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Glite Dictionary
tritheism

tritheism

9.9
The belief that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are three separate gods
  • noun
  • /ˈtraɪθˌiːɪzəm/
  • Specialized
translation icon : triteísmo
  • Christian theologians often criticize tritheism for suggesting that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are three distinct deities.

Examples

  • according2ryan: Trinitarianism and tritheism are very different things.

    Blog text (34)

  • With assertions such as these, it is no wonder that Walter Kasper legitimately notes the "danger" of tritheism in Moltmann's theology.

    Academic text (1990)

  • TRITHEISM

    Academic text (1990)

  • In the remainder of this article, I will restrict myself to indicating the reason why I think this happens to Moltmann and why it leads him both into the modalism he criticizes in Rahner and Barth and into tritheism.

    Academic text (1990)

  • Some groups mistakenly believe in tritheism, thinking that Christianity teaches three separate gods instead of one God in three persons.

  • Tritheism is considered a deviation from orthodox Christian belief, which holds that God is one being in three persons.

Antonyms

monotheism
6 5.5

Belief that there is only one God

How Many Gods

polytheism
1 7.4
tritheism
  • Specialized
9.9
monotheism
6 5.5
atheism
198 5.8

Surface Forms

tritheism singular
tritheisms plural

Morphology

tritheism = theism (transparent) = tri + theism + tri

The word is a straightforward prefixation: 'tri-' (three) added to 'theism' yields the belief in three gods, which is directly inferable.

Etymology

Tritheism comes from tri- (as in trio or triangle) meaning 'three' and theism meaning belief in 'god'. So tritheism literally means 'belief in three gods' and is used for the idea that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are three separate gods rather than one God.