PsyloSurgeon
Banned
It seems that the decline of Polytheism and its associated culture appears to be inevitable. Either it is a benign marginalization and cooption with Nontheistic religions such as Theravada Buddhism in Sri Lanka and SE Asia, Confucianism/Taoism/Buddhism in East Asia; or complete displacement as with Monotheistic Christianity and Islam. A third option is partial displacement with as seen with Zoroastrianism's relationship with Iranian polytheism.
Duotheistic Manichaeans in contrast seem to have had a deliberate policy of cooption and coexistence, which allowed them to spread far and wide, but caused dissipation and their ultimate extinction.
In China, Confucianism marginalized Chinese polytheism as the dominant guiding force of Chinese civilization beginning with the Han dynasty, with Buddhism and Taoism following soon after. However in this case, Chinese folk religion still remains popular though no longer the guiding force of the Chinese civilization, having been overtaken by nontheistic doctrines such as Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism.
Even Shintoism was largely fused with Buddhism, and it fared better than Korean folk religion because of less Confucian influence in Japan. In contrast, Neo-Confucianism in Korea led to heavy decline of Korean folk religion.
Theravada Buddhism, which is Nontheistic became the dominant religion of mainland SE Asia, but the native religions still exist to a large degree. In Burma, they worship Nat spirits, and similar traditions exist in Thailand, Laos and Cambodia. But again, Buddhism is king and is the guiding force of their traditional cultures.
Zoroastrianism displaced the Iranian polytheism during the Sasanid period, with the exception of the Goddess Anahita and the God Mithra.
In the Greco-Roman world, Christianity became the dominant religion, a monotheism displacing all of the polytheisms there, from Mesopotamia to Iceland.
Islam displaced Arabian, Berber, and Iranian polytheisms, and Hinduism from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Indonesia. It also displaced African traditional religion in Sahel and Horn of Africa.
Similar fates were also attested for the Mesoamericans, Andeans, African traditionalists, Oceanians by European Christianity.
Hinduism somehow managed to avoid marginalization and cooption by Nontheistic Buddhism and Jainism, and complete displacement by Monotheistic Islam and Christianity.
Is Polytheism doomed to be erased by the Winds of Change and does history belong to Nontheism, Duotheism and Monotheism?
@Emperor-of-New-Zealand @herkles @CountPeter
Duotheistic Manichaeans in contrast seem to have had a deliberate policy of cooption and coexistence, which allowed them to spread far and wide, but caused dissipation and their ultimate extinction.
In China, Confucianism marginalized Chinese polytheism as the dominant guiding force of Chinese civilization beginning with the Han dynasty, with Buddhism and Taoism following soon after. However in this case, Chinese folk religion still remains popular though no longer the guiding force of the Chinese civilization, having been overtaken by nontheistic doctrines such as Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism.
Even Shintoism was largely fused with Buddhism, and it fared better than Korean folk religion because of less Confucian influence in Japan. In contrast, Neo-Confucianism in Korea led to heavy decline of Korean folk religion.
Theravada Buddhism, which is Nontheistic became the dominant religion of mainland SE Asia, but the native religions still exist to a large degree. In Burma, they worship Nat spirits, and similar traditions exist in Thailand, Laos and Cambodia. But again, Buddhism is king and is the guiding force of their traditional cultures.
Zoroastrianism displaced the Iranian polytheism during the Sasanid period, with the exception of the Goddess Anahita and the God Mithra.
In the Greco-Roman world, Christianity became the dominant religion, a monotheism displacing all of the polytheisms there, from Mesopotamia to Iceland.
Islam displaced Arabian, Berber, and Iranian polytheisms, and Hinduism from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Indonesia. It also displaced African traditional religion in Sahel and Horn of Africa.
Similar fates were also attested for the Mesoamericans, Andeans, African traditionalists, Oceanians by European Christianity.
Hinduism somehow managed to avoid marginalization and cooption by Nontheistic Buddhism and Jainism, and complete displacement by Monotheistic Islam and Christianity.
Is Polytheism doomed to be erased by the Winds of Change and does history belong to Nontheism, Duotheism and Monotheism?
@Emperor-of-New-Zealand @herkles @CountPeter
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