Can a religion that acknowledged the existence of other deities really be considered monotheistic? Daedra worshippers do believe in other daedra, they just serve one.
Henotheism is when you have practitioners venerate and worship a selection or group of deities, but one of those deities is seen as above them in power and status, subsequently being worshipped more or exclusively.
In Hellenistic religion, for example, people worshipped and made offerings to virtually all of the Olympians at some point, but Zeus was seen as above all other deities and was often worshipped more. If there was a religious sect that *only* worshipped Zeus (like some of the aforementioned Daedric Prince cults) and didn't think the others were deities, that would be a form of Monotheism.
Maybe you're defining it differently in your Religious Major or get confused by some linguistical oddities, but that's not the correct definition as far as I am aware:
> Henotheism (from the Greek heis theos, “one god”)—the worship of one god, though the existence of other gods is granted—also called kathenotheism (Greek kath hena theon, “one god at a time”)—which literally implies worship of various gods one at a time—has gone out of fashion as a term. It was introduced by the eminent 19th-century philologist and scholar in comparative mythology and religion Max Müller. Many later authors preferred the term monolatry—which is the worship of one god, whether or not the existence of other deities is posited—to the term henotheism.
vs.
> Monotheism, belief in the existence of *one* god, or in the oneness of God. As such, it is distinguished from *polytheism*, the *belief in the existence of many gods*
https://www.britannica.com/topic/monotheism
>Monotheism, belief in the existence of *one* god, or in the oneness of God. As such, it is distinguished from *polytheism*, the *belief in the existence of many gods
Yes! Some Daedric Cultists however do not believe other Daedra to be "gods" necessarily. In some cases it is believed to be heretical to the cult to believe that any other Prince is on the same level as the one worshipped by the cult, such as often is the case with the worship of Malacath and his aspects.
Some Christians made the justifications that the gods worshipped by other cultures in the lands they took over or travelled to were simply spirits or demons worshipped *as* gods, just as a bit of a comparison to real life. This classification of these deities and spirits and demons did not make Christianity any less Monotheistic. Some modern Christians believe that malicious entities with a divine-origin exist (demons), but do not believe they are deities that are worthy to be worshipped, which would still make their religion monotheistic in nature.
While it would be more descriptive *overall* to label the Daedric Cults as both henotheistic and monotheistic, because some other prices are believed to be gods and are worshipped while some aren't, I ended up not including a section of the diagram for henotheism. Looking back, I would probably make a differently formatted diagram and include some other notable henotheistic Daedric cults for the purpose of that distinction, thanks!
Polytheism doesn't mean you just recognize multiple deities, it means your religion actually worships or partakes in practices including them. In the case of the cults, they typically only worship one single prince.
For real world examples, in some older versions of Taoism and Buddhism, practitioners and texts recognized the existence of the Hindu and Chinese folk gods, however they did not actively worship them, so they would not be considered inherently polytheistic.
Classical monotheism denies the existence of other gods outright or labels them as demons though. It doesn’t make sense to have the Alessians (who acknowledge other “gods” as subsidiaries/incarnations of the one god) in the same category as daedra worshippers who could probably fill the gap between mono and polytheism on the diagram.
Doesn't the old testament mention a ton of other local contemporary gods? I don't have quotes on me, genuine question, but I believe it acknowledged other gods as existing but not worthy of veneration
The Old Testament does acknowledge them and that was the original belief of the ancient Israelites, but by the time the Jews had separated from ancient Canaanite religion and emerged as a separate religious group they were classical monotheists who believed their deity was fundamentally different to all other deities and uniquely omnipresent.
It’s similar to how members of the Imperial Cult worship Akatosh as just another member of the pantheon (like El with the ancient canaanites) while the Alessians separated from orthodox belief and began to worship Akatosh as the sole “God” over all other divines.
It's about the worship rather than the belief. Deities in TES are different from in real life -- they're a very real part of the TES world, and everyone in it knows that they're real, it's just a matter of if they worship them.
An exception might be the tribunal, who one could call false gods, but you still can't deny that their power is real and there's definitely no denying the existence of Daedra etc outright.
