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Religious Studies & Theology vocabulary · Philosophy of Religion

Theism

Meaning in religious studies & theology, with examples

/ˈθiːɪzəm/nounCommon term

In religious studies & theology, theism means: Belief in a personal God who created the world and remains active in it; in philosophy of religion, the view that such a God exists.

In Turkish: teizm, tanrıcılık

How it is used

Classical theism describes God as all-powerful, all-knowing, perfectly good and unchanging. It is contrasted with deism (a creator who does not intervene), pantheism (God and the universe are identical) and atheism. A person is a theist; the adjective is theistic.

Example sentences

  1. Classical theism describes God as all-powerful, all-knowing and perfectly good.

  2. The debate between theism and atheism takes up much of the philosophy of religion course.

Common collocations

  • classical theism
  • theism and atheism
  • theistic belief
  • open theism
  • atheismThe absence of belief in God or gods, or the explicit view that no God or gods exist.
  • agnosticismThe view that it is not known, or cannot be known, whether God or any ultimate reality exists.
  • monotheismBelief that there is only one God; Judaism, Christianity, Islam and Sikhism are usually described as monotheistic religions.
  • problem of evilThe philosophical and theological question of how an all-powerful, all-knowing and perfectly good God can allow evil and suffering to exist.

More terms: Philosophy of Religion

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