Pantheism

Pantheism is the belief that God and the universe are equivalent (the same thing). A pantheist believes that everything that exists is a part of God or that God is a part of everything that exists. The name pantheism comes from the Greek words theism (belief in God) and pan (all).

Any doctrine or philosophy that believes that the universe and everything in it is God is said to be pantheistic. Most pantheists believe the universe is sacred and the earth and nature are divine. Most of the early Greek philosophers from Thales on to the Stoics believed in some sort of pantheism.

Pantheism is an important part of many eastern religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism and Taoism, and modern religions such as Druidism.

Some western philosophers such as Baruch Spinoza and some scientists are pantheists.

Some Christians, Jews and Sufis are pantheists. However, their majority believes that while God is in everything, there is more to God than just the universe.

There are several different types of pantheism, including panpsychism (the belief the universe itself has a mind), naturalistic pantheism (the belief the universe is identifiable with the title of "God", as it can be seen as a wondrous and transcendent power), or the worship of nature as a life-giving force.

Related pages

• Panentheism

Other websites

• Hindu Wisdom
• Pantheist Prophet: Henry David Thoreau Archived 2006-10-12 at the Wayback Machine by Harold W. Wood, Jr
• Scientific Pantheism site
• Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy entry
• The Holographic Paradigm Archived 2007-02-05 at the Wayback Machine
• Universal Pantheist Society home page
• World Pantheist Movement home page