Scale of beliefs

This page is not an attempt to represent a historical linearity, but to schedule the various levels of beliefs. The progression starts from the most complex or "primitive" level, (without a pejorative meaning to this term, animism), toward the more refined level (absence of beliefs in any supernatural divinity).

This approach of the beliefs, if it wanted to show a chronological evolution of humanity towards atheism, could easily be contradicted by the historical facts and be regarded as obsolete. For example, agnosticism appeared in 5th century BC, a long time before the deism of the 18th century. Moreover, nowadays, all the forms of beliefs cohabit and the "returns back" are frequent, even at the individual level. However the atheists feel intuitively that, since "The century of Light" (18th) and with the development of reason and science, it is an inexorable basic movement that will go with humanity becoming adult.

Stances		Synonym	Man

All the objects and phenomena have a soul. Worship of the ancestors , superstitions, magic	Animism	Fetishism	Animist, fetishist, superstitious
			Idolater
Believes in several gods who act on the world	Polytheism	Paganism	Pagan

Believes in a single and revealed God, who acts on the world	Monotheism	Theism	Theist, believer with a religion

Believes in a creative God, first cause, who does not intervene in human business	Deism		Deist, believer without religion
		Positivism	Positivist
Doesn't reply about the existence of God	Agnosticism	Skepticism	Agnostic, skeptic
Refuse any religious dogma			Free thinker
Doesn't ask himself the question about God		Indifference
Doesn't believe in God	Atheism	Unbelief	Atheist, unbeliever
Affirms his not-belief in God		Militant atheism	Active atheist

Dictionary of religions in French

Positioning of the main religions

In the table below, a religion covering several forms of beliefs means that it is not incompatible with them. A clearer color corresponds to a secondary positioning, less important.
Prefatory note : such a presentation is inevitably simplifying and reducing,. Its only aim is to fix the ideas.

	Animism	Polytheism	Monotheism	Deism	Agnosticism	Atheism

Brahminism

Buddhism (1)

Catholicism		(2)

Christianity

Hinduism

Humanity (worship)	(3)

Islam

Judaism

Protestantism

Rael sect (4)

Satanism (5)

Scientism (6)

Shintoism

Religious Taoism

Theosophy

1) Religious Buddhism : when it is a syncretism with other forms of worships.
2) Catholicism : God, Jesus, Holy Spirit, Mary's worship, worship of the saints
3) Worship of Humanity founded by Auguste Comte
4) Rael sect : an example of sect which proclaims its atheism.
5) Satanism : as a religion without God where Satan is rather regarded as a force of nature.
6) Scientism : when it is regarded as a worship dedicated to Science.

Positioning of some philosophies
and movements of thought

In the table below, a philosophy covering several forms of beliefs means that it is not incompatible with them. A clearer color corresponds to a secondary positioning, less important.
Prefatory note : such a presentation is inevitably simplifying and reducing,. Its only aim is to fix the ideas.

	Animism	Polytheism	Monotheism	Deism	Agnosticism	Atheism

Anarchism

Buddhism (1)

Confucianism

Epicureanism

Free thinking

Freemasonry

Humanism

Idealism

Marxism

Materialism

Metaphysics

Pantheism

Positivism

Spiritualism

Philos. Taoism

1) Philosophical Buddhism that denies the existence of God.

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Scale of beliefs

Positioning of the main religions

Positioning of some philosophies and movements of thought

Positioning of some philosophies
and movements of thought