Gods are that which a people deem worthy of worship. Thus, what the gods are depends entirely on what is deified. That which is worthy of worship expresses a people's deeply held values or that which they hold in high regard. The reasons for which someone may hold something in high regard can vary too. Perhaps something is deemed worthy of worship because it is numinous or mysterious? Fundamentally greater and incomprehensible? Fascinating and awe-inspiring? An exemplar for good human behavior? A representation of deeply-held values?
I deify all of reality. That represents how I an inspired by and in awe of everything - that I view all things as sacred and bearing deep, intrinsic value. It's all gods. The result is a polytheistic pantheism that is pretty foreign to most in my surrounding culture. It also means I need to cut others (both atheist and theist) in my culture more than a little slack because their theological assumptions lean heavily towards classical monotheism. Many things they say are nonsense to me and I'm sure many of the things I say are nonsense to them too.
I deify all of reality. That represents how I an inspired by and in awe of everything - that I view all things as sacred and bearing deep, intrinsic value. It's all gods. The result is a polytheistic pantheism that is pretty foreign to most in my surrounding culture. It also means I need to cut others (both atheist and theist) in my culture more than a little slack because their theological assumptions lean heavily towards classical monotheism. Many things they say are nonsense to me and I'm sure many of the things I say are nonsense to them too.