Terms and definitions relevant to Pantheists.
You may also wish to see the belief statement generally agreed upon by the World Pantheist Movement, as well as WPM President Paul Harrison’s commentary on the basic principles. belief statement: A list of 9 basic principles agreed upon by the World Pantheist Movement; describes the basic ideas and ideals we promote. It is not scripture, it is not religious law, it is not binding for members or friends. dualism: the belief that the Universe is composed of two principal substances; usually, one is physical and the other is mental or spiritual. monism: the belief that the Universe has a single underlying type of substance; most commonly either physical stuff or energy (the strong naturalistic viewpoint) or mental stuff (the idealist or consciousness-only viewpoint). naturalism: the belief that everything we are and do is encompassed by Nature, the natural (observable) world; a core tenet of science. naturalistic pantheism: a branch of pantheism based on naturalism, revering a scientifically observable Universe. pantheism: the belief that the universe and nature are worthy of the deepest reverence. pantheist:someone who believes in Pantheism, regarding the sum of the Universe, existence, or nature as the most worthy object of reverence scientific pantheism: the belief that the universe and nature are purely physical and worthy of the deepest religious reverence; see naturalistic pantheism
“It fuses religion and science, and concern for humans with concern for nature. It provides the most realistic concept of life after death, and the most solid basis for environmental ethics. It is a spirituality that requires no faith other than common sense, no revelation other than open eyes and a mind open to evidence, no guru other than your own self.”
Baruch Spinoza: a 17th-century Dutch philosopher who produced a theological defense of pantheism, before the name had been coined; author of the Ethics; originally Jewish, but was thrown out by the community for his views. John Toland: A Scottish rationalist philosopher; coined the term Pantheism with the publication of his Pantheisticon, a blueprint for pantheist meeting groups; brought together many early concepts of scientific pantheism. Universe: the sum of everything that verifiably exists; does not exclude the possibility of multiple naturalistic universes. World Pantheism: the naturalistic/scientific pantheism promoted by the World Pantheist Movement World Pantheist Movement: the largest pantheist organization, dedicated to spreading information about naturalistic pantheism and building networks and local groups where naturalistic pantheists can connect.
