[[Max Müller]], en tysk [[Filologi|filolog]] og [[Orientalism|orientalog]] bragte begrebet i et brede brug, gennem hans forskning i de [[Indiens religioner|indiske religioner]],<ref>Müller, Max. (1878) ''Lectures on the Origin and Growth of Religion: As Illustrated by the Religions of India.'' London:Longmans, Green and Co.</ref><ref name=alonp370>{{cite book|author1=Ilai Alon |author2= Ithamar Gruenwald|author3=Itamar Singer |title= Concepts of the Other in Near Eastern Religions |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A1-l66daLgYC|date=1994 |publisher=BRILL Academic |isbn=978-9004102200 |pages=370–371 }}</ref> især [[hinduisme]]n, hvis skrifter nævner og roser flere forskellige gudmægtige væsner som om de er en ultimativ samlet guddommelig essens.<ref name=taliaferro78/>
Religion