Pantheism ... the history of Pantheism through the ages.
The History of World Pantheism:
Pantheism, as a religion and philosophy, dates back at least to the days of ancient Greece and has probably existed in one form or another since time began. There is a popular arguement that the term was first invented by a fellow named Toland in the 1700s, thus the "religion" didn't exist before then. Amusing, but untrue...
According to The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy (2nd Edition, ©1993), pantheism is "The belief that God, or a group of gods, is identical with the whole natural world; pantheism comes from Greek roots meaning 'belief that everything is a god.'"
Many earth religions included pantheistic values in their relationship with Gaia. The Goddess cults also leaned toward pantheism. The label "pagan" attached itself when any religion that denied the doctine of the one true god of the Jews was considered pagan. Pantheism still pervades many pagan religions.
In the sixties, Robert Heinlein published a chopped version of his science fiction novel, Stranger in a Strange Land, and pantheism was reborn concurrently with the escalation of the hippie movement. Many seekers really did turn on and tune out ... tuned into the universe and tuned out the noise of our society.
The seventies brought a new kind of pantheism called Scientific Pantheism. I won't try to explain their credo or doctrines, but urge the curious to keep in mind that there are all types of Pantheism being presented on the Internet. One of the missing elements of Scientific Pantheism is the belief in a god(s). They believe that the universe is divine but that there is no such thing as a god.
Most of the Pantheist groups are inclusive and allow discussion and debate of controversial issues. Whether your Pantheistic leanings are empirical or spiritual, there are others who believe as you do all over the earth. The best way to understand how pantheists think and what they believe is by reading the articles they have contributed to the different sections of this site.
homepage | history | religion | philosophy | lifeway | resources | reading | email
