We traditionally credit Moses (i.e., Ramose?) as the inventor of monotheism, meaning the acknowledgement of only one god. This was true of Akhenaten's faith. But Dov Henis points out, it is more accurate to say that the early Hebrews practiced monolatry, which accepts the existence of other gods, while putting one god above all others. Henis makes some interesting points on how the tolerant monolatry evolved into intolerant monotheism.

 

Gods in ancient times were provincial, where each town had its favorite, and the priests also functioned in the capacity of town council. Moving to another town involved coming under the domain of a different power structure, and thus (possibly) into the worship of another god. The ancients took this for granted.

 

Now we should consider how people would think of their provincial god once they began a migration. Are they still under the domain of their old god, or do they adopt the god of whatever region they happen to be passing through? Moses then says to them in Deuteronomy 6:14, "You shall not follow other gods, any of the gods of the peoples who surround you." So the migration itself forces the shift from the concept of a regional god to an all-present god, which then discredits all other regional gods.

 

But only in Islam can we see monotheism fully evolved into the belief that there is but one god. The Christian love of patron saints has been likened to polytheism (or, more properly, monolatry), and even the Holy Trinity can be seen as an attempt to mold the multiplicity of ancient theology into the singularity of monotheism, without requiring a clean break.

 

The theological, cultural, and historical study of such issues makes an interesting study.