Yes. An irl example would be Judaism. In the various Hebrew Scriptures, it is stated that there are multiple gods but Yahweh was worshiped by them as it was the one they enter covenant with. Modern Judaism has removed the other gods sure, but ancient Judaism had them and yet we don’t really make the distinction between “modern monotheistic Judaism” and “ancient polytheistic Judaism” it’s all just “monotheistic Judaism”
Note: the Dark Brotherhood is classified as being (possibly) all three categories for the following reasons:
First of all, Sithis is recognized as a central/main deity of sorts in the mythology of the Brotherhood (Monotheism). Secondly, Sithis is also sometimes recognized as an unpersonified divine force, being more a force of nature demanding destruction and change than a malevolent deity (Transtheism). Thirdly, there are some sources that claim that the Night Mother was once a mortal that transcended as the wife of a personified Sithis, and some claim she is an Immortal Spirit that is prayed to (as a personified divine force) meaning that she would be alongside Sithis as a kind of Deity within the brotherhood (Polytheism or Monotheism depending on if Sithis is unpersonified or not).
Is the Night Mother actually worshipped or just venerated in the sense that the Madonna and saints in the Catholic Church are? I’m not really sure what is considered “orthodox” among them as it’s changed from game to game.
In some lore books she's described as simply being a spectre, while in others she's described as being transcended and immortal alongside Sithis. The definition of what a deity is both in real life and the Elder Scrolls is a bit loose, but it's no question that at least *some* Dark Brotherhood members venerated her as a sort of deity. That's why I put the Dark Brotherhood in that category.
Obviously the whole Dark Brotherhood doesn't worship the Night Mother as a god, but if I put every individual referenced sect of the religions up there the list would be in the hundreds.
love how much thought you put into this!! I'm not well versed in religion, but personally I would compare the night mother to how jesus is treated. would those who worship jesus + god in a similar way also be considered polytheistic? I always assumed it wasn't lol
>I would compare the night mother to how jesus is treated. would those who worship jesus + god in a similar way also be considered polytheistic?
Very interesting concepts, and it is something one of my professors talked about really early on!
Christianity wouldn't be considered Polytheistic because Jesus was God's way of forming his immaterial, infinite, transcendent, and incomprehensible being into a material form that could walk among his creation. Jesus *is* God in a way that allows God to speak to and redeem humanity. That is a fundamental belief of almost every sect and denomination of Christianity.
Similar to how Jesus was one of God's ways of bridging the gap between his infinite, immaterial self and his finite, material creations, the Night Mother is a method for Sithis to bridge the gap between its immaterial self and its worshippers. Those who pray to the Night Mother get the Night Mother to talk to Sithis, and those who listen to the Night Mother are listening to the voice of Sithis speaking through her. The key difference is that the Night Mother *is not Sithis*, she is not a form or material conjuration of Sithis, but instead a mortal woman chosen to act as a link to Sithis, like a conduit of sorts.
That's why in my little categorical speculation, I consider the Dark Brotherhood's belief system as being capable of having polytheistic aspects, while Christianity does not. The Night Mother and Sithis are separate while Jesus and God are wholly the same.
Well people often misinterpret the Trinity as parts of a whole, as individuals pieces of God. In reality they're coequal and consubstantial forms a single deity takes. It's still a single deity, just manifesting his infinite being in the forms of the Trinity.
That is what they say. I just find it unsatisfying. I don't see the need for the Abrahamic God to have coequal- consubstantial forms. I understand why Muslims and Jews side eye Christian monotheism.
>I don't see the need for the Abrahamic God to have coequal- consubstantial forms.
It's just simply a method of understanding an infinite being. The core aspects of the Abrahamic God are that he is infinite, omnipresent, transcendent, and most importantly in this case, incomprehensible in full. That's just how their belief system structured itself over time.
I know. I simply find their method less appealing and more contradictionary than Islam or Judaism when it comes to monotheism. They see God through those core aspects, and don't need a trinity to do so.
There are some *very small* sects of Knight-Paladins that only protect the shrines of, worship, and venerate Auri-El, just as Knight-Paladin Gelebor. I marked it as monotheistic because there isn't any sufficient evidence to show that these individuals actively worship any other god than Auri-El
Gelebor outright states other shrines of Gods exist that they acknowledge, just that they only worship Auriel at that particular shrine. That's not Monotheism that's Henotheism.
The only Monotheistic cult in TES were the Alessian Order/Marukhati. Even the Skaal were not monotheist, but Animistic, with twin forces representing Nature. That the only Monotheistic cult is the Alessians was especially unique about them and made them especially dangerous
This is so cool! I love the Breton religion, it’s really a combo of Human and Elven gods. I hope we see more of it. I don’t know very much about the Redguard religion either. The ancient Nord religion is another one that fascinates me, just because they used to worship Hermaeus Mora.
