We seek renewed reverence for the biosphere as the ultimate context for human existence....

 

Annotated Pantheist Reading List

Experience

Pantheists have "religious experiences" which are contained in the "Way of Celebration".

Pantheist Lifestyles
For the Pantheist, the "Way of Works" is a valid form of religious expression.

Pantheist Philosophy

Two currents of modern thought merge to form modern Pantheism: the theological arguments denying personality to Deity, and the stream of modern environmental philosophy.

Pantheist History

These books illustrate that Pantheism is not a strictly modern phenomenon, but is a philosophy which has enjoyed a long history, and several modern resurgence.

Pantheist Ethics

No formalized Code of Ethics is available for Pantheists, but these books may help each of us to formulate our own.

 

Pantheist Temples

Pantheists don't build church-houses; Nature is our church.

Comparative Religion

An examination of what other world religions have to offer toward harmonizing relationships between the human and non-human world.

For additional insight into issues relating to Pantheism and its application in daily life, please see the titles below.  They represent the most recent additions to our recommended reading list.   

 

Gardner, Jason, Editor. The Sacred Earth, Writers on Nature & Spirit. Novato, California: New World Library, 1998.

A splendid collection of excerpts and quotations from more than 60 mostly contemporary writers which aims "to rediscover and reconnect our spirituality with the natural world." With a forward by David Brower.

 

 

 

Suzuki, David, with Amanda McConell. The Sacred Balance, Rediscovering Our Place in Nature. New York: Prometheus Books, 1998.

An acclaimed geneticist artfully explains the diverse web of life, our kinship with other species, and declares "Nature is the ultimate source of our inspiration, of our sense of belonging, of our hope that life will survive long after we are gone. In order to realize this hope, we must learn to regard the planet as sacred."

Carroll, John E, et.al. Editors. The Greening of Faith, God, the Environment, and the Good Life. Hanover: University Press of New England, 1997.

An anthology by writers of various faiths call on us "to awaken from our benumbed and bewitched state" which allows such rampant environmental degradation. "A profound sense of sacredness throughout nature" can help us recognize our responsibility to protect biodiversity.

Barlow, Connie. Green Space, Green Time, The Way of Science. New York: Copernicus, 1997.

The author describes how some of today's leading scientists and philosophers are working to reunite knowledge of the world with a sense of the sacred. Barlow states "the ecoreligious revolution is unfolding along five distinct-but not mutually exclusive-paths." These paths include the greening of traditional beliefs, retrieving ancient faiths, meditation, mysticism, and science. Science can "nurture reverence for the natural world...and promote beautiful acts of a decidedly green hue."

 

Hayden, Tom. The Lost Gospel of the Earth. San Francisco: Sierra Club Books, 1996.

A longtime activist, environmentalist, and politician argues that the displacement of tribal religions by monotheism contributed to the environmental crisis. Hayden explores ways people can again live in kinship with a sacred natural world.

 

Zimmerman, Michael E. et. al. Environmental Philosophy from Animal Rights to Radical Ecology, Second Edition. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1998.

A rich collection, edited by leading environmental philosophers, includes sections on environmental ethics, deep ecology, ecofeminism, and political ecology.

 

Oelschlaeger, Max. The Idea of Wilderness from Prehistory to the Age of Ecology. New Haven: Yale University Press,1991.

A sweeping scholarly account of our relationship with Nature which includes many direct and indirect references to pantheism, particularly in the examination of Paleolithic religion and in the discussion of Muir and Jeffers.

 

Goodenough, Ursula. The Sacred Depths of Nature. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998.

An articulate biology professor strives to "reconcile the modern scientific understanding of reality with our timeless spiritual yearnings for reverence and continuity." The author examines evolution, emotions, sexuality, death and other topics through the lens of science and then focuses on religious emotions elicited by the findings of science. Goddenough describes herself as a"religious naturalist," yet she observes that God may be apprehended "as a pantheistic-inherent in all things."

 

Petrie, Tom, et.al. Editors. Temple Wilderness, A Collection of Thoughts and Images On Our Spiritual Bond with the Earth. Willow Creek Press, 1996.

Nature photography and quotations of past and present writers, poets, theologians, and others from around the world. The compilation contains a number of pantheistic passages and strives for "a higher understanding of the spiritual connection between humankind and the Earth."

 

Liebes, Sidney, Sahtouris, Elisabet, & Swimme, Brian. A Walk Through Time, From Stardust to Us, The Evolution of Life on Earth. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1998.

A current, richly illustrated account of evolution within the immensity of geologic time. Author Liebes asks "Is it possible that a sense of awe, wonder and humility, of origins, place, possibilities, and recovery of a belief in the sacredness of nature, can, and perhaps must, become operational imperatives in guiding humanity into the future?"

 

Gottlieb, Rodger, Editor. This Sacred Earth, Religion, Nature, Environment. New York: Routledge, 1996.

The 75 selections from historical and contemporary writers, naturalists, theologians, and others examine relations between ecology, religion, and society. The book is described as "an introduction to the theory and practice of religious environmentalism."

 

Nash, Roderick Frazier. The Rights of Nature, A History of Environmental Ethics. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1989.

An overview of philosophical and religious beliefs regarding Nature. An informative chapter detailing "the greening of religion," makes a specific reference to the Universal Pantheist Society.

 

Adams, Cass, Editor. The Soul Unearthed, Celebrating Wildness & Personal Renewal Through Nature. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1996.

Over 60 stories, poems, and essays examine how wilderness affects us spiritually. The anthology approaches wilderness as a place of worship.

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For more information about Pantheism, or questions about this website please contact Harold Wood at ups@pantheist.net

Pantheism \Pan"the*ism\, n. [Pan- + theism.]

Any doctrine, philosophy, or religious practice that holds universe [cosmos], taken or conceived of as the totality of forces and/or matter, is synonymous with the theological principle of God.

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