A theory that holds that gods originate through the attribution of divinity to actual historical figures.
CommentThe word is derived from the name of Euhemerus, a philosopher of the fourth century BC, who sought to interpret myth as a distorted account of real historical events. (In some cases he was clearly correct. See myth.)
In modern times, the term "euhemerism" is sometimes used disparagingly to refer to attempts by social scientists to reduce religious experience to its psychological or sociological aspects, denying to it any supernaturalism. In this usage, the original sense of imagining putative historical origins tends to be lost.
More usefully, the term euhemerization can be used in reference to documented cases in which known historical figures do in fact come to be accorded worship as divinities. For example, a very large proportion of the pantheon of popular Chinese religion is made up of figures who have (or probably have) an historical existence, and the social process by which historical figures came to be objects of worship can usefully be called "euhemerization." "Euhemerization" thus names a process (and is really merely a synonym for "deification" or "apotheosis"), while "euhemerism," in contrast, is a school of analysis and refers to a characteristic starting assumption that any divinity worshipped today can most likely be traced to an historical figure. (In the Chinese case such an assumption would be wrong, since some divinities are stars, or water dragons, or the like.)
Folk Euhemerism
The case of China is particularly interesting in this respect. In China, divinities that are not based on historical people tend to have human lives attributed to them in the course of popular worship in what might usefully be called "folk euhemerism."
Far from being an analyst's attempt to debunk their worship, this process seems to confer religious legitimacy upon these figures by fitting them into a vernacular moral system in which gods, people, and demons all participate, with divinity being a postmortal reward for great virtue as a human.
An example might be the countless "land gods" postulated to act as local-level patron deities. Almost any book on Chinese folklore will include stories about the mortal life of "Lord Land God" (Tǔdì gōng 土地公) and "Mrs Land God" (Tǔdì pó 土地婆), the wife he is assumed to have.
Definition Revised: 2011-01-27
Script Last Modified: 2022-05-30
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