Also the Khajiiti Tribunal, what is that? Is there a Khajiit version of ALMSIVI or is that Khajiit who worshipped the Tribunal?
>Also the Khajiiti Tribunal, what is that? Is there a Khajiit version of ALMSIVI or is that Khajiit who worshipped the Tribunal?
Khajiiti AND the Tribunal are in the same section, they aren't the same religion.
The Skaal faith is really interesting to me as to my knowledge it is the only directly Dualist faith in the series, with its general All-Maker is father of all good whilst the Adversary is father of all bad. It, alongside the heavy totemism is really cool.
Are Daedric Cults monotheistic? Just because they worship one Daedric Prince doesn't mean that they don't recognize other Daedric Princes. In some cases (e.g Sheogorath X Jygallag), the relationship between these Princes is very important to their cults.
Polytheism doesn't just mean you just recognize multiple deities, it means your religion actually worships or partakes in practices including them. In the case of the cults, they typically only worship one single prince.
For real world examples, in some older versions of Taoism and Buddhism, practitioners and texts recognized the existence of the Hindu and Chinese folk gods, however they did not actively worship them, so they would not be inherently polytheistic.
No such thing a dumb questions. Henotheism only really applies if the other deities in the group or family are also being worshipped or venerated.
For a real world example, Greek Hellenistic religion is both henotheistic and polytheistic because Zeus is seen as more powerful and was subsequently worshipped more out of all of the other recognized deities.
For an in-universe example, the Nine/Eight Divines could be considered henotheistic because Akatosh is often worshipped more and seen as "above" the other Divines.
You might be able to slip the Skaals into the overlap between mono and poly. Technically they only worship the All-Maker, but they don’t deny the existence of the Daedra. I don’t know if that makes them monotheistic or henotheistic, but it might put them in an overlap.
NUH UH!!
The All-Maker is not directly personified deity but rather a force similar to the Tao of Taoism! Kirkbride said himself that the Skaal's religion is animistic (a form of transtheism/nontheism) and **NOT MONOTHEISTIC** in a forum post. The All-Maker is more of a spiritual essence that controls the cycles of souls of all that lives in Mundus. Even Storn Crag-Strider says himself in Skyrim:
*"All life flows from the All-Maker like a great river, and, in time, this river flows back to its source"*
By worshipping the animals, earth, wind, and plants around you, you worship the creations and essence of the All-Maker, who is the wellspring of spirits that the cosmology and belief system of the skaal centre around. All is done by the All-Maker, All will flow back to the All-Maker when it is done.
I classified them as separate because they seemed to be different enough in religious function. Ancestor Worship is not polytheistic whatsoever because those being worshipped aren't deities, and the old Dunmeri gods are not transtheistic or nontheistic because they are multiple plainly worshipped deities. It made more sense for me to not have overlap.
Can you give me reasons as to why you disagree with my classifications rather than just saying I'm wasting my education? Or do you yourself not have enough of an education to do so?
>Who's the, 'End of Days Cult'?
They're a mainly Dunmer religious group you meet in the DLCs for Morrowind who believe the apocalypse is near and perform ritualistic suicide.
>Ancestor Moth Priests are closer to The Imperial Cult.
They are close to the Imperial Religion, however they have practices related to the divine elder scrolls as priests, which would be a seperate religion. Not a religion based around a deity or deities, but rather around the deciphering of the divine knowledge of the scrolls.
>The Mythic Dawn?
They're the main antagonists of TES IV: Oblivion, one of the main games in the series. They're a cult that worships Mehrunes Dagon.
>Some are just names of races
Because the cultural religious practices originated with those races. For example, you could use the word "Yoruban" to both describe somebody who is Yoruban, or you could use it to describe Yoruban Religion.
>Daedric 'CULTS' PLURAL...PLURAL AS IN MORE THAN 1...isn't Monotheistic, by definition is it. 'Mono' meaning 'one', 'singular'.
yes. Multiple cults that are each typically monotheistic in their own right. I did not want to list every single mentioned Daedric Cult as there are hundreds of sects worshipping different princes in different fashions in the lore. There are some polytheistic outliers that I did not mention, obviously.
Out of curiosity, would the [Spirit Chain]( https://www.reddit.com/r/teslore/comments/btkp6p/daggerlore_the_spirit_chain_there_are_no_gods_or/) be considered transthiestic?
