our principles - World Pantheist Movement

our principles

Our statement of principles is not something nondiscrimination, and a world community Revering the
that members are expected to sign or recite. It is based on peace, sustainable ways of life, full Universe
more like the notice on our door, to let people respect for human rights and an end to
know what we stand for. If you like it, come on poverty. Caring for
in, you'll find plenty more amazing people like Nature
yourself inside. It’s a statement made by fallible There is a single kind of substance,
humans, and it’s revisable in the light of energy/matter, which is vibrant and infinitely Celebrating
experience and science. It is reviewed every few creative in all its forms. Body and mind are Life
years, in consultation with members. indivisibly united.
WORLD PANTHEISM
We revere and celebrate the Universe as We see death as the return to nature of our
the totality of being, past, present and future. elements, and the end of our existence as
It is self-organizing, everevolving and individuals. The forms of "afterlife" available to
inexhaustibly diverse. Its overwhelming power, humans are natural ones, in the natural
beauty and fundamental mystery compel the world. Our actions, our ideas and memories of
deepest human reverence and wonder. us live on, according to what we do in our
lives. Our genes live on in our families, and
All matter, energy, and life are an our elements are endlessly recycled in nature.
interconnected unity of which we are an
inseparable part. We rejoice in our existence We honor reality, and keep our minds open
and seek to participate ever more deeply in to the evidence of the senses and of science's
this unity through knowledge, celebration, unending quest for deeper understanding.
meditation, empathy, love, ethical action and These are our best means of coming to know
art. the Universe, and on them we base our
aesthetic and religious feelings about reality.
We are an integral part of Nature, which
we should cherish, revere and preserve in all Every individual has direct access through
its magnificent beauty and diversity. We perception, emotion and meditation to ultimate
should strive to live in harmony with Nature reality, which is the Universe and Nature.
locally and globally. We acknowledge the There is no need for mediation by priests,
inherent value of all life, human and non- gurus or revealed scriptures.
human, and strive to treat all living beings
with compassion and respect. We uphold the separation of religion
and state, and the universal human right
All humans are equal centers of awareness of freedom of religion. We recognize the
of the Universe and nature, and all deserve a freedom of all pantheists to express and
life of equal dignity and mutual celebrate their beliefs, as individuals
respect. To this end we support
and work towards freedom, or in groups, in any non-harmful
democracy, justice, and ritual, symbol or vocabulary
that is meaningful to them.

Check us out or join us on the Web at www.pantheism.net
or email us at info@pantheism.net. For current mailing address see the link “Contact Us.”

revering nature

Do you feel a deep sense of peace and WPM we revere and care for nature, we
belonging in the midst of nature, in a forest, accept this life as our only life, and this
by the ocean, or on a mountain top? Are earth as our only paradise, if we look after
you speechless with awe and wonder when it. We revel in the beauty of nature and the
you look up at the sky on a clear moonless night sky, and are full of wonder at their
night and see the Milky Way thickly strewn mystery and power.
with stars? When you see breakers crashing
on a rocky shore, are you uplifted by the We use the name pantheism for
energy and creativity of existence? convenience, because it has a long and
venerable history. But our reverential and
Do you find it impossible to believe in celebratory approach to life and nature is
supernatural beings, and difficult to also known as religious humanism,
imagine anything more worthy of reverence religious naturalism, religious atheism and
than the beauty of nature or the power of other variants. It is in harmony compatible
the universe? with Unitarian Universalism and we have
many UU members. It is near to nature-
If you answered yes to these questions, worship, philosophical Taoism, modern
then your spiritual home may be in the Stoicism, and deep ecology. It is compatible
World Pantheist movement. In the WPM we with those forms of wicca and paganism
take the real universe and nature as our that see magic and the gods as symbols
starting and finishing point, not some rather than realities, and to Western forms
preconceived ideaof God. We feel a profound of Buddhism that celebrate nature and
reverence and awe for these, similar to the everyday life. The WPM offers a community
reverence and awe that believers in more for people of all these orientations.
conventional gods feel towards their deity,
but without any belief that it has a mind We live in deeply troubled times when
that we can influence through prayer or scripture-based fundamentalisms obsessed
ritual, or has any need for our worship. with paradise and millennium dominate the
course of world politics and diminish the
We believe that human ethical systems quality of all our lives. There has never been
are created by humans, not by gods. Ours a greater need for a spirituality focussed on
are geared to deep respect and concern for life on this earth, and a future for all the
all humans and all life forms. Our living things on earth.
metaphysics are naturalistic and scientific.
Our beliefs reconcile spirituality and People often ask: Are we a philosophy or
rationality, values and environmental a religion? It’s up to you to choose what you
concern with science and respect for prefer. For some people we are a philosophy
evidence. of nature and life, others
add in religious elements
At the very core of our spirituality are such as celebration
the emotions with which we joyfully or meditation.
embrace our place in the universe. In the

Everything harmonizes with me, which is harmonious to thee, O
Universe. Nothing for me is too early or too late, which is in due time
for thee . . . From thee are all things, to thee all things return.

