monolatry

Mark S. Smith refers to this stage as a form of monolatry.

Recognized scholars have formulated a substantial case for ancient Israel's practice of monolatry.

Monolatry: there is (or may be) more than one god, but they are all expressions of the supreme god.

Henotheism is closely related to the theistic concept of monolatry, which is also the worship of one god among many.

A different group of scholars, however, believes that Artapanus practiced monolatry - he himself worshipped only one god but acknowledged the possible existence of others.

About.com "What is Monolatry?"

Some respondents to the claim that Mormonism is monolatrous suggest the need for a more complex understanding of monotheism and monolatry going beyond limited dictionary definitions.

To the extent that monolatry is considered not-monotheism, the classification of Mormonism as monolatrous is strongly disputed among Latter-day Saints.

He therefore sees Israelite monolatry (the insistence that Israel should worship one god, Yahweh, but without denying the reality of other gods) as a break with Israel's own past.

The religions of the ancient Near East were mostly polytheistic, with some early examples of primitive monolatry (Mardukites), Ashurism and Monism (Atenism).

Others see Akhenaten as a practitioner of an Aten monolatry, as he did not actively deny the existence of other gods; he simply refrained from worshipping any but the Aten.

The final two decades of the monarchic period, leading up to the Babylonian sack of Jerusalem in 597 BCE were thus marked by official monolatry of the god of Israel.

It may yet save the world from its present monolatry of wealth that has made all science, art, and ethics its servants and conscripted all man's powers to do its bidding and sing its praises.

It changed Egypt's religion from a polytheistic religion to a religion which may have been better described as a monolatry (the depiction of a single god as an object for worship) or henotheism (one god, who is not the only god).

The Bible Unearthed suggests that the priesthood and populace outside Jerusalem may well have held the opposite opinion-that Hezekiah's imposition of monolatry was blasphemous, and the disasters that befell the country during his reign had been punishment from the gods.

Henotheism is similar but less exclusive than monolatry because a monolator worships only one god (denying that other gods are worthy of worship), while the henotheist may worship any within the pantheon, depending on circumstances, although they usually will worship only one throughout their life (barring some sort of conversion).

The primary difference between the two is that henotheism is the worship of one god, not precluding the existence of others who may also be worthy of praise, while monolatry is the worship of one god who alone is worthy of worship, though other gods are known to exist.

This text contains a number of laws, dated to the 8th century BC kingdom of Judah, a time when a minority Yahwist faction was actively attacking mainstream polytheism, succeeding in establishing official monolatry of the God of Israel under Josiah by the late 7th century BC.

In the context of biblical studies it normally means the exclusive worship of a tribal-national deity which does not deny the reality of patron deities of other peoples, while elsewhere it often becomes a synonym for monolatry, that is belief in or the worship of one god without denying the existence of others.