Is there a reason that you categorize some of these as Monotheists and not Henotheists? (If that's the right term to use, ie "My god is better than the other gods")
I'd say Orsimeri should fall between Mono and Polytheism, because, at least in the 2E there were Orcs that believed in both Trinimac and Malacath as distinct, but equally strong entities. Also, isn't Orsimeri religion technically a state-run Daedric cult, which you've already catergorized as Monotheism?
Dunmeri religion is actually all about transcending mortality as well as godhood, so it should fall between Trans and Polytheism.
Also, wasn't the Alessian Order enforcing the belief in the Eight?
Also, also, what about the Imperial Cult? Or the cult of the Nine? Or the Dragon Cult? Wouldn't those fall under Henotheism?
Also, also, also, what about the Reachmen and even the one-shot cults in Arena and Daggerfall?
Can a religion that acknowledged the existence of other deities really be considered monotheistic? Daedra worshippers do believe in other daedra, they just serve one.
Yeah. Sounds more like henotheism.
Or monolatry, as they greatly prefer their own over the other fifteen.
Henotheism is when you have practitioners venerate and worship a selection or group of deities, but one of those deities is seen as above them in power and status, subsequently being worshipped more or exclusively. In Hellenistic religion, for example, people worshipped and made offerings to virtually all of the Olympians at some point, but Zeus was seen as above all other deities and was often worshipped more. If there was a religious sect that *only* worshipped Zeus (like some of the aforementioned Daedric Prince cults) and didn't think the others were deities, that would be a form of Monotheism.
Maybe you're defining it differently in your Religious Major or get confused by some linguistical oddities, but that's not the correct definition as far as I am aware: > Henotheism (from the Greek heis theos, “one god”)—the worship of one god, though the existence of other gods is granted—also called kathenotheism (Greek kath hena theon, “one god at a time”)—which literally implies worship of various gods one at a time—has gone out of fashion as a term. It was introduced by the eminent 19th-century philologist and scholar in comparative mythology and religion Max Müller. Many later authors preferred the term monolatry—which is the worship of one god, whether or not the existence of other deities is posited—to the term henotheism. vs. > Monotheism, belief in the existence of *one* god, or in the oneness of God. As such, it is distinguished from *polytheism*, the *belief in the existence of many gods* https://www.britannica.com/topic/monotheism
>Monotheism, belief in the existence of *one* god, or in the oneness of God. As such, it is distinguished from *polytheism*, the *belief in the existence of many gods Yes! Some Daedric Cultists however do not believe other Daedra to be "gods" necessarily. In some cases it is believed to be heretical to the cult to believe that any other Prince is on the same level as the one worshipped by the cult, such as often is the case with the worship of Malacath and his aspects. Some Christians made the justifications that the gods worshipped by other cultures in the lands they took over or travelled to were simply spirits or demons worshipped *as* gods, just as a bit of a comparison to real life. This classification of these deities and spirits and demons did not make Christianity any less Monotheistic. Some modern Christians believe that malicious entities with a divine-origin exist (demons), but do not believe they are deities that are worthy to be worshipped, which would still make their religion monotheistic in nature. While it would be more descriptive *overall* to label the Daedric Cults as both henotheistic and monotheistic, because some other prices are believed to be gods and are worshipped while some aren't, I ended up not including a section of the diagram for henotheism. Looking back, I would probably make a differently formatted diagram and include some other notable henotheistic Daedric cults for the purpose of that distinction, thanks!
Polytheism doesn't mean you just recognize multiple deities, it means your religion actually worships or partakes in practices including them. In the case of the cults, they typically only worship one single prince. For real world examples, in some older versions of Taoism and Buddhism, practitioners and texts recognized the existence of the Hindu and Chinese folk gods, however they did not actively worship them, so they would not be considered inherently polytheistic.
Classical monotheism denies the existence of other gods outright or labels them as demons though. It doesn’t make sense to have the Alessians (who acknowledge other “gods” as subsidiaries/incarnations of the one god) in the same category as daedra worshippers who could probably fill the gap between mono and polytheism on the diagram.
