Theism (from Greek θεoς theos god) is used in two meanings: Generally it is the belief in gods or goddesses, or the belief in a creator of the universe who is actively involved in maintaining and ruling it.
The word originated in Ancient Greece and signified belief in the traditional Gods, the Olympians.
The first meaning sees four major views of the role of deity in the world in this context:
deism, the view that deity created the world but does not interact with it; emphasis on deities' transcendence
theism, proper (second definition), the view that deity is immanent in the world, yet transcends it;
panentheism, the view that the world is entirely contained within deity, while at the same time deity is something greater than just the world.
pantheism, the view that the world is identical to deity; emphasis on deities' immanence
Within theism proper, it can be differentiated between
Some of the positions on this table may seem contradictory, or at least unfounded, but where theism is concerned a great many people rely on faith and thus can believe strongly in things which they do not believe have been or can be rigorously proven.
