The short answer to the question 'Is there Monist Theism?' is 'yes'. But thats not very useful, so here's the long answer.
The term 'Monism' refers to the position that there is only one sort of 'stuff' in the Universe. The vast majority of Monists (including myself) are materialist Monists. Materialist Monism is sometimes called 'Physicalism'. We physicalists hold that at a fundamental level the Universe is composed exclusively of material/ physical phenomena. All non-physical phenomena (such as mental states, social institutions and works of literature) ultimately reduce to physical 'stuff'. Materialist Monism is obviously not compatible with Theism.
A second type of Monism is Idealism. This is the view that the physical Universe that we experience is in fact created by Mind, and that bedrock reality is not physical at all. Idealist Monism pretty much requires Theism, since the alternative to saying that the Universe is created by/ exists in the Mind of God is to say that our minds create their own realities- a sort of extreme relativism that collapses rather quickly into solipsism.
Dualism, of course, is the view that there are 2 fundamental sorts of 'stuff' in the Universe- physical stuff and mental stuff. Either Atheism or Theism are possible with Dualism, although I suspect that most Dualists are also Theists.
Note that these are positions within Metaphysics, and are therefore concerned with the fundamental nature of reality rather than anything practical. So when I say that mind and social institutions ultimately reduce to physical phenomena, that doesn't mean that I think that some sort of physical description of mind or society is actually a practical possibility (IMO, it isn't).
The term 'Monism' refers to the position that there is only one sort of 'stuff' in the Universe. The vast majority of Monists (including myself) are materialist Monists. Materialist Monism is sometimes called 'Physicalism'. We physicalists hold that at a fundamental level the Universe is composed exclusively of material/ physical phenomena. All non-physical phenomena (such as mental states, social institutions and works of literature) ultimately reduce to physical 'stuff'. Materialist Monism is obviously not compatible with Theism.
A second type of Monism is Idealism. This is the view that the physical Universe that we experience is in fact created by Mind, and that bedrock reality is not physical at all. Idealist Monism pretty much requires Theism, since the alternative to saying that the Universe is created by/ exists in the Mind of God is to say that our minds create their own realities- a sort of extreme relativism that collapses rather quickly into solipsism.
Dualism, of course, is the view that there are 2 fundamental sorts of 'stuff' in the Universe- physical stuff and mental stuff. Either Atheism or Theism are possible with Dualism, although I suspect that most Dualists are also Theists.
Note that these are positions within Metaphysics, and are therefore concerned with the fundamental nature of reality rather than anything practical. So when I say that mind and social institutions ultimately reduce to physical phenomena, that doesn't mean that I think that some sort of physical description of mind or society is actually a practical possibility (IMO, it isn't).
