ENOTEISM (CATENOTEISM). - It is the first stage of the idea of God according to Max Müller, in which the deity momentarily felt in religious consciousness is considered and invoked as the unique (and supreme) one at that moment (Schmidt).
This attitude, which Max Müller found particularly in Vedic hymns but which can conversely be observed also in other ancient religions such as the Egyptian, Babylonian, Greek, etc., does not represent a stable and well-defined form or category of the idea of God, but rather belongs to the realm of the inconstant and fluctuating religious experience (Pettazzoni), so that it remains an intermediate sentiment which excludes both an affirmation of monotheism and a denial of polytheism.
Bibl.: R. Pettazzoni, s. V. ENOCH. Ital., XIV (1932), p. 4; W. Schmidt, *Manuale di storia comparata delle religioni*, 3rd ed., Brescia 1943, pp. 51 ff.