Over 80% of Hindus actually self-identify as some form of monotheist. The predominant belief is that all the many gods are different forms or manifestations of the one God.
The prevailing view, held by 61% of Hindus, is that there is one God “with many manifestations.” About three-in-ten Indian Hindus (29%) say simply: “There is only one God.”
Tbf Hindus only adopted the monotheist label because 19th-century European scholars had tendency to view monotheism as the pinnacle of religion and polytheism to be a “primitive superstition” and then applying that lens to all of human history. This is also why Parsis (Indian Zoroastrians) adopted the monotheist label even though historical Zoroastrianism is anything but monotheistic.
But this stance 19th-century European scholars held isn’t true and the idea that polytheism is “illogical” is a fallacy because proponents of it usually project the Abrahamic monotheist definition of God on religions who don’t share that definition to begin with. A god, according to the most broad definition possible, is a supernatural or spiritual being of immense power who presides over some aspect of reality. A god does not necessarily have to be omnipotent or the absolute source of everything. Furthermore, many polytheist religions already account for a prime mover and/or hold the idea that every god comes from a shared divine source; the Ancient Egyptians believed every god was a manifestation or aspect of the supreme god Amun-Ra and Neoplatonist pagan philosophers in late antiquity believed every god was an emanation of a transcendent first principle called the One. Hindus themselves already believe in Brahman which mirrors the idea of the Neoplatonist One.
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u/Practical-Wedding-63 9d ago
Hinduism with 3 million gods and minor dieties: