new deities I didn’t know existed before. This isn’t because they didn’t exist before, I just didn’t know about them. The Divine is an all-encompassing spiritual body of many, many deities, in my view. I honor gods from four different pantheons, which is already a lot to keep up with. I would never commit myself to worshiping all gods, even excluding closed practices, because it would be quite literally impossible. Every god that has ever been recognized by anyone over time in thousand a of years? That’s a real and valid god to me. I also believe in gods that have yet to be recognized or may never be so. In this sense, I believe in infinite gods. The Divine is a body of many deities, but they are not all one, or all the same. (This is part of why I became a polytheistic omnist rather than a Wiccan. Wiccans generally believe in the All or the One, and that all deities are a different aspect of this All, whereas I believe they are separate entities.)

I still consider myself a polytheist, because I honor many gods, however, omnism is more of an extension of this term in my view. Omnism is also not an inherently religious term, but rather a spiritual one, and I do consider myself to be religious. I identify most perhaps with the Roman pantheon, and have recently been researching the Cultus Deorum Romanorum. However, I also work with deities from other pantheons, because gods from all pantheons exist in my belief. This is mainly for two reasons:

1, The Divine is so incredibly large and expansive, that it cannot be confined to just a handful of deities, or strictly one pantheon.

2. As much as I love the Roman gods, who am I to say the Greek gods are any less real? Or the Egyptian gods? Or the Norse gods? Or gods of closed practices? Accepting the existence of one god from one pantheon to me is accepting the existence of the whole pantheon. Since I already work with four different pantheons, why would any other pantheon be any less real to me?

Atheism, monotheism, henotheism, polytheism, and omnism are all valid. This is just what omnism means to me :)

Comments

  1. Rose EleusisJanuary 30, 2023 at 4:21 PM

    THIS THIS THIS

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AnonymousJanuary 30, 2023 at 4:22 PM

      Perfectly describes how my own polytheism / Omnism

      Delete

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