Principles of Scientific Pantheism

Background

The WPM Statement of Principles of Scientific Pantheism is not a religious creed. It is not intended to be recited by rote or read out whole in every meeting. Subscription to every clause is not a requirement of joining. Taking part in our main forums is free.
We know that people are not zombies. Everyone has a slightly different slant on the world: if they didn’t, there’d be nothing to talk about, nor would ideas advance. But people associate into social and spiritual groups because they share certain beliefs, so it is best to have a good idea of what those basic beliefs are before joining a group. The basic concepts comprise:

• Reverence for Nature and the wider Universe.
• Active respect and care for the rights of humans and animals.
• Celebration of our lives in our bodies on this beautiful earth.
• Freedom of religion, separation of state and religion, tolerance.
• Strong naturalism, without belief in supernatural realms, beings or forces.
• Respect for reason, evidence and the scientific method.
• Realism: there is a real world independent of human thought or perception.

The WPM was created to promote this coherent set of beliefs as a rational alternative to supernatural beliefs. The Statement of Principles is an expression of the above beliefs and values. No deity will smite you if you disagree with it. It is a reminder of the central points of our beliefs, and a guide for people who are thinking of joining us or our social media, so they can get a good idea of who we are.

It is composed by fallible humans, not dictated by a deity. The statement was drawn up and agreed by a working group of fifteen people from the the original WPM e-mail list.  Decisions were taken on a democratic basis, and required a 75% majority. It’s not immutable – it can be amended and from time to time we revisit it with our members. The statement was last revised in 2022.

The Statement

1. We revere and celebrate the Universe as the totality of being, past, present and future. It is self-organizing, ever-evolving and inexhaustibly diverse. Its overwhelming power, beauty and fundamental mystery compel the deepest human reverence and wonder.
2. All matter, energy, and life are an interconnected unity of which we are an inseparable part. We rejoice in our existence and seek to participate ever more deeply in this unity through knowledge, celebration, meditation, empathy, love, ethical action and art.
3. We are an integral part of Nature, which we should cherish, revere and preserve in all its magnificent beauty and diversity. We should strive to live in harmony with Nature locally and globally. We acknowledge the inherent value of all life, human and non-human, and strive to treat all living beings with compassion and respect.
4. All humans are equal centers of awareness of the Universe and nature, and all deserve a life of equal dignity and mutual respect. To this end we support and work towards freedom, democracy, justice, and non-discrimination, and a world community based on peace, sustainable ways of life, full respect for human rights and an end to poverty.
5. We honor reality, and keep our minds open to the evidence of the senses and of science’s unending quest, using the scientific method, for deeper and more accurate understanding of the Universe and Nature. Science greatly enhances our spiritual and esthetic responses to the world, and our awareness of cosmic and natural wonders at all scales. Science is also essential in helping us to analyze our problems, and to find more effective and sustainable ways of coping with humanity’s challenges and crises.
6. There is a single kind of substance, energy/matter, which is vibrant and infinitely creative in all its forms. Body and mind are indivisibly united.
7. Although death is the end of our existence as conscious individuals, our energies always were and are and always will be part of the Universe’s dance of creation and renewal. Our actions, creations and memories of us ripple on, according to what we have done while alive. Our genes live on in our families, and, through environmentally sound funerals, our elements are endlessly recycled in nature.
8. Every individual has direct access through perception, emotion and meditation to ultimate reality, which is the Universe and Nature. There is no need for mediation by prophets, priests, gurus or revealed scriptures.
9. We uphold the separation of religion and state, and the human right of freedom of religion. We support mutual tolerance – the peaceful coexistence of divergent faiths and spiritualities – as indispensable in contemporary societies. We recognize the freedom of all pantheists to express their beliefs in any non-harmful ritual, symbol or vocabulary that is meaningful to them.

Print out or distribute our the Statement

You may print out this statement and distribute it to your friends and other people. Stick it on notice boards, leave it lying around on desks and tables, whatever you like. You may also reproduce it and copy it in any form you like, provided the source is acknowledged: World Pantheist Movement: https://www.pantheism.net/

History

Commentary by Paul Harrison