#the image is making me a cassandra worshipper

[ttrpgnoob]

My Heart🫀: Kristen Applebee's flying, surrounded by twilight, staring Buddy dead in the eyes - with a look of wanting to understand - before disappearing under the ground.

My Brain🧠: Kristen Applebee's flying, surrounded by twilight, staring Buddy dead in the eyes - with a look of wanting to understand - before disappearing under the ground.

My Soul✨: Kristen Applebee's flying, surrounded by twilight, staring Buddy dead in the eyes - with a look of wanting to understand - before disappearing under the ground.

[candleheartwitch]

don’t mind me, posting my comparative religion final essay here for sharing and archiving purposes.

Polytheism, Choice, and You

        Across the world and throughout human history, people have relied on religion for comfort, aid, and purpose. The type of religion one is drawn to can vary wildly depending on culture, lifestyle, personality, and many other factors. The biggest conflict in religion is the question of God: is there one god, two, or more? Are they all-powerful, all-knowing, and ever-present? Are they some or none of those things? We will most likely never have satisfying, concrete answers to those questions, but we can still choose our own path and decide what religion, if any, we want to follow. The choice is easy for some, and yet some people don’t think they have a choice at all. The biggest dichotomy in religion is mono- versus polytheism. Some are neither, like Buddhism, while Hinduism seems to be both. In Hinduism there are countless deities, each serving a purpose—there are house spirits, family gods, and community gods on top of the “basic” gods of the religion. Each is important to different people. Each Hindu devotes themselves to different deities, even though they all believe roughly the same things. In our Western, Christian-centric culture, it can be hard to understand why anyone would choose to worship in that way. We can find it difficult to wrap one’s head around polytheism and transactional worship at all. Why would someone worship a god that isn’t necessarily all-powerful, that doesn’t necessarily care if you worship them at all? Every polytheist would give a different answer to that question, but there seems to be one consistent reason. Polytheism and transactional religions preserve a person’s agency and grant choice—many people find it easier to be fully devoted to a god or gods they chose themselves.

           People who leave Christianity often say that they did not enjoy the feeling of subservience and inferiority impressed upon them by the religion. Christianity and Islam view religion as a system of debts and inherent superiority—God has already given humanity his love and help, and worshippers spend their lives trying to repay Him and stay in his good graces. Not only that, but god is worthy of worship simply by the fact that He created the world; He is the perfect, omnipotent, omnipresent force that keeps everything running. One is supposed to worship Him simply because He is the One True God. In polytheistic religions, the deities generally aren’t portrayed as perfect, not are they imperfect—rather, they are simply forces of reality that should not be questioned. In Hinduism, it is often much more a transaction-based relationship between devotee and deity. Worship is part of a deal struck with a specific god; the devotee performs a ritual or makes an offering in exchange for a service from the god (or insurance for the future). Of course, the relationship is not totally heartless. Many polytheists feel a deep personal connection with their gods, some even claiming gods have communicated directly with them. A Hindu might bathe a god’s likeness in milk, or present a priest with food to be blessed; these are done in service to a god, as the “price” of devotion. If a polytheist does not fulfill certain things, they might be able to count on their deity when they need something, or incur the righteous wrath of a higher power. In contrast, a religion like Buddhism that has no deities sees the self as both a natural force and a perfect being, and requires neither subservience not payment. A Buddhist might see the worship of a deity as a crutch keeping someone from realizing the true potential of the individual.

           In Hinduism, the gods are much more involved with the gritty, every-day realities of life. They make up every force in the universe, with little regard for morality. Often, one god has both “good” and “bad” attributes; this is why polytheistic religion does not tend to apply such concepts to their gods or to their practice. For example, the Greek god Apollon is the god of both medicine and plague—when people begin to get sick, worshippers wonder what they did to anger Him, and try to appease Him to He will heal the afflicted. The plague is not seen as an “evil” phenomenon. Rather, it is simply the way things are, or even a punishment for not worshipping correctly. In Christianity and Islam, Good and Evil are separate forces, and only the Good is worshipped. The Abrahamic God is transcendent; He is perfect and good, and thus rarely delves into the world of men, which is imperfect, dirty, and at risk of evil. That idea is another thing that leads many people to convert to polytheism—they feel like the Hindu, Greek, Egyptian, Norse, or other deities are more relatable, and thus make more attainable role models. In Christianity specifically, it is Satan’s proximity to the base desires of humanity and temptation that give him Evil characteristics; he fell from Grace to Imperfection. This creates the narrative that it is impossible for human beings to every truly be good while they are human, and that the only way to do good is to get as close to God as possible. For some people, this mindset is helpful—it aids in the search of goodness, and helps people to kick harmful habits and behaviors. In a tradition where the end result is to be as Perfect and Good as possible, temptation away from Perfection is temptation toward Evil. The only way to become perfect is to remove oneself from Earthly desires. As it stands, humans are sullied by Sin and dissatisfaction, neither of which plagues the perfect God. In pagan polytheism, the gods are not guides in morality, and neither do they preach arbitrary rules for behavior. Very little is black-and-white, good-or-evil, do-or-die; this allows people to worship casually without getting bogged down in grand questions of morality. Hinduism is complicated, however, as there is a destiny or code that is ascribed to each person (called dharma), but it is not dictated by the gods; this is why Hinduism is considered both mono- and polytheistic. The universe determines a person’s dharma, and their gods determine everyday worship and behavior. The two concepts are inextricably entwined, and a discussion of gods in Hinduism is not complete without at least a mention of dharma as well.

