Board Thread:Lore Discussion/@comment-77.172.125.107-20130830035154/@comment-7153552-20130831205752

Not all gods are worshipped, and all Mer want to return to their old state of being which is that of the gods. This is where the whole Tower Theory stems from, originally they all built towers to focus energy and ascend. After several wars and awkward and strained alliances, the Mer lost their original focus on why they were building the towers. Now the goal - if you believe and follow the MK writings - of the Altmer is to destroy all the towers and make the mortal plane unravel back into Oblivion. Ultimately, it would appear, that the other Mer have all but stopped their original endevour. The Chimer go turned into the Dunmer with the Dwemer events at Red Mountain and most likely decided it was all too dangerous and that they'd eventually get there - or not.

How one defines a god in TES is a little different than how you and I would define one in the real world. There are beings of great power that are more or less god-like and gain their power(s) based on the amount of people focussed on their worship. So a god is less defined as one who is worshipped, and more by what they are capable of.