The transition from a multitude of gods to monotheism was driven by a number of factors that can be traced through various cultural and philosophical contexts.

The Path to Divine Unity: Evolution from Polytheism to Monotheism

The transition from a multitude of gods to monotheism was driven by a number of factors that can be traced through various cultural and philosophical contexts. One key aspect was the deep human need for divine communion—the search for a connection with something absolute and all-perfect. As one text notes:
"You created us for Yourself, and our heart is troubled until it finds rest in You."
In these words of the blessed Augustine lies the entire essence of humanity’s religious quest. The demonic forces of sin and death could not quench his thirst for communion with the divine. The search for God, the longing for God, weaves like a red thread through the entire history of religion—a journey of people returning, by arduous and winding paths, to their ancestral home. The search was blind: people vainly tried to penetrate the veil of mystery; they gazed into the shimmering nocturnal firmament, listened to the whisper of the forest, and observed the flight of birds and the movement of clouds. Yet the universe kept its secret. Still, in the collective memory of humanity lingered a vague recollection of those times when God spoke to man face-to-face.
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Moreover, in the development of monotheistic beliefs the concept of God’s perfection played a significant role. Thought began to reject the division into multiple gods, as every attempt to conceive of several perfect beings inevitably confronted the idea of unity in perfection. As stated in one source:
"In everything one sees perfection. And when we are granted this concession, even a mind entertained by a multitude of gods will easily come to confess the worship of a single Divinity. For if it is agreed that He must be considered perfect in every respect, and if one asserts that there are many perfect beings with the same distinguishing traits, then necessarily there should be no variation whatsoever—either by indicating a peculiarity, or, if the mind finds nothing special, by not inventing distinctions where none exist."
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Also, the observation of order and harmony in nature prompted the idea that the creation of an entire world—permeated by constant laws and directed toward a specific purpose—could have been the result of the activity of a single, all-perfect mind. This idea is expressed as follows:
"God is the most perfect being, and the concept of the highest perfection is inseparable from that of unity. God is an infinite, all-encompassing being, and such a being can exist only as one. Observation of the world leads to the conclusion of a single God. The world is one; a constant order and harmony are evident in its life; everything is directed toward a particular goal. The creation and governance of such a world can be the accomplishment of only one mind."
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Beyond philosophical reflections, practical measures to overthrow traditional polytheism also played a crucial role in the history of religious transformations. In Jewish monotheism, for instance, there is the triumph of one God over all idols and spirits, as expressed in the statement:
"In Psalm 96 (97), seven gods are recognized as idols and, at the same time, are called to worship the Most High. They are mere 'nothingness'; meanwhile, Yahweh is called the 'God of gods.' Jewish monotheism is not an abstraction. Its distinctiveness lies not in the simple negation of polytheism, but in the positive triumph—a real, historical victory over it. The ancient faith of Israel does not involve a theoretical, philosophical denial of the many gods, demons, and spirits worshipped by pagans; it involves a practical overthrow of them in the cult of the one God."
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Philosophical ideas from Hellenism also played an important role, preparing minds for new perspectives on God and spurring a move away from magical practices—when even the appeal of magism could not fully satisfy mankind’s yearning for the true God. It is noted:
"The predominance of philosophy, which prepared the Hellenes for Christ, was just as the law served as preparation for the Jews."
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and also
"But the element of Magism was not sufficient to completely overwhelm humankind, for sin did not extinguish the divine spark implanted within him. Thus, even in the most ancient cultures we encounter the first attempts to overthrow the power of magic and reclaim the lost God. The apostle Paul chose the altar of the 'Unknown God,' seen in Athens, as a symbol of this longing for Heaven. Such a teleological understanding of religious history allows us to discern a hierarchy of values and stages that prepared the world for the acceptance of the Good News. The Church Fathers placed great emphasis on this foreshadowing of the Gospel in pre-Christian times."
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It should also be noted that problems inherent in pantheism—where any apprehension of the Absolute through the lens of nature led to cyclicality and magic—stimulated the search for unity. Even the cult of the Sun, which had characteristics resembling monotheism, eventually encountered difficulties due to its ties with astrological symbolism:
"Man had repeatedly tried to find the ultimate truth in nature. Yet nature carries within it not only a reflection of the Essence but also the dark waves of inhumanity, the demonizing force of devouring, and blind power. Thus, any form of pantheism ultimately distanced man from the Absolute, from Divinity. The temptation to equate matter with God invariably reverted religion to cyclicality, magic, and ultimately a spiritless state. This burden of pagan creature-worship hindered another attempt to attain the one God. This attempt was linked to the cult of the Sun."
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Finally, a shift in the paradigm of the religious system also occurred under the influence of global religious syncretism. Eastern magicians and prophets who entered the Roman Empire proposed a synthesis of beliefs that combined various gods and demons, an integration that inevitably led to an understanding of absolute unity and, consequently, the formation of monotheism:
"Eastern magi, sorcerers, and prophets inundate the Roman Empire. In the realm of religion, an all-encompassing syncretism is emerging—one that recognizes all manner of gods, divinities, and demons; a religiosity that is inherently drawn toward its antithetical culmination—monotheism. The Hellenistic Olympus is overcrowded with masses of Eastern 'foreigners' who have taken on the guise of gods and are displacing its indigenous inhabitants. Against this backdrop, the need for a religious synthesis that leads to monotheism arises."
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In summary, the transition to monotheism occurred as a result of the quest for spiritual unity, the search for absolute perfection and order, and a reaction to problems related to magism, pantheism, and polytheism. These processes evolved against a backdrop of cultural, philosophical, and practical transformations aimed at establishing the one, all-perfect God.