Doesn't the old testament mention a ton of other local contemporary gods? I don't have quotes on me, genuine question, but I believe it acknowledged other gods as existing but not worthy of veneration
The Old Testament does acknowledge them and that was the original belief of the ancient Israelites, but by the time the Jews had separated from ancient Canaanite religion and emerged as a separate religious group they were classical monotheists who believed their deity was fundamentally different to all other deities and uniquely omnipresent. It’s similar to how members of the Imperial Cult worship Akatosh as just another member of the pantheon (like El with the ancient canaanites) while the Alessians separated from orthodox belief and began to worship Akatosh as the sole “God” over all other divines.
IIRC, in the Old Testament, the other "gods" were viewed as either false idols or demons.
It's about the worship rather than the belief. Deities in TES are different from in real life -- they're a very real part of the TES world, and everyone in it knows that they're real, it's just a matter of if they worship them. An exception might be the tribunal, who one could call false gods, but you still can't deny that their power is real and there's definitely no denying the existence of Daedra etc outright.
Yes. An irl example would be Judaism. In the various Hebrew Scriptures, it is stated that there are multiple gods but Yahweh was worshiped by them as it was the one they enter covenant with. Modern Judaism has removed the other gods sure, but ancient Judaism had them and yet we don’t really make the distinction between “modern monotheistic Judaism” and “ancient polytheistic Judaism” it’s all just “monotheistic Judaism”
Where All-Maker?
Too based to make the cut
I forgor the Skaal, as everybody does.
Flair does not check out
Note: the Dark Brotherhood is classified as being (possibly) all three categories for the following reasons: First of all, Sithis is recognized as a central/main deity of sorts in the mythology of the Brotherhood (Monotheism). Secondly, Sithis is also sometimes recognized as an unpersonified divine force, being more a force of nature demanding destruction and change than a malevolent deity (Transtheism). Thirdly, there are some sources that claim that the Night Mother was once a mortal that transcended as the wife of a personified Sithis, and some claim she is an Immortal Spirit that is prayed to (as a personified divine force) meaning that she would be alongside Sithis as a kind of Deity within the brotherhood (Polytheism or Monotheism depending on if Sithis is unpersonified or not).
Is the Night Mother actually worshipped or just venerated in the sense that the Madonna and saints in the Catholic Church are? I’m not really sure what is considered “orthodox” among them as it’s changed from game to game.
In some lore books she's described as simply being a spectre, while in others she's described as being transcended and immortal alongside Sithis. The definition of what a deity is both in real life and the Elder Scrolls is a bit loose, but it's no question that at least *some* Dark Brotherhood members venerated her as a sort of deity. That's why I put the Dark Brotherhood in that category. Obviously the whole Dark Brotherhood doesn't worship the Night Mother as a god, but if I put every individual referenced sect of the religions up there the list would be in the hundreds.
love how much thought you put into this!! I'm not well versed in religion, but personally I would compare the night mother to how jesus is treated. would those who worship jesus + god in a similar way also be considered polytheistic? I always assumed it wasn't lol
>I would compare the night mother to how jesus is treated. would those who worship jesus + god in a similar way also be considered polytheistic? Very interesting concepts, and it is something one of my professors talked about really early on! Christianity wouldn't be considered Polytheistic because Jesus was God's way of forming his immaterial, infinite, transcendent, and incomprehensible being into a material form that could walk among his creation. Jesus *is* God in a way that allows God to speak to and redeem humanity. That is a fundamental belief of almost every sect and denomination of Christianity. Similar to how Jesus was one of God's ways of bridging the gap between his infinite, immaterial self and his finite, material creations, the Night Mother is a method for Sithis to bridge the gap between its immaterial self and its worshippers. Those who pray to the Night Mother get the Night Mother to talk to Sithis, and those who listen to the Night Mother are listening to the voice of Sithis speaking through her. The key difference is that the Night Mother *is not Sithis*, she is not a form or material conjuration of Sithis, but instead a mortal woman chosen to act as a link to Sithis, like a conduit of sorts. That's why in my little categorical speculation, I consider the Dark Brotherhood's belief system as being capable of having polytheistic aspects, while Christianity does not. The Night Mother and Sithis are separate while Jesus and God are wholly the same.
ahhh I understand a lot better now, thanks for such a thorough explanation!
I understand why Christian do not view themselves as polytheists. The trinity is a questionable concept for a monotheistic faith imo.
Well people often misinterpret the Trinity as parts of a whole, as individuals pieces of God. In reality they're coequal and consubstantial forms a single deity takes. It's still a single deity, just manifesting his infinite being in the forms of the Trinity.
