Monolatry

• 1. Introduction

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  Monolatry sits in a precise, uncomfortable space between polytheism and monotheism. The word itself comes from two Greek roots: monos, meaning single, and latreia, meaning worship. It describes a belief system that does not deny the existence of many gods but insists on worshipping only one of them. The term may have been coined by Julius Wellhausen, the 19th-century biblical scholar. What makes monolatry so startling is the theological candor it implies: other gods exist, they simply do not deserve your devotion. That position appears across ancient Egypt, the Hebrew Bible, and even in debates within modern religious traditions. How did a pharaoh build an entirely new capital city around this idea? What do the Ten Commandments actually say about rival gods? And why do Latter-day Saints find themselves drawn into this centuries-old classification debate?

• 2. Akhenaten and Atenism

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  In approximately 1348-1346 BCE, in the fifth year of his reign, the pharaoh who had been crowned Amenhotep IV introduced a religious transformation that would reshape Egypt. He elevated Aten, a solar deity of relatively modest standing, to the supreme position in the Egyptian pantheon. The choice of Aten was striking. This was not one of Egypt's great presiding gods but rather a deity representing the disk of the Sun itself. Amenhotep IV changed his name to Akhenaten, meaning Agreeable to the Aten, and began constructing a new capital city he called Akhetaten, Horizon of the Aten, at the site now known as Amarna. He also oversaw enormous temple complexes, including one at Karnak and one at Thebes, near the ancient temple of Amun. In his ninth year of rule, approximately 1344-1342 BCE, Akhenaten declared a sharper version of the new religion. Aten was no longer merely first among Egyptian gods but the only god of Egypt. Akhenaten himself became the sole intermediary between Aten and the Egyptian people. Images of Aten were restricted to a single form: a rayed solar disc whose rays ended in hands, representing the unseen spirit of the god. Idols were banned. Akhenaten addressed Aten in prayers, most notably in the text known as the Great Hymn to the Aten. Scholars debate whether this constituted monotheism. Akhenaten never actively denied that other gods existed; he simply refused to worship any of them. He also continued the imperial cult, declaring himself the son of Aten and directing the people to worship him. His wife Nefertiti shared his exclusive access to Aten directly. After Akhenaten's death, Egypt reversed course entirely, reverting to its traditional religious practices. Later generations came to regard Akhenaten not as a visionary but as a heretic.

• 3. Ancient Israel's Divided Loyalties

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  In the ancient Near East, the existence of divine beings was not a matter of philosophical controversy. As scholar John L. McKenzie put it, the question was never whether there was only one divine being, but whether any divine being compared to Yahweh. Some historians argue that early Israelites began not as monotheists but as practitioners of monolatry or henotheism, acknowledging foreign gods while directing exclusive worship toward Yahweh. Passages in the Hebrew Bible provide the evidence most often cited. Exodus 12:12 references the gods of Egypt as distinct entities. In Exodus 7:11-13, after Aaron turns his staff into a snake, the sorcerers of Pharaoh do the same, a detail that implies real power behind the Egyptian tradition. The Ten Commandments themselves have been read this way. Exodus 20:3 instructs that the Israelites shall have no other gods before Yahweh, and the phrase before me has led some scholars to argue that the commandment acknowledges other gods without forbidding them entirely, only requiring that Yahweh take precedence. Genesis 3:22 contains a similar puzzle, where Yahweh says the man has become like one of us, a plural phrasing that invites interpretation. Before the Babylonian captivity of the 6th century BCE, the Hebrew Bible records that many Israelites worshipped foreign gods and idols rather than Yahweh. During the 8th century BCE, the books of Hosea and Nahum reflect an active competition between Yahwistic worship and the cults the Yahwist faction called collectively Baals, with both books condemning what they described as apostasy. Christian Old Testament scholar John Day has suggested that angels in Judaism represent what the other gods became once monotheism consolidated its hold. The tension between these readings runs through medieval Jewish scholarship as well. Rashi, writing his commentary on Deuteronomy 6:4 in the 11th century, recognized that the declaration of the Shema accepted belief in one God as only part of Jewish faith at the time of Moses, expecting that full acceptance would come later and extend to all humanity. Maimonides, in his Thirteen Principles of Faith, described God's unity as a category entirely unlike any other kind of oneness, not like one of a pair, not like a species, not an object made of elements, but a unity without analogy.

• 4. Latter-day Saints and the Godhead

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  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teaches that God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost are three entirely separate beings. They form a single Godhead, united in purpose, in thoughts, in mission, but distinct as persons. Prayer in the LDS tradition is directed to God the Father alone, in the name of Jesus Christ. Apostle Jeffrey R. Holland described the LDS position directly, stating that the three constitute one Godhead united in every significant and eternal aspect except being three persons combined in one substance. Latter-day Saints read Jesus's prayer in John 17:11 as a reference to shared attributes and purpose rather than as a statement of literal identity. For LDS theology, becoming one with God means something concrete: immortality, perfection, eternal life, and attaining the highest level in God's kingdom. The tradition goes further. Latter-day Saints also believe in the existence of other gods and goddesses outside the Godhead, including a Heavenly Mother married to God the Father. Joseph Smith taught that humans who follow the laws and ordinances of the gospel can become joint-heirs with Christ and literally become gods through the atonement. The word god, in this framework, describes an inheritor of the highest kingdom. This is where the classification question becomes sharp. To the extent that monolatry is distinct from monotheism, labeling Mormonism as monolatrous is strongly contested among Latter-day Saints themselves. Bruce R. McConkie argued that if monotheism is properly interpreted to mean that the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are three distinct personages constituting one Godhead, then members of the Church are monotheists by that definition. The academic framing of Mormonism as monolatrous gained ground primarily through the work of theologian Blake Ostler.