Deity

A deity is thought to be a powerful spirit that controls events and the nature of things. Deities are also called gods. A female god is often called a goddess. The adjective of deity is ‘divine’. This word comes from the Latin deus (female: dea).

Different religions believe in different deities. Since there are many religions in the world there are many different ideas about how many deities there are, what they are, and what they can do. ^[1] Followers of many ancient religions and some modern religions believe in many deities, which is called polytheism.

The two largest religions on earth, Christianity and Islam, believe in only one God, which is called monotheism. Deism is the belief that a deity exists, but that the deity does not very often change or never changes things in the universe. Pantheism is the belief that the universe is the deity, while atheism is the belief that there are no deities.

In most religions, believers think deities are immortal (cannot die), and have powers far beyond human powers.

1. ↑ "How many gods". Archived from the original on 2014-10-04. Retrieved 2014-05-21.