  Theists believe that reality’s ultimate principle is God—an omnipotent, omniscient, goodness that is the creative ground of everything other than itself. Monotheism is the view that there is only one such God. After a brief discussion of monotheism’s historical origins, this entry looks at the five most influential attempts to establish God’s uniqueness. We will consider arguments from God’s simplicity, from his perfection, from his sovereignty, from his omnipotence, and from his demand for total devotion. The entry concludes by examining three major theistic traditions which contain strands which might seem at odds with their commitment to monotheism—the Jewish Kabbalistic tradition, Christianity, and Shri Vaishnavism.