The plurality of confessions and differences in the beliefs of people force specialists studying the phenomenon of religion to give definitions and interpretations to such concepts as atheism, monotheism and polytheism. These concepts are quite specific, but at the same time they have their own history of formation (filling the term, as linguists say).
Religious scholars understand the concept of polytheism as belief in several gods. For Slavic Russia, this concept refers to paganism, often these terms are even used as synonyms, but this is a somewhat simplified understanding of them. Polytheism is inextricably linked with concepts such as: monotheism - belief in one god and atheism - a belief that denies the existence of any gods at all. Polytheism is characterized by rituals that establish a connection with a deity, sacrifices that help to appease God. In the modern world, polytheism is not as developed as, for example, in antiquity. But even now there are peoples who piously believe in several gods. These are some African tribes, and Hindus, and some eastern peoples. They, like the monotheists, have their own life values, dogmas and belief in interaction with gods, expressed in legends and tales. Polytheism as a scientific phenomenon was first studied in the Renaissance. Prior to this, Europeans were only engaged in the study of ancient myths. Christians, on the other hand, did not at all take the belief in several gods seriously, sincerely believing that monotheism is the true truth of life. Proponents of the Christian faith still argue that polytheism is the degradation of personality and oblivion of a single God, a state of mind that either passes by itself or must be overcome. However, modern scientists in the course of religious research have suggested that polytheism is the primary state of human consciousness that comprehends nature. If we compare the statements of philosophers and writers, recorded several centuries ago, with the thoughts of modern scientists, we can make an unambiguous conclusion that the main component of polytheism is a myth. And now the belief in polytheism is considered not from the side of human actions, but from the side of the mythological component. For example, the French scientist Levi-Strauss, on behalf of all structural anthropology, stated that the mythical component of polytheism consists in carrying out unconscious logical operations aimed at resolving all contradictions that arise in human consciousness.