The Pantheist Index

19th Century: Pantheists who lived in the 19th century.

Up to: Philosophers, Artists, Writers and Scientists

• Beethoven, Ludwig van (1770 - 1827) (2) This great musician abandoned the Catholicism of his upbringing and adopted Goethe's Pantheism.

• Bryant, William Cullen (1794 - 1878) (5) William Cullen Bryant, a significant figure in American literature, was a poet of Nature and is often referred to as the American Wordsworth.

• Burroughs, John (1837 - 1921) (6) American naturalist, writer and Pantheist.

• Sealth, Noah or Chief Seattle (c1786 - 1866) (4) Lushootseed leader after whom the city of Seattle was named.

• Emerson, Ralph Waldo (1803 - 1882) (5) Preacher who left the Unitarians to explore other religious ideas, developing Transcendentalism and an idealist form of Pantheism.

• Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von (1749 - 1832) (2) Germany's greatest poet whose work and Pantheist beliefs influenced numerous other 19th century artists.

• Muir, John (1838 - 1914) (2) Scottish born American naturalist, conservationist and writer.

• Nietzsche, Friedrich (1844 - 1900) (2) German philosopher, an admirer of Spinoza and Heraclitus, whose own views strayed close to Pantheism.

• Thoreau, Henry David (1817 - 1862) (5) Writer and naturalist who articulated the idea that humans are part of Nature and function best when conscious of the fact.

• Whitman, Walt (1819 - 1891) (3) One of America's best-loved poets, a Pantheist who wrote, "I hear and behold God in every object."

• Wordsworth, William (1770 - 1850) (1) Defining member of the English Romantic Movement, he was deeply influenced by his love of Nature, especially by the sights and scenes of the Lake District.

• Biographical Dictionary of Freethinkers Entries for the composers Beethoven and Schumann suggest that both held Pantheist beliefs inspired by Goethe.

• PAN - Abner Kneeland (1774 - 1844) Essay by Gary Suttle concerning Abner Kneeland, the last person convicted and jailed for blasphemy in the United States for the 'crime' of espousing Pantheism.

• Romantics: Nature Worship and Pantheism Introduction to the Pantheism of Romantic poetry by Paul Harrison, with quotations from Wordsworth, Goethe and eight other poets.