NeRdS have never referred to him as a god but if this were the Greek mythology, Shao Kahn should apply as a god. In the end it's about what the developers decide and at this point they don't call Shoe Kahn a god.
Most importantly, Shao Kahn doesn't have a god's past → not god.

I am not 100% clear on the matter, but from my understanding, Shao Kahn used to be, like Raiden, some kind of god protector of Outworld also being Onaga's advisor. However, he lost his god status when he backstabbed Onaga and took Outworld for his own, hence his grudge towards the Elder Gods who might have been the ones who took his status from him.

This is just theory and speculation though.

I'd like to think of him more as a fallen god. Kind of like Shinnok. Shinnok retained alot of his power, which if Shao Kahn were a fallen god, would explain a lot,

I believe Shao Khan was once ether the god of war or the god of souls, but lost his godly hood once he poisened Onaga and told rule over Outworld (which he was meant to be protecting). God of war suits him well, but I've always liked the idea he is the god of souls. He seems (to my knowledge) to be the first to control souls and collect them. He was the one who taught Shang Tsung to do the same. Also I believe when Shinnok was a Elder God he was the God of death. Most of his moves tend to involve skeletons e.g. hand from hell. Just putting these ideas out there

Shoe Kahn lol

In MK Deception Konquest it is stated,that Shao Kahn used to be a God-Protector of Outworld and ALSO an advisor of Emperor Onaga at that time (but nobody knows god of WHAT,like in Raiden's situation it is God of Thunder,in Fujin's - God of Wind,etc.). Jaded-Raven nailed it,because indeed,when something happened to Shao Kahn,he decided to take the realm for himself and poisoned Onaga. This treachery didn't go unnoticed,so he was stripped of his Protector status,but he became the new Emperor of Outworld,after which he conquered a lot of realms,which included Edenia, Zaterra and Vaeternus.

It doesn't matter if he is a god or not,because being Emperor of Outworld automatically gives you the power which rivals the gods. That is why Shao Kahn is so powerful throughout the games and even Raiden himself needed Elder God's assistance to slay him in MK9. If Shao Kahn merged Earthrealm with Outworld,he flat out said,that "today I become the ELDER GOD!",which means he would be as powerful as Elder Gods if Raiden didn't stop him.

That's not where Kahn gets his power from. Emperor is just a title. It means he sits on the throne, that's all. (The throne granting power is true in the Netherealm, interestingly enough. In MKA, Shinnok says that's where he gets his from now that he's not an Elder God anymore...but it doesn't work that way for Outworld, though.)

Shao Kahn gets his power from having stolen millions and millions of souls from all the realms he's conquered.

Don't forget that he's the guy who taught Shang how to soul steal. He probably went and learned sorcery to make up for what he lost when he lost (or possibly denounced) his godhood to take the throne.

I wonder how SHAO KAHN learned that technique? If he ALREADY knew about that,then it means Raiden can do the same if he goes bad?

Well Dark Raiden learned how to bring Liu back as a zombie from studying the spells of a bunch of evil necromancers he killed a long time ago back when he was a good guy.

You can pick up a LOT of knowledge when you're immortal and have lived as long as the universe has.

I agree with what what most people have been saying on here Shao Kahn is a god or was one up until he killed Onaga. Damashi (Onaga) told Shujinko that Shao Kahn was Outworld's equivalent to Raiden, so it's very likely he was the protector god of his realm. Just like the Dragon king he was likely influenced by the One Being. Not content with protecting the realm, he poisoned Onaga and took over as the Emperor of Outworld.

After taking over the throne of Outworld one of two things happened. He either was stripped of his godhood by the Elder Gods, or he simply renounced his role as protector god of Outworld. Hey may or may not have had his powers diminished by this, but at the very least he kept his Immortality. If his powers were lessened by losing his godhood he probably learned sorcery in order to make up for it. He is the one who taught Shang Tsung what he knows.

I'm surprised nobody mentioned that one of the speakers in Netherrealm/Chaosrealm says, backwards, that Raiden, Shao Kahn, and Lucifer are all part of the same race. By that logic, then yes, Shao Kahn's a God... Obviously not in the traditional sense, but perhaps everybody's right about him losing his title once he took over Outworld, though you'd think he'd be banished or something for interfering directly with mortals or something.

