Pantheists’ Dictionary

attempting to present unbiased,
inclusive and respectful definitions
of common terms and their various meanings
as used by pantheists of all types

Animism is a belief that (a) every object is, in a sense, alive, and/or that (b) every object has a mind or a spirit/soul, and/or that (c) every object is divine in its own right. Forms of animism following this third definition can have many similarities with pantheism, where every object, since it is a part of the Universe, is a part of the divine.

1. As a direct contrast to theism, atheism is either the lack of belief in a specific anthropomorphic deity (weak form) or the denial of the existence of a specific anthropomorphic deity (strong form). By this definition, pantheists are atheists — as are all theists, since they believe in one or a limited number of gods but reject all other gods.

2. Atheism is also used to mean the denial of anything that can be called divine. No pantheist is an atheist according to this definition, since, by definition, all pantheists believe in the divine immanence of the Universe (even if they prefer not to use such terminology because of its theistic connotations). In fact, it is doubtful whether anyone is truly an atheist in this sense, since every well-balanced person has some sort of religious or spiritual component to their lives (even if they do not to recognise it as such) and has reverent feelings about something (even if they do not use obviously religious vocabulary to describe their feelings).

Deism is a belief in a creator (possibly an anthropomorphic deity) of the Universe that has not interacted with it in any way since. Deists emphasise rational inquiry over revelation or the specific teaching of any church, believing that a certain kind of religious knowledge is either inherent in each person or is accessible through the exercise of reason.

Modern physics suggests that new sub-universes might be budding off from each other all the time, in a form of cosmic evolution which coincidentally “breeds” the necessary conditions for life (á la Weak Anthropic Principle). The creator of the new sub-universe is then actually just another part of the ensemble Universe, in which case deism would be to a large extent equivalent to pantheism, with the self-creating Universe taken to be god.

Some pantheists reject the word “divine” outright because of its theistic connotations. Some pantheists use the word as a label to describe the aesthetic/emotional/spiritual response they have to Nature and the Universe. Some pantheists might argue that the Universe is divine in some objective sense. (Physicalists would not do this, on the basis that it’s akin to claiming that divinity is just another chemical element or a new type of quark.) Whether pantheists choose to use the word “divine” or not, however, all pantheists have more or less the same aesthetic/emotional/spiritual response to Nature or they probably wouldn’t have identified themselves as pantheists.

Dualism is the belief that spirit/soul and body are two separate properties of the Universe and that that Nature includes supernatural phenomena beyond the material. One form of dualistic pantheism, more commonly found in “eastern” religions, is “world-soul pantheism”, where each individual soul is repeatedly rejoined with and then separated from the “world-soul” during the cyclic processes of reincarnation.

1. In primarily Western colloquial use, god is the anthropomorphic creator deity of monotheism.

2. More generally, god is the divine entity most deserving of reverence and appreciation, being the central focus of some set of religious feelings. Following Anselm of Canterbury, god may be defined as “that entity than which no greater can be conceived.” Pantheists view the Universe as the totality of existence, than which nothing greater exists, and hence the Universe is god according to Anselm’s definition.

Most pantheists prefer not to use the word “god” because of the dominance of the first definition.

Idealism is a form of monism such that mind is the fundamental property of the Universe and that matter is a product (or even a delusion) of mind. Idealists believe that the best way to gain knowledge is through pure introspection, striving to break out of the illusion of physical reality to reach the true realm of pure thought beyond. The idealistic form of pantheism may also be known as “acosmic pantheism” (literally “pantheism without a material Universe”).

Monism is the belief that spirit/soul, mind and body are aspects of a single fundamental property of the Universe.

Natural or Scientific Pantheism builds on the beliefs of pantheism, physicalism and religious naturalism to develop humanist and environmentalist ethics, as promoted by the World Pantheist Movement.

The word “pantheism” derives from the Greek words “pan” meaning “all”, “en” meaning “within” and “theos” meaning “god”; “panentheism” literally means “all is a part of god”. Panentheists believe in a transcendent divinity of which the Universe is then an inseparable part; if viewed as a volitional god, the divinity may also have caused the creation of the Universe.

As well as being a synonym for idealism, panpsychism (literally “all is thought”) is a form of animism in which everything is believed to have some form of consciousness, the collective actions of which then form and maintain the Universe.

The word “pantheism” derives from the Greek words “pan” meaning “all” and “theos” meaning “god”; “pantheism” literally means “all is god”. Essentially, pantheists believe that the Universe as a whole is divine, being immanent rather than transcendent, and that there is no divinity other than the Universe and Nature. “There is no god other than those forces and laws that are manifested in the existing Universe.” In pantheism, the Universe comes first conceptually and is then identified with the divine.

“The default position for those who could not decide where the divine is, and where it is not.”

