What does YAHWISM stand for? 

Yahwism

Yahwism is the modern term used to describe the historic worship of Yahweh in the ancient Israelite kingdoms of Judah and Samaria (Israel) – and thus the primitive, formative stages of Judaism (and by extension all Abrahamic religions). Despite modern Judaism and Yahwism both being the veneration of Yahweh, the distinctions between the two belief systems are quite clear. Unlike the religions that would descend from it, Yahwism was characterized by lax monotheism, or more specifically henotheism/monolatrism, which recognized Yahweh as the national god of Israel, but nevertheless allowed faith in (though not necessarily worship of) other gods of West Semitic mythology, such as Baal, Moloch, Asherah, and Astarte. The exact transition between what would be considered 'Yahwism' and what would be considered 'Judaism' is somewhat unclear, however it is evident that the event began with radical religious amendments such as the testaments of Elijah and the reforms of Hezekiah and Josiah and had been fulfilled by the end of the Babylonian captivity, where the recognition of Yahweh as the sole god of the universe had finally secured a majority of the Jewish people.

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