Marcus Aurelius

why join?

Perhaps our most important resource is resemblance to a cult or a hierarchical Hot coronal loops, photo TRACE
each other. The principle personal benefit of church. Our subscriptions are modest, we
membership is the feeling of having support have no offices, salaried staff or professional The Cosmos was not made by gods nor
for your own beliefs, and the opportunity of priesthood. Our membership funds are men, but always was, and is, and ever
communicating with like-minded folk in our dedicated entirely to member services, and shall be, ever living fire.
mailing lists or meeting them in local to public information and communication. Heraclitus
groups.
If you join, you won't get "sucked in" to
Through communication with other anything. If you want to meet other
pantheists, both on the Internet and in real members, to help out or become more
life, you can gain the friendship of like- active, great. If you don't, you won't be put
minded people. Pan magazine and the under any pressure to do so.
messages of the mailing lists provide
inspiration and ideas from the wisdom and Some people ask why it is necessary to
practice of other pantheists. organize at all. If we were not organized, we
could not satisfy our members' real desires
Belonging to an organized group can be for communication and social contact and
particularly important when you feel none of our lists would exist. We could not
isolated in your beliefs, for example if most make these beliefs more widely known as a
people around you belong to a rational spiritual option, meanwhile
supernaturalist religion. Members often find traditional religions such as Christianity
that beliefs that have so far been mainly spend many billions on spreading their
theoretical begin to seem much more real beliefs. We could not work towards helping
once they can interact with a group of like- people with natural weddings and funerals
minded people. in keeping with their beliefs.

There is also the knowledge that you are We have a number of membership
helping to bring awareness of these same levels. The basic membership ($30, or $12
possibilities to others who have been for students and people on low incomes)
isolated so far, as well as to the many people includes the magazine, free email
who are unhappy with traditional religions forwarding address and access to all our
and are searching for a spiritual approach mailing lists and Web forums. There is also
more in tune with the needs of our present. a low-cost membership for $8 providing full
Internet access. Membership is free to
Some people are hesitant because of people in poor countries.
their unhappy experience with traditional
churches, and media coverage of dangerous
cults. World Pantheism bears no

what we believe

Although the detail and emphasis may differ, natural means of burial so as to achieve this. Coronado beach, California, photo Audrey Pavia
the core of our common belief is reverence for
Nature and the Universe just as they are, as We have a healthy and positive attitude to I believe in the cosmos. All of us are linked to the cosmos.
revealed to us by our senses and science. We life in the body. We leave private morality up to So nature is my god. To me, nature is sacred. Trees are my
find that this reverence, and the sense of the individual and feel it is quite inappropriate temples and forests are my cathedrals.
belonging and unity which it brings, can fulfil for religions to interfere with what people Mikhail Gorbachev
the major needs people seek from a religion, drink, eat, smoke or do in the bedroom.
without any sacrifice of logic or respect for Provided no-one is harmed, private life is
evidence and science. They can help us cope private and is the choice of the individual.
with life’s problems and traumas, and give us
a positive accepting approach to life in which We feel reverence and love for nature and a
we focus on what we have, not on what we need to care for her. Nature was not created for
don’t have, on the positive, not the negative. us to use or abuse - Nature created us, we are
an inseparable part of her, and we have a duty
Most of us don't believe in miracles or of care towards her. This earth is not a
supernatural entities. New energies and new temporary stage on which we await the day
phenomena will certainly be discovered or when God violently closes down the show: it is
explored, but when they are, they will all be our only home, and it can be a paradise if we
part of nature. We accept the profound look after it
mystery of the universe, but we don't feel any
need to explain it in terms of a creator or We don't simply co-exist uncomfortably
personal God behind it all. with science: we fully embrace science as an
important part of the human exploration of the
We don't regard this life as a waiting room awesome universe. We enthusiastically
or a staging post on the way to a better embrace the vast, creative and dynamic
existence after death. We believe that this is cosmos revealed by the Hubble Space
our only life, one which we accept and affirm Telescope, and of evolution as the way in
joyously. Most of us don't believe in a which living things develop their myriad forms
conscious personal afterlife as individuals. We and communities. We don't of course endorse
do believe that we will live on in real and all the technology that has been created using
concrete ways, through our genes, our acts science - much of it has been harmful. But we
and creations in life, and the memories we believe that new, gentler and more eco-friendly
leave of ourselves. Our physical elements will technologies are needed to deal with our
be recycled in nature. Many of us prefer environmental crisis

