Belief in a transcendent Supreme Being exists in Traditional Religions

The Core of Monotheism

"God the Father", a representation of the theistic version of God, by Ludovico Mazzolino (1480 – c. 1528)

A belief in a Supreme Being is central to traditional religions; lesser deities exist, but they serve the Supreme Being.  Though he may be called by a multitude of different names, the Supreme Being of the ancient world has always been at the center of religious belief.  Most view him as a father above all and removed from all (transcendent), but some consider him approachable (immanent).  He is the creator of all things, including lesser gods and spirits.

All civilizations have evidence of belief in a Supreme Being

The Origin and Growth of Religion (1931) by Wilhelm Schmidt (1868 – 1954).  Schmidt was an Austrian linguist, anthropologist, and ethnologist. 

Belief in the Supreme Being can be found culturally and historically in almost all civilizations throughout history.  German scholar Wilhelm Schmidt details this collective recognition in his Origin and Growth of Religion:

• The Supreme Being is generally acknowledged as creator, and called Father in every primitive culture where He is addressed.  He lives somewhere above the earth.

• He is a being, so his physical form cannot be accurately represented.  He is described as invisible, like the wind, or like fire.

• He is eternal: He existed before any other being, and He will not die.

• He is all powerful and all knowing.

• He is Good, and all good comes from Him, including moral law.  He is unalterably righteous.

• He despises evil, and it must be kept far from Him.

• He is the Just Judge.  Human beings are separated from Him by past offenses, and they abandoned Him for lesser, more accessible gods; yet primitive religion retain His memory as the Sky-God.

The Sky God known throughout the world

Jupiter, the sky father of Greco-Roman religion and mythology, by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres 

This "Sky-God," known today in Africa as Pa Karumasba or the Supreme Creator, designed this world for the pleasure of human beings, and Africans believe they owe him reverence and thanks for his creation.  Sacrifices are made to him in order to ensure his continued blessing on both the land and the people.  Life should be centered on pleasing the Creator by following the moral laws he introduced from the beginning.  "There are many things held to be morally wrong and evil, such as: robbery, murder, rape, telling lies, stealing, being cruel, saying bad words, showing disrespect, practicing sorcery or Witchcraft, interfering with public rights, backbiting, being lazy or greedy or selfish, making promises, and son on."  In the African worldview, religion is life and life is religion.

Source: Martin, Walter, Jill Martin Rische, and Kurt Van Gorden. The Kingdom of the Occult. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2008, pages 474-475.