The Once and Future World Religion
Gary Suttle
Long ago Pantheism overspread
the world. Yet contemporary reference books contain scant mention of the
religion. How could a once universal faith go so little recognized today? And
how could Pantheism go worldwide again tomorrow?
Scholars conjecture that a sense
of divinity in Nature co-evolved with the first emergence of human
consciousness, perhaps 100,000 years ago. The earliest god was Nature. "As
far back as we are able to look into the past," says historian Colin
Wilson, "human beings seem to have worshipped nature, and connected it to a
higher spiritual reality, which they called god or the divine."
Such pantheistic intuition predates all known religions of recorded history and
probably prevailed for many thousands of years.
Gradually humans elaborated on
the sense of an immanent creative force in Nature. They invested individual
natural features like mountains, trees, and thunder with divinity, which led to
polytheism. Later still, monotheism supplanted natural divinities with a single
supernatural entity above and beyond Nature. Nature became profane. Revering the
Earth became a heathen heresy. Monotheism effectively demonized Pantheism in the
Middle Ages and, to this day, Pantheism retains a residual stigma of orthodox
opprobrium that helps to explain its infrequent recognition.
The rise of scientific inquiry
brought Pantheism back to life. In the 19th century, Science reduced everything
to material elements working through ascertainable natural laws. However, modern
science has found that all matter consists of incredible vibrating energy. From
quarks to quasars, science reveals a Universe infinitely more wondrous and
mysterious than any supernatural world envisioned by Man. By reestablishing the
natural world as the preeminent source of awe and wonder, and by disclosing the
myriad miracles of existence, science rekindles reverence for life and being.
The idea of god as ÎNature and its creative forcesâ dovetails with the
latest scientific discoveries. The synergy between science and Pantheism bodes
well for the future of Pantheism.
So does environmentalism. Since Earth Day in 1970, ecological issues have
gained widespread public attention.
Some progress has been made, but global pollution, habitat destruction and
accelerating extinction rates keep Nature on the front page. More and more
people recognize the connection between biodiversity and human well being .
Conservation organizations, outdoor writers, ecotours, and field guides
popularize the love of Nature. Humans hold sacred what they most dearly love and
value, and thus Pantheism often arises from personal experience in Nature. Many
current titles explore this theme, including The Sacred Earth, Writers On
Nature & Spirit, and The Soul Unearthed, Celebrating Wildness &
Personal Renewal Through Nature. The continued growth of environmentalism
and the flowering of Pantheism go hand in hand.
Pantheistic ideas have also
expanded into popular culture. Gallup reports ever-growing numbers of people
engaged in "an intensive spiritual search and a continuing desire for
inward and spiritual growth." Web sites, song lyrics, and self help
books strive to recapture a sense of the sacred that is currently missing in
many lives. National bestsellers like Hymns To An Unknown God and Spiritual
Literacy strum several pantheistic chords.
As the bedrock religion of
humanity, Pantheism could be bulldozed, but not banished, by later world
religions. Eastern faiths including Hinduism, Buddhism, and Taoism retained thin
layers of Pantheism and they never abandoned a sense of unity with Nature. Early
Christianity contained outcrops of Pantheism; Saint Francis of Assisi celebrated
the natural world and kinship with all life.
The environmental crisis has
triggered reinterpretation of biblical texts to emphasize "caring for
creation." Works on ecology and theology pouring forth from religious
publishing houses contain decidedly pantheistic overtones. For example, one
writer suggests that "God can be envisioned not as a king or ruler external
to the universe but as the sacred whole of the universe itself." Another
states "The cosmic process is within God, and God is within the cosmos as
the ultimate power of life." Still another observes "The voices,
coming from varying religious traditions, call us to move from a paradigm of
domination, fear, and alienation to a paradigm of partnership, mutuality, and
reverence for all living things, wherein spiritual values are reclaimed and
divine immanence is reaffirmed." The continuing quiet pantheization of
mainstream religion has the potential to contribute substantially to the
sanctity and safekeeping of the world.
Of course, monotheism took
several hundred years to suppress the sense of divinity in Nature, and it could
take several hundreds years more to fully restore sacrality to the natural
world. But Pantheism holds the promise to once again become a significant world
religion. In subtle ways it already is.
The persistence of Pantheism
springs from its deep-seated connection to the human heart and mind. Pantheism
is a part of human nature, the natural religious disposition of humankind. As
Christian writer Robert Burrows acknowledges:
"The religious options open
to humanity are limited: We can believe in no God and be atheists. We can
believe in one God and be theists. Or we can believe that all is God and be
pantheists. Of these three, pantheism has been humanityâs major preoccupation
throughout history... because, as C.S. Lewis observed, "it is an attitude
into which the human mind automatically falls when left to itself."
Actually, Pantheism is an
attitude into which the human mind automatically soars when left to
itself, and more people than ever are spreading their pantheistic wings to fly.
Copyright © Gary Suttle - used with permission.
