Theism

Theism, in its most inclusive usage, is the belief in at least one deity.^[1][2] Less inclusive usages specify that the deity believed in be a distinct identifiable entity, thereby contrasted with pantheism. Other narrower usages specify a specific doctrine concerning the nature of the deity believed in, such that it be a single supreme transcendent God that remains an active, immanent force in the universe.^{[3][Need quotation on talk to verify]} This more specific use of the word theism arose in the 18th century^{[citation needed]} to contrast with the then-widely-held deism which contended that a creator deity—though transcendent and supreme—did not intervene in the natural world and could be known rationally but not via revelation.

The term theism was first used by Ralph Cudworth (1617–1688),^[4] and was probably coined to contrast with atheism, a term attested from ca. 1587 (see the etymology section of atheism for details). Theism can be categorized into more particular types, such as monotheism (in which case the word God is capitalized) and polytheism. (Wikipedia)