Definition of 'theism', and the problems with the usage of the word

[Desert Snake]

Theism/

What is the actual definition?

/how does this definition translate to usage?

/"theistic religions, only accept people who have the same belief as the dictionary definition of 'theism'?

/does theism have any actual usage besides a comparison to "atheism"?

 

[Augustus]

Theism/

What is the actual definition?

It's a pretty useless term all in all due to its imprecision and excessive abstraction.

A person who believes in something(s) that we can't really agree on and may be finite and tangible or infinite and intangible.

 

[Jumi]

Merriam-Webster's definition is pretty good in that it has both the universal and the specific monotheistic parts.

Definition of theism:

1. : belief in the existence of a god or gods; specifically : belief in the existence of one God viewed as the creative source of the human race and the world who transcends yet is immanent in the world

 

[The Kilted Heathen]

the•ism n

belief in the existence of a god or gods

opposite: atheism

(Oxford English Dictionary)

How is that problematic?

 

[ADigitalArtist]

It's a pretty useless term all in all due to its imprecision and excessive abstraction.

A person who believes in something(s) that we can't really agree on and may be finite and tangible or infinite and intangible.

Is that a problem with the word 'Theism', a problem with the word 'god' or both?

 

[Augustus]

Is that a problem with the word 'Theism', a problem with the word 'god' or both?

Both, but especially theism.

God has a pretty clear meaning in certain, specific, contexts. Theism (after it stopped meaning deism) evolved into a catch all term so people could lump together a load of non-specific beliefs for convenience.

 

[LuisDantas]

Merriam-Webster's definition is pretty good in that it has both the universal and the specific monotheistic parts.

Definition of theism:

That is actually rather inaccurate. Way too Abrahamic.

 

[LuisDantas]

Theism/

What is the actual definition?

Belief in the existence of one or more deities.

(The question becomes then that of defining a deity. There is no real solution to that).

/how does this definition translate to usage?

People who see fit to state that there are deities are understood to be theists.

It is not really possible to detail it any further, despite a lot of effort in that direction.

/"theistic religions, only accept people who have the same belief as the dictionary definition of 'theism'?

Clearly not. For one thing, how would they even gauge that belief?

In practice, the more a doctrine claims to be theistic and to be a religion, the less interested it is on what people actually believe.

It is not a matter of acceptance, but rather of control and submission to authority.

/does theism have any actual usage besides a comparison to "atheism"?

It sure does, albeit suffering of serious vagueness that it inherits from the idea of deity.

Far as origin of concepts goes, the sequence is clearly deity -> theism -> atheism.