The multiplicity of faiths and differences in the religion of people compel specialists studying the phenomenon of religion to give definitions and interpretations to such concepts as atheism, monotheism, and polytheism. These concepts are quite specific, but at the same time they have their own history of formation (filling the term, as linguists say).
Under the concept of polytheism, religious scholars understand faith in several gods. For Slavic Russia, this concept refers to paganism, often these terms are even used as synonyms, but this is somewhat simplified understanding of them. Polytheism is inextricably linked with such concepts as: monotheism - faith in one god and atheism - faith that denies the existence of any gods in general. Polytheism is characterized by rituals that establish a connection with the deity, sacrifices that help appease God. In the modern world, polytheism is not as developed as, for example, in antiquity. But even now there are peoples who holyly believe in several gods. These are some African tribes, and Indians, and some eastern peoples. They, like the monotheists, have their own life values, dogmas and faith in interacting with the gods, expressed in legends and tales. For the first time, polytheism as a scientific phenomenon began to be studied in the Renaissance. Before that, Europeans were only engaged in the study of ancient myths. Christians did not take seriously faith in several gods at all, sincerely believing that monotheism was the true truth of life. Proponents of the Christian faith still claim that polytheism is a degradation of the personality and oblivion of a single god, a state of mind that either passes by itself or must be overcome. However, modern scholars in the course of religious studies have suggested that polytheism is the primary state of human consciousness that makes sense of nature. If we compare the statements of philosophers and writers, recorded several centuries ago, with the thoughts of modern scientists, we can make an unambiguous conclusion that the main component of polytheism is a myth. And now faith in polytheism is considered not from the side of human actions, but from the mythological component. For example, the French scientist Levy-Strauss, on behalf of all structural anthropology, said that the mythical component of polytheism consists in conducting unconscious logical operations aimed at resolving all the contradictions that arise in the human mind.
