Criticism of monotheism

Judgement of the ideas, validity, concept or practice of the belief in only one deity

Criticism of monotheism has occurred throughout history. Critics have described monotheism as a cause of ignorance, oppression, and violence. David Hume (1711–1776) said that monotheism is less pluralistic and thus less tolerant than polytheism, because monotheism stipulates that people pigeonhole their beliefs into one tenet. In the same vein, Auguste Comte said that "Monotheism is irreconcilable with the existence in our nature of the instincts of benevolence" because it compels followers to devote themselves to a single Creator. Mark S. Smith, an American biblical scholar and ancient historian, wrote that monotheism has been a "totalizing discourse", often co-opting all aspects of a social belief system, resulting in the exclusion of "others". Jacob Neusner suggests that "the logic of monotheism ... yields little basis for tolerating other religions".

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