The emergence of monotheism in the biblical tradition marked a decisive transformation in Western perceptions of nature. By positing a single, transcendent God who stands apart from creation, both Judaism and Christianity established an ontological distinction between the divine and the material world—breaking with earlier worldviews in which humans, gods, and nature were profoundly interconnected. 

This metaphysical rupture displaced the animistic, participatory views of nature found in polytheistic and ancient ritual systems. 

The world became objectified, losing its living, sacred character—a trajectory that critically shaped Western consciousness. Centuries later, the rise of modern science and Enlightenment philosophy would radicalize this separation of the sacred from the natural world, translating it into a full metaphysical and epistemological disenchantment.