Culminating in the 18th century, the word polytheism (coined by Jean Bodin [8. 1088]; “worship of many gods”) acquired new connotations in the early modern period distinct from its former existence as a mere accusation of the “pagan” veneration of multiple deities, idolism, or idolatry (Ancient religions; Paganism; Superstition). What has been called the first systematic program of German idealism, for example, contrasted a “polytheism of imagination and art” with a “monotheism of reason and the heart.” Even before this, in his preface to Braut von Messina, Schiller breathed …