An incorrect definition of pantheism has been propagated by some dictionaries, possibly through misidentification with “pantheon” (the collective gods of a people or a temple dedicated to all of the gods of a people). This definition identifies pantheism as an extreme form of polytheism, namely the worship of all gods of all peoples. Apart from being an incorrect definition, such a religion is almost certainly a logical impossibility.

Physicalism is a form of monism such that everything that exists is either a form of or an emergent phenomenon arising from matter/energy. The physicalist view of mind is that it is an emergent phenomenon of the material brain, while spirit and soul are ways of referring to the complex mix of a person’s emotions, attitudes and personality. Physicalists believe that science is the most important (or, perhaps, even the only) way to understand the Universe.

1. As used by some, religion is a personal or institutionalised system of belief in reverence for, and worship of a supernatural power or powers regarded as creator and governor of the Universe. While this definition of religion describes theistic religions, it by no means fits all of the world’s religions. For example Taoism and Zen Buddhism (as well as non-dualistic forms of Pantheism) do not fit this definition. A definition of religion that excludes such widely recognised religions in this way is clearly flawed.

2. As a more inclusive definition, religion is any personal or institutionalised system incorporating all of the following: a specific world view; reverence for the sacred; ethical guidelines; spiritual values; emotional support; and celebratory practices, including rituals. This definition fits religions as different from each other as Calvinism, Mormonism, Shiite Islam, Orthodox Judaism, Bahai, Zoroastrianism, Santo Daime, Wiccam, Zen Buddhism and all of the forms of Pantheism.

Note that science is not a religion under either definition.

Religious atheism is a form of atheism in the sense of denying any theistic concept of god that nevertheless views something as being a worthy focus of religious feelings. Religious atheists are usually physicalists, but note that religious atheism is meaningless in the context of the definition of atheism as the denial of anything that can be called divine. Religious atheists for whom the focus of religious feelings is the Universe are pantheists.

Religious naturalism is an approach to the scientific understanding of Nature that calls forth appealing and abiding religious responses. It can be a part of any set of beliefs that takes the natural world seriously, acknowledging science as a valid means of gaining knowledge about the Universe. Religious naturalism is, in particular, compatible with both physicalism and pantheism, but is not limited to them, being more generally compatible with any religious outlook (including forms of theism) that does not take a dogmatic position on matters that can be addressed by science.

1. In dualism, spirit/soul is part of a supernatural realm that is distinct from the material, associating with the physical body and brain to produce life and thought.

2. In physicalism, spirit and soul are synonyms (particularly poetically) for personality, referring to the set of emotional and intellectual states that make a person unique and deriving from the biological, chemical and physical properties of the nervous and endocrine systems. In idealism, spirit/soul are manifestations or aspects of mind, from which the physical is also derived.

Spiritualism is a religious belief based on dualism such that spirit/soul can exist separately from the body and can survive the body’s death. Spiritualists believe that knowledge may be received from non-material aspects of the Universe, whether through direct inspiration or through communication with supernatural agents including the spirits/souls of the deceased.

Note that there is a distinction between spirituality (adjective “spiritual”) and spiritualism (adjective “spiritualistic”).

Spirituality is to “inside” as religion is to “outside”. Some would say that spirituality is the oak tree, while religion is the mistletoe.

Spirituality is typically characterised by wonder, awe, reverence, gratitude, deference, humility, acceptance of mystery, and a sense of connection with the divine (particularly, for pantheists, Nature). It is expressed through such practices as meditation, study and expressions of creativity.

Note that there is a distinction between spirituality (adjective “spiritual”) and spiritualism (adjective “spiritualistic”). Spirituality need not make any reference to dualistic concepts of the supernatural or to theism.

Theism is a belief in a typically anthropomorphic deity which created the Universe, remaining distinct from it but occasionally interacting with it in ways assumed to temporarily suspend the usual natural behaviour of the Universe. Many supposedly theistic religions often involve what are actually panentheistic beliefs, so it is not surprising that a common form of heresy within theism is pantheism.

Common forms of theism are monotheism, in which there is only one such deity, and polytheism, in which there are a number of such deities.

Within pantheism, the Universe is the totality of existence, whether viewed from dualist or monist perspectives, and is immanently divine.

In the context of modern physical theories that posit a form of cosmic evolution in which new sub-universes are produced by some feature of the dynamics of black holes, “Universe” describes the ensemble (or “multiverse”) of all such sub-universes and is still the totality of all existence.

• Goodenough, Ursula: “The Sacred Depths of Nature” — Oxford University Press (1998)
• Harrison, Paul: “The Elements of Pantheism: Understanding the Divinity in Nature and the Universe” — Element Books (1999)
• plus personal contributions by: P. Korbet, W. Mandell, A. C. Millard, D. J. Sprague and others.

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The Earth is Sacred; the Universe, Divine.