The World Pantheist Movement does not have any required ceremonies, rituals or specific “commandments.”
Because we do not believe in any supernatural powers, we feel no external compulsion to enact rituals. Many individual members may feel an internal desire to mark special times of the day, the year, or the passage of one’s life, with ceremony, celebration or reflection. They find that to do so deepens their links with the universe, the solar system and nature. Others see ceremony as a distraction and prefer direct connection with Nature and the night sky.
Many members enjoy meeting together, because they find that they share a lot with other WPM members or friends, and that meeting helps to create mutual support and confidence in one’s beliefs in an environment that, in many places, may be hostile. The meetings may take any format that the members choose. We offer only suggestions.
As far as ethics go the WPM has no commandments. We don’t issue orders like churches do. We won’t be telling you what you should smoke or do in the bedroom. We may offer suggestions, and we do have values of a more general kind included in our Statement of Principles. They follow logically from our reverence for Nature and for humans and other living beings as centers of perception of Nature and the Universe.
Many members share a strong ethos towards nature, embodied in clause three of the belief statement:
We are an inseparable 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 believe in treating all living creatures with compassion, empathy, and respect. We believe in the inherent value of all life, human and non-human.
And many share a general social ethos, embodied in clause four:
We believe in freedom, democracy, justice, equity, and non-discrimination, and in a world community based on peace, an end to poverty, sustainable ways of life, and full respect for human rights.
However, ethical practice for WPM members will always be a matter for individual conscience. Ceremonial and group practice will be a matter for individual or group taste. Suggestions may be made, as in the links below, but these are just guidelines. If you are interested in joining the WPM please check out the benefits and subscriptions page or click the Join button on any page.