what we offer

One of our key goals is to facilitate contacts check out what lists we have at: Copse on Hampstead Heath, photo Paul Harrison
between people who share these beliefs, so http://www.pantheism.net/communit.htm
they can provide mutual friendship and We can never have enough of nature. We are enabled to
support and, if they wish, undertake Many places have had gatherings where apprehend at all what is sublime and noble only by the perpetual
collective celebration and action. This is people have found fellow spirits and new instilling and drenching of the reality that surrounds us.
done through our local groups and our friends. We have a growing number of local Henry David Thoreau
many email lists and bulletin boards. Our groups who meet for nature walks &
whole approach is participatory and picnics, outings to places of special natural
interactive. or scientific interest, discussions and so on.
We assist anyone seeking to form a local
World Pantheism is a vibrant and group to locate members near them and
growing international community with with advice about activities and meeting
members in 55 countries and all US States. formats.
It is a network of opportunities for
communicating with and meeting people of Our magazine and newsletter Pan covers
your own kind – people with a deep everything from problems of everyday living
reverence for nature and the wonder of the and spirituality, or coping with disaster, to
universe, people who care about human pantheist art, environment, science and
rights, the welfare of animals and the health philosophy, with news of the WPM,
of the environment. And, if you wish, inspirational insights from members, and a
engaging in shared exploration, celebration regular almanac of dates of interest and
and action with them. solar & lunar events. You can see sample
copies at:
The WPM offers its members a wide http://www.pantheism.net/pan.htm.
range of services which are continually
improving as our membership grows. Our Image Galleries on the Web have
Currently we have over 60 mailing lists. Our sections for members’ portraits, local and
two core lists are the Ideas List, for international meetings, traditions and
discussion of religious, philosophical and practices, members’ pets, gardens and
scientific ideas, and the Community List much more.
which is for sharing life experiences, nature
description, ideas for celebration and Members can also claim a free email
gathering, poetry and so on. forwarding address
yourname@pantheism.net, or forwarding
There are local mailing lists for addresses at any of our 19 other domains,
countries and for individual US states to such as nature-worship.net
mae it easier for people to get to know each or sacredearth.org. Or you can purchase a
other and arrange get-togethers, plus a true popmail account @pantheism.net
number of special interest lists for for life.
environmental action, vegetarians, politics,
relationships, autobiographical writing, and
various aspects of WPM’s future. You can

our goals

The WPM aims to provide an emotionally largest religious group saving habitat at
satisfying alternative to theistic beliefs, without EcologyFund by daily clicking, exceeding the
the sacrifice of reason or evidence that can be total of all Christian groups combined. We have
involved in some religions. We support the an environmental action list which puts out
ideas and values of reverent naturalism, action alerts about topics ranging from forest
concern for environment, human rights and and Arctic policy, to female genital mutilation
religious freedom. and family planning aid.

We work to make these as widely known as We also take action in relations to human
possible. We do so by means of our Web site, rights and freedoms. We have raised more
and the related natural/scientific pantheism signatures for UNESCO’s 2000 Manifesto for
site. Together these get about 45,000 page Peace and Non-Violence than any other
views per month. national non-governmental organization in the
USA. We recently joined a brief to the US
We publish leaflets and Pan magazine, and Supreme Court stressing the problems of the
we promote the WPM's beliefs and values words “under God” in the US Pledge of
through advertisements, lectures, articles and Allegiance as recited in schools. Pantheists and
interviews in media. We also participate, as a Buddhists were the only religious groups
movement and as individuals, in efforts by countering the official stance, on behalf of the
related organizations. We are oriented towards 30 million or so Americans who do not
helping our members to live out their beliefs subscribe to a monotheistic religion.
and values in sustainable ways. We don’t just
talk about caring for nature, we provide a We believe that everyone should have the
framework to facilitate effective action, for right and facility for weddings and funerals in
those who want action. keeping with their beliefs. WPM Members
are authorized to perform these ceremonies
Our programs have so far saved 100 acres when friends and family request. In the longer
of natural habitat. Under our wildlife habitat run we hope to create a network of voluntary
scheme, interested members pledge that they celebrants able to help out
will manage their land or gardens sustainably, in the design and
with native plants and animals in mind. Our performing of natural,
promotions with EcologyFund directly sponsor life-embracing weddings
conservation organizations such as the World and funerals.
Parks Endowment and the Nature
Conservancy, saving wild lands in developing Colliding galaxies NGC 4038 and 4039, Hubble Space Telescope
and developed countries. We are also the
A knowledge of the existence of something we cannot penetrate, of the manifestations of the
profoundest reason and the most radiant beauty - it is this knowledge and this emotion that
constitute the truly religious attitude; in this sense, and in this alone, I am a deeply religious man.
Albert Einstein