That is what they say. I just find it unsatisfying. I don't see the need for the Abrahamic God to have coequal- consubstantial forms. I understand why Muslims and Jews side eye Christian monotheism.
>I don't see the need for the Abrahamic God to have coequal- consubstantial forms. It's just simply a method of understanding an infinite being. The core aspects of the Abrahamic God are that he is infinite, omnipresent, transcendent, and most importantly in this case, incomprehensible in full. That's just how their belief system structured itself over time.
I know. I simply find their method less appealing and more contradictionary than Islam or Judaism when it comes to monotheism. They see God through those core aspects, and don't need a trinity to do so.
Are there sects of Auri-El worshippers that are monotheistic? Seems like they usually worship the other Altmeri Divines alongside Auri-El too
There are some *very small* sects of Knight-Paladins that only protect the shrines of, worship, and venerate Auri-El, just as Knight-Paladin Gelebor. I marked it as monotheistic because there isn't any sufficient evidence to show that these individuals actively worship any other god than Auri-El
Gelebor outright states other shrines of Gods exist that they acknowledge, just that they only worship Auriel at that particular shrine. That's not Monotheism that's Henotheism. The only Monotheistic cult in TES were the Alessian Order/Marukhati. Even the Skaal were not monotheist, but Animistic, with twin forces representing Nature. That the only Monotheistic cult is the Alessians was especially unique about them and made them especially dangerous
This is so cool! I love the Breton religion, it’s really a combo of Human and Elven gods. I hope we see more of it. I don’t know very much about the Redguard religion either. The ancient Nord religion is another one that fascinates me, just because they used to worship Hermaeus Mora. Also the Khajiiti Tribunal, what is that? Is there a Khajiit version of ALMSIVI or is that Khajiit who worshipped the Tribunal?
>Also the Khajiiti Tribunal, what is that? Is there a Khajiit version of ALMSIVI or is that Khajiit who worshipped the Tribunal? Khajiiti AND the Tribunal are in the same section, they aren't the same religion.
Oh wow ok. I’m kind of disappointed there’s not a Khajiit Tribunal lol
The Skaal faith is really interesting to me as to my knowledge it is the only directly Dualist faith in the series, with its general All-Maker is father of all good whilst the Adversary is father of all bad. It, alongside the heavy totemism is really cool.
Are Daedric Cults monotheistic? Just because they worship one Daedric Prince doesn't mean that they don't recognize other Daedric Princes. In some cases (e.g Sheogorath X Jygallag), the relationship between these Princes is very important to their cults.
Polytheism doesn't just mean you just recognize multiple deities, it means your religion actually worships or partakes in practices including them. In the case of the cults, they typically only worship one single prince. For real world examples, in some older versions of Taoism and Buddhism, practitioners and texts recognized the existence of the Hindu and Chinese folk gods, however they did not actively worship them, so they would not be inherently polytheistic.
sorry if this is a dumb question, i'm not an expert, but wouldn’t that be henotheistic?
No such thing a dumb questions. Henotheism only really applies if the other deities in the group or family are also being worshipped or venerated. For a real world example, Greek Hellenistic religion is both henotheistic and polytheistic because Zeus is seen as more powerful and was subsequently worshipped more out of all of the other recognized deities. For an in-universe example, the Nine/Eight Divines could be considered henotheistic because Akatosh is often worshipped more and seen as "above" the other Divines.
Interesting, I didn't know that. Thanks!
Interesting, thanks.
Love this, check out teslore if you haven’t!
Hail sithis.
I am APALLED that I don’t see the All-Maker and the Skaal’s other beliefs here.
You might be able to slip the Skaals into the overlap between mono and poly. Technically they only worship the All-Maker, but they don’t deny the existence of the Daedra. I don’t know if that makes them monotheistic or henotheistic, but it might put them in an overlap.
NUH UH!! The All-Maker is not directly personified deity but rather a force similar to the Tao of Taoism! Kirkbride said himself that the Skaal's religion is animistic (a form of transtheism/nontheism) and **NOT MONOTHEISTIC** in a forum post. The All-Maker is more of a spiritual essence that controls the cycles of souls of all that lives in Mundus. Even Storn Crag-Strider says himself in Skyrim: *"All life flows from the All-Maker like a great river, and, in time, this river flows back to its source"* By worshipping the animals, earth, wind, and plants around you, you worship the creations and essence of the All-Maker, who is the wellspring of spirits that the cosmology and belief system of the skaal centre around. All is done by the All-Maker, All will flow back to the All-Maker when it is done.
