Pantheism

Not to be confused with Pandeism, Panentheism, or Panpsychism.

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Pantheism is the philosophical and religious belief that reality, the universe, and nature are identical to divinity or a supreme entity.[1] The physical universe is thus understood as an immanent deity, still expanding and creating, which has existed since the beginning of time.[2] The term pantheist designates one who holds both that everything constitutes a unity and that this unity is divine, consisting of an all-encompassing, manifested god or goddess.[3][4] All astronomical objects are thence viewed as parts of a sole deity.

Another definition of pantheism is the worship of all gods of every religion. But this is more precisely termed omnism.[5] Pantheist belief does not recognize a distinct personal god,[6] anthropomorphic or otherwise, but instead characterizes a broad range of doctrines differing in forms of relationships between reality and divinity.[7] Pantheistic concepts date back thousands of years, and pantheistic elements have been identified in various religious traditions. The term pantheism was coined by mathematician Joseph Raphson in 1697[8][9] and since then, it has been used to describe the beliefs of a variety of people and organizations.

Pantheism was popularized in Western culture as a theology and philosophy based on the work of the 17th-century philosopher Baruch Spinoza, in particular, his book Ethics.[10] A pantheistic stance was also taken in the 16th century by philosopher and cosmologist Giordano Bruno.[11]

In the East, Advaita Vedanta, a school of Hindu philosophy is thought to be similar to pantheism in Western philosophy. The early Taoism of Laozi and Zhuangzi is also sometimes considered pantheistic, although it could be more similar to panentheism. Cheondoism, which arose in the Joseon Dynasty of Korea, and Won Buddhism are also considered pantheistic.

  1. ^ "Pantheism – Definition, Meaning & Synonyms". Vocabulary.com. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
  2. ^ The New Oxford Dictionary of English. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 1998. p. 1341. ISBN 978-0-19-861263-6.
  3. ^ Encyclopedia of Philosophy ed. Paul Edwards. New York: Macmillan and Free Press. 1967. p. 34.
  4. ^ Reid-Bowen, Paul (2016). Goddess as Nature: Towards a Philosophical Thealogy. Taylor & Francis. p. 70. ISBN 978-1317126348.
  5. ^ "Definition of Pantheism". 28 September 2023.
  6. ^ Charles Taliaferro; Paul Draper; Philip L. Quinn (eds.). A Companion to Philosophy of Religion. p. 340. They deny that God is 'totally other' than the world or ontologically distinct from it.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference LevineDetailed was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference Taylor was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference Thomson was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Lloyd, Genevieve (1996). Routledge Philosophy GuideBook to Spinoza and The Ethics. Routledge Philosophy Guidebooks. Routledge. p. 24. ISBN 978-0-415-10782-2.
  11. ^ Birx, Jams H. (11 November 1997). "Giordano Bruno". Mobile, AL: The Harbinger. Archived from the original on 27 July 2017. Retrieved 5 February 2019. Bruno was burned to death at the stake for his pantheistic stance and cosmic perspective.