                       The problem of idolatry is also a major division in religion. At one extreme, Islam does not allow any images of God or the divine, and images of the prophet are only allowed sometimes. As a result, mosques tend to use calligraphy of Quran passages as décor, like Christian churches may use images of Jesus. Christianity forbids idolatry, though it is defined as the worship of things other than God (which includes polytheism). Catholicism and Eastern Orthodox churches permit the use of religious images, and Catholics often claim patron saints, thought they claim they simply honor the saints. Protestants generally prohibit “worshipping” imagery or saints, though they often use the image of the cross as a symbol. This extreme aversion to icons is why many people in the West have trouble understanding Hindu practice; Hinduism is all about icon worship. In temples and in home shrines, each god honored there must have a likeness, generally a statue or figurine. This figure is known to be a vessel for the deity, and thus must be taken great care of. It is washed, “fed” by placing offerings of food on its altar, dressed, and sometimes carried to different places in the temple or home. This is a physical symbol of worship; as devotees honor the icon, so are they honoring the god. It is also known that if one has an icon in one’s home, the god has a presence there. These symbols only become real, however, when they are consecrated by a priest. The home becomes sacred once a priest performs a blessing upon it. This allows temporary symbols: as long as a priest blesses an object (which might be a carving, a drawing, a tree, or other), it is believed to be the deity incarnate. It is considered inappropriate to view an idol without its ritual adornment, as that deity is not ready to be seen.

           Perhaps the biggest draw to polytheism is the customization, so to speak. Many people who grew up in Christianity describe that they felt trapped; they wanted to do good, and to be a good person, but felt that Christian rules weren’t the right way. They were taught that there is one way to be, and if someone strays from the path they are doomed. People who convert to polytheism say they were drawn to the freedom to choose what and how to worship, as well as what and how to be. In an informal interview on Instagram, young adults expressed their displeasure with the stringent regulation in Abrahamic churches. Instagram user Cassandra (@im_a_cas_tastrophe) said that monotheistic religion “didn’t appeal to my need for freedom in spirituality and sexuality…. It’s more like apprenticing myself to an amazing, reputable teacher and dedicating myself to learning about them and their craft.” User @imtherealest_mermaid talked about the expectation of worship: “…because yes I want to worship and devote myself to them but I’m also not about that blindly follow with nothing in return sort of thing [sic].” User @deathbydivination exhibits how varied polytheism can be: “For myself it’s a very deep mutual partnership…I actually have equal footing in my relationship with my deity and unlike monotheism where it almost feels like they hold ultimate power over you….” In pagan polytheism there are certain rules, but the devotee is free to choose which pantheon, deities, and rules fit their idea of religion. Worship in Hinduism is a bit more prescribed—the religion is thousands of years old, after all—but individuals are still welcome and expected to choose a personal deity they feel the most connected to.

           Religion is the “big question” of human history. Atrocities, miracles, and good deeds have all been committed in the name of every religion under the sun. Humanity will never agree on which tradition is “correct,” nor will we ever decide if religion is “real” or not. Despite the growing numbers of atheist and non-religious people, religion will continue to give people comfort, purpose, and a sense of community, just as it has for thousands of years. While monotheistic, Abrahamic religions are still the largest populations in the world, polytheism continues to restore agency to those who feel left behind by other traditions. Hinduism as well will continue to endure, and as more Hindus emigrate from India the religion will spread, and who knows—maybe it will gain a large convert population.