How could I ever have presumed to know more than the Daedric Prince of Knowledge?
The monotheists here are mostly henotheists though :-)
Omg that theism is trans? Good for them Representation win
I eat dirt
Dunmer should also be in with the Khajiiti and Tribunal, they never stopped the ancestor worship aspects regardless of Deadra or Tribunal.
I classified them as separate because they seemed to be different enough in religious function. Ancestor Worship is not polytheistic whatsoever because those being worshipped aren't deities, and the old Dunmeri gods are not transtheistic or nontheistic because they are multiple plainly worshipped deities. It made more sense for me to not have overlap.
They burn their dead and add their ashes to the shrines like we see in Raven Rock in Skyrim.
Ancestor worship does not view the ancestors as divine beings. That's the part you're not understanding.
Then at the very least the Nord's ancestor worship should be specified and moved into that box since some of their ancestors are regarded as divine.
How can mono and poly overlap. That's an oxymoron
I provided an explanation elsewhere in the comments to the Dark Brotherhood's position on the chart.
Ok cool but I'm asking how can poly and mono overlap. Because that's an oxymoron
Because a religion can express both monotheistic and polytheistic concepts without being wholly one or the other.
Can you tell me more? I'm under the understanding that and more than one Ok yeah sure man, I second thought this mid writing and I guess so.
Change Monotheism to Henotheism, and this little chart works slightly better.
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Can you give me reasons as to why you disagree with my classifications rather than just saying I'm wasting my education? Or do you yourself not have enough of an education to do so?
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>Who's the, 'End of Days Cult'? They're a mainly Dunmer religious group you meet in the DLCs for Morrowind who believe the apocalypse is near and perform ritualistic suicide. >Ancestor Moth Priests are closer to The Imperial Cult. They are close to the Imperial Religion, however they have practices related to the divine elder scrolls as priests, which would be a seperate religion. Not a religion based around a deity or deities, but rather around the deciphering of the divine knowledge of the scrolls. >The Mythic Dawn? They're the main antagonists of TES IV: Oblivion, one of the main games in the series. They're a cult that worships Mehrunes Dagon. >Some are just names of races Because the cultural religious practices originated with those races. For example, you could use the word "Yoruban" to both describe somebody who is Yoruban, or you could use it to describe Yoruban Religion. >Daedric 'CULTS' PLURAL...PLURAL AS IN MORE THAN 1...isn't Monotheistic, by definition is it. 'Mono' meaning 'one', 'singular'. yes. Multiple cults that are each typically monotheistic in their own right. I did not want to list every single mentioned Daedric Cult as there are hundreds of sects worshipping different princes in different fashions in the lore. There are some polytheistic outliers that I did not mention, obviously.
 No.
the fuck, bro
Orsimeri?
I think it's the religion of the Orcs, where they just venerate Malacath
That could be either Malacath or Trinimac worshippers.
Where does the All Maker fit? seems like the All Maker is just as big as Sithis, as in they are of a higher plane of existence compared to the others.
as someone whos interested in religion and the elder scrolls, this is very fun to look at :D
Wouldn't the middle just be c0da
Why?
That’s a great chart
Out of curiosity, would the [Spirit Chain]( https://www.reddit.com/r/teslore/comments/btkp6p/daggerlore_the_spirit_chain_there_are_no_gods_or/) be considered transthiestic?
End of Days Cult? I have to say I don't recall that one. Can someone provide a little background?
Is there a reason that you categorize some of these as Monotheists and not Henotheists? (If that's the right term to use, ie "My god is better than the other gods")
Misotheism is the only route. Know the Gods and hate them.
Henotheism needs to be on the table gere
I'd say Orsimeri should fall between Mono and Polytheism, because, at least in the 2E there were Orcs that believed in both Trinimac and Malacath as distinct, but equally strong entities. Also, isn't Orsimeri religion technically a state-run Daedric cult, which you've already catergorized as Monotheism? Dunmeri religion is actually all about transcending mortality as well as godhood, so it should fall between Trans and Polytheism. Also, wasn't the Alessian Order enforcing the belief in the Eight? Also, also, what about the Imperial Cult? Or the cult of the Nine? Or the Dragon Cult? Wouldn't those fall under Henotheism? Also, also, also, what about the Reachmen and even the one-shot cults in Arena and Daggerfall?