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Anthropopathism

attribution of human emotions to a deity

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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJan 21, 2026
Entity authorityQ2853054
Source-derived summary

Anthropopathism (from Greek ἄνθρωπος anthropos, "human" and πάθος pathos, "suffering") is the attribution of human emotions, or the ascription of human feelings or passions to a non-human being, generally to a deity.

By comparison, the term anthropomorphism originally referred to the attribution of human form to a non-human being, but in modern usage anthropomorphism has come to encompass both meanings.

Religion

This is a technique prevalent in religious writings, where, for instance, human emotion is attributed to God, where he would not normally experience emotion in this sense. Anthropopathism existed in the ancient Semitic religion and early Islam. This technique is also used in the book of Genesis, as an example of the theme of God as a personal god.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Anthropopathism” as attribution of human emotions to a deity. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA concise reference frame for defining the subject, testing terminology and identifying the institution closest to the evidence. The current 120-word lead offers orientation but no explicit four-digit date, so chronology should not be assumed. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. The account is most persuasive where Anthropopathism, attribution and human can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as attribution of human emotions to a deity. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jan 21, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2853054. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.

Critical limits

The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

Best used for
  • Subject orientation
  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
Verify next

The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Anthropopathism”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Anthropopathism primary sources, Anthropopathism archive and Anthropopathism research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Anthropopathism”?
  2. Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
  3. What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Anthropopathism” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.