Is Judaism monotheistic polytheistic or atheistic?

Answer 1

Judaism teaches that God is One. The concept of a dualism (as in Zoroastrianism), an independent Satan, multiple gods (polytheism; paganism) or a trinity of three in one, are all unimaginable in Judaism. Also, any belief that an intermediary between humanity and God should be used, whether as necessary or even optional, is considered heretical.God is non-physical, indivisible and incomparable. Jewish tradition teaches that God is beyond human comprehension; and that it is only God's revealed deeds, as He interacts with mankind and the world, that we can begin to grasp.

God is omniscient (He is aware of everything), and infinitely wise.
God created the universe and all existence, including time and space, in a deliberate, purposeful act of benevolent Creation.

God is the mover of everything. No molecule can move without the energy and direction with which God imbues it.

God is eternal; and His ways are also eternal. He is not capricious, forgetful or fickle.
God is just. He rewards good and punishes evil - whether in this world or in the afterlife.

God is ethical and moral; and He expects us to imitate His ways.

The God of Israel is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He is the guide of history, who delivered the Israelites from Egyptian slavery.
God is the source of law, who gave the Torah to the Israelites at Mount Sinai.
God is immanent and personal, meaning that he relates to humanity and hears our prayers. This is the basis of the Psalms and our siddur (prayerbook).

Answer 2

Nowadays, it's considered an monotheistic religion, although early versions of The Bible mention Asherah - a female god who was associated with Yahweh; the Jewish god, so Judaism may have been a duo-theistic religion in the past.

Answer 3

Judaism as a religion is strictly monotheistic, believing in one God who is master of all. The Torah, if anything, makes this point repeatedly and exceedingly clearly.

The religion, however, is something separate from "what Jews, as individuals, believe". There are large segments of the Jewish community who are atheist or agnostic, but they do not argue that Judaism says this, rather their own conscience. Almost all Jews, regardless of their personal stance on whether a god exists will argue that Judaism is monotheistic.

Answer 4

Judaism is monotheistic and always has been. (Multiple gods are mentioned in the Torah only because other nations worshiped them, not because Judaism ascribed any power to them.)

Dictionaries define "Judaism" as The monotheistic religion of the Jews, since the founding principle of Judaism was and is the belief in One God. This was the teaching which was spread by Abraham, and has continued since then. From Judaism, belief in One God has spread through the Western world.

See also:

What do Jews believe God is like?

A biography of Abraham

Jews have always worshiped the One God. Abraham worshiped "the Lord God of Heaven and Earth" (Genesis 14:22 and 24:3) and complained about the Philistines' lack of fear of God (Genesis 20:11).

Jacob confiscated the idolatrous images taken from Shechem (Genesis 35:2) and got rid of them (Genesis 35:4); and refrained from invoking the gods of Nahor (Genesis 31:53). Rachel pilfered Laban's statue-images (Genesis 31:19) in order to prevent him from idolatry (Rashi commentary, ibid.). Joseph placed his hope in the God of the Forefathers (Genesis 50:24).

At the time of the Exodus, God wrecked the Egyptian idols (Exodus 12:12) and warned against idolatry (Exodus 22:19). Later, Moses characterized the Golden Calf as "a great sin" (Exodus 32:21, 30) and punished the worshipers (Exodus ch.32). During the rest of his lifetime and that of Joshua (Judges 2:7), no incidents of Israelite idolatry were reported.

Shortly before he died, Moses warned the people that he suspected that they would eventually succumb to the lure of the idols (Deuteronomy 29:17). Joshua gave a similar warning (Joshua ch. 24).
These warnings came true. Many of the Israelites went astray after the foreign gods (Judges 2:11). However, they never invented their own idol. It was always the baneful influence of other peoples. And there were times when the entire Israelite nation repented (Judges 2:1-4) and prayed to God (Judges 3:9, 3:15, 6:6, 10:10). Those who did sin did not represent normative Judaism. They were deviating from the Torah's standard; they were publicly, repeatedly, and scathingly excoriated by the Prophets, and they caused God's retribution to come upon the entire people.

Because of the idol-worship that did happen, ancient images of idols have been found in Israel too. Images of God aren't found because it is forbidden to represent Him through imagery (Deuteronomy 4:15-16).

It should be noted that idolatry was never universalamong the Israelites. The tradition of the One God was handed down in every generation, whether by the few or the many; and it is those who handed down that tradition whose beliefs we Jews continue today.

Deborah ascribed victory to God (Judges 4:14), Gideon tore down the idolatrous altar (Judges 6:25-27); Samson prayed to God (Judges 16:28), as did Hannah (1 Samuel 1:11) and Samuel (ibid. 12:18); Eli blessed in the name of God (1 Samuel 2:20), Saul built an altar to God (1 Samuel 14:35); Jonathan ascribed victory to God (1 Samuel 14:12), as did David (1 Samuel 17:46); and Solomon built the Temple for God (1 Kings 8:20). A number of the kings "did what was right in God's eyes": David (1 Kings 15:5), Solomon (see 1 Kings 3:3), Asa (1 Kings 15:11), Yehoshaphat (1 Kings 22:43), Yehu (2 Kings 10:30), Yehoash (2 Kings 12:3), Amatziah (2 Kings 14:3), Azariah (2 Kings 15:3), Yotam (2 Kings 15:34), Hizkiah (2 Kings 18:3), and Josiah (2 Kings 22:2). Even at the height of the unfortunate spread of idolatry among the less-loyal Ten Tribes, there were thousands who remained loyal to God (1 Kings 19:18).
And, of course, the Prophets, who spoke in the name of God and warned against idolatry: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Hosea and so on.
The sages of the Talmud, who ridiculed idolatry (Megillah 25b), were simply continuing in the tradition of the Prophets whose verses are quoted in that context (ibid.).

See also:

Jewish history timeline

Are Hebrews, Israelites and Jews the same people?

Answer 5

It is monotheistic, proclaiming the belief that there is One God.