theo-, the-, -theism, -theist, -theistic

(Greek: God, god, deity, divinity, divine)

enthusiast (s) (noun), enthusiasts (pl)
1. Someone who is very interested or involved in something; especially, somebody with a particular hobby.
2. Etymology: from Greek enthkousiaste, "anyone inspired (by a god)", from enthous.
enthusiastic (adjective)
1. A reference to a passionate interest in or an eagerness to do something.
2. Descriptive of something that arouses a consuming interest.
eutheism (s) (noun), eutheisms (pl)
The belief that God exists and is wholly good.
hecastotheism (s) (noun), hecastotheisms (pl)
The practice of investing all sorts of objects with supernatural powers: "There are those who have believed in hecastotheism or that any touchable animate and inanimate things have deified powers beyond natural existence and such hecastotheisms make a particular mountain, or hill, or some great rock, some waterfall, a lake, or a spring receive special worship, and is itself believed to be a deity. All of these appear to be a relic or system of hecastotheism."
henotheism (s) (noun), henotheisms (pl)
The worship of one god as the special god of a social group or occupation, while acknowledging or believing in the existence of other gods: "Henotheism is the worship of one of a group of gods, in contrast with monotheism, which teaches that only one God exists."

"Henotheism is considered to be a kind of polytheism (many gods) in which one god of the pantheon may be more powerful than the other gods."

henotheist (s) (noun), henotheists (pl)
Someone who worships a special deity out of several as the special god of the family, clan, or tribe: "When henotheists worship particular gods for their families or tribes, it is done without disbelieving in the existence of other gods."
henotheistic (adjective)
A reference to the worship of a particular god out of several gods while still acknowledging the existence of other gods.
hydrotheology (s) (noun), hydrotheologies (pl)
1. A discourse on theology which is not founded on revelation, but is based on reasoning from natural facts concerning water.
2. Characterized by natural theology.
hylotheism (s) (noun), hylotheisms (pl)
1. The belief that God and the material world are the same.
2. The doctrine that God and matter or the material universe are identical or united as one; material pantheism.
hylotheist (s) (noun), hylotheists (pl)
A person who believes that God and the material world are the same.
Jehovah (s) (noun)
The name of God as presented in the Old Testament of the Bible.
misotheism (s) (noun), misotheisms (pl)
A disrespect for the Holy Father or of the gods of religious groups: With all the wars and conflicts continuing in the world and no end in sight, it would be no wonder that some people might develop misotheism, losing faith in the doctrines of their churches and having a sense of irreverence towards divinities who allow such atrocities to exist.

We have just enough religion to make us hate, but not enough to make us love one another.

—Jonathan Swift
misotheist (s) (noun), misotheists (pl)
People or individuals who have a hatred for God or gods of any kind: There are people who are misotheists because they cannot rationalize why God, or gods, don't stop Satan's evil cruelty of people throughout the centuries and even in our modern times!
monatheism (s) (noun), monatheisms (pl)
1. A lack of belief in the existence of just one God or a god.
2. The doctrine or belief that there is not one God alone.
monotheism (s) (noun), monotheisms (pl)
The belief that there is only one God: "This belief of monotheism is found; for example, in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam."

If you would like to take self-scoring quizzes over many of the words in this section, then click on these Theo Quizzes so you can see how much you know about the following "theo-, -theism" words.


Related religious-word units: church; dei-, div-; ecclesi-; fanati-; hiero-; idol-;-olatry; zelo-.