It's worth mentioning that – let's consider the backwards message official – even if Shao Kahn is of the same race with Lucifer and Raiden, it doesn't directly confirm that he is a god; Liu Kang for instance became a god in his "What if?" MK9 ending without being of any special race and the winner of MK:A was promised a god status be it Taven, Kira or Shang Tsung.
I think that godhood needs more than just a certain type of blood and that being a god is more of a job for which you need to prove your worthiness. It does suggest that Shao Kahn could be a god though but I wouldn't see this as a confirmation e.g. blood could give the powers but not the status.
Could there be something else to prove it? Raiden's MK/DC biography also claims, likely non-canonly, that Kahn and Raiden are brothers.
One would think that by now they would have outright told that Shao Kahn is a god but instead they decided to distribute vague tidbits of his possible godhood so that MKRaiden22 would create this topic. MKX, disclose it.
EDIT: It's viable that Shao Kahn was a god as a protector but is no longer and the power had just corrupted him as in Shang Tsung's MK9 ending.

??? if Shao Khan was a god before assassination, wouldnt he just be able to challenge and take the throne from onaga???

Just because Shao Kahn was a god doesn't mean he could defeat Onaga. The Elder Gods may be the strongest thing in the MK universe excluding the One Being, but minor gods aren't all powerful. If you recall a certain thunder god was defeated by two sorcerers prior to Onaga's ressurection. Onaga is already known to be incredibly powerful and he had an immortal army at his command. Shao Kahn likely poisoned Onaga because he couldn't defeat him, and so anybody faithful to Onaga wouldn't turn on him.

Also the tidbit about Shao Kahn belonging to the same race as Raiden and Lucifer is interesting. It's more proof that Shao Kahn was likely the protector god of Outworld, just as Raiden protects Earthrealm and Lucifer the Netherealm.

Mortals can be granted godhood by the Elders...but those seem to be a rare exception to allow for a character who already exists on the MK roster to get upgraded, usually in an ending that doesn't even come true.

All the current gods seem to have been born that way. Here's an excerpt from the backstory of MK Mythologies that gives a bit of their origins:

"The gods of the Earth realm are many. Most exist quietly, never interfering with man's occupation of the young and powerful realm; others are appointed certain tasks by the Elder Gods.

Raiden is one such god. His name varies between religions, but is generally known as the mythical God of Thunder. Like most gods, his adventures have been twisted and misinterpreted over time. His task on Earth has always been to protect it from the likes of Shao Kahn and Shinnok. Although he can intervene when the realm is in distress, he cannot directly interfere with man's destiny. He can only guide them as they choose their own paths in life.

After defeating Shinnok, Raiden appointed four guardians as the protectors of Shinnok's sacred amulet. Each guardian represents one of the four elements that make up the realm. Wind, Earth, Water and Fire; Known by many different names, these are the elemental gods chosen by Raiden to protect the amulet. Their existence, though necessary in balancing the Earth's forces, can cause great destruction and despair to the inhabitants of the planet."

Now, that certainly suggests they were never mortals, but a separate, divine race, as though they're literally the forces of nature taking living, personified forms.

With the evidence listed here, I think it's safe to say that Shao Kahn was a god at least at one point of his life but as he is already Emperor Shao Kahn, the Ruler of Outworld the developers didn't probably want to grant the Fallen Elder God title to Shao Kahn to steal Shinnok's thunder and make Shinnok feel even less unique at the time. I guess the difference between Shinnok and Shao Kahn is that with the souls and backup of Outworld that Shao Kahn possessed, no contender was able to win him up until MK9, unlike Shinnok who was beaten by Raiden a long time ago.

Why would have Raiden protected Earthrealm from Shao Kahn before he was corrupted, when Kahn was the protector of Outworld and the servant of Onaga? Just in case? I think that the MK/DC brotherhood part could also be true, but in the metaphorical sense. I mean, neither of them was birthed by the nine months procedure but by the Elder Gods as far as I'm concerned and if they were created by the same Elder God and they are both male, they're "brothers" if you desire to think that way, right? It would be kind of questionable that the official MK developers would misinterpret information in their MK/DC character biographies... Unless they wanted to mislead newcomers to Mortal Kombat to make it feel more exciting.

It says "from the likes of Shao Kahn and Shinnok", dude.

That means them and anyone like them, any outside force who seeks to conquer the realm. The point is that he's been Protector of Earthrealm for as long as he and Earthrealm have existed.
As far as the brothers thing, I've always been of the opinion that while it's technically true that any of the gods would be siblings in a sense, the only ones that should really count as brothers are the ones from the same realm as one another. For example, the MK4 strategy guide called Fujin Raiden's brother.

Whoopsies.

Yes, the "foreign" gods should be "cousins" if anything, unless all the gods were distributed to different realms only well after creation. Shinnok would probably be their uncle or father as a demiurge/Elder God (dismissed).

No not a god but he's a strong as one like Raiden for example, its been shown time after time in game after game that Shao Kahn can go toe to toe with Raiden, he's probably even stronger but he's not a god only Mortal Kombat's Overly Powerful Warlord.