| 1. We revere and celebrate the Universe as the totality of being, past, present and future. It is self-organizing, ever-evolving and inexhaustibly diverse. Its overwhelming power, beauty and fundamental mystery compel the deepest human reverence and wonder. |
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| 2. All matter, energy, and life are an interconnected unity of which we are an inseparable part. We rejoice in our existence and seek to participate ever more deeply in this unity through knowledge, celebration, meditation, empathy, love, ethical action and art. 3. We are an integral part of Nature, which we should cherish, revere and preserve in all its magnificent beauty and diversity. We should strive to live in harmony with Nature locally and globally. We acknowledge the inherent value of all life, human and non-human, and strive to treat all living beings with compassion and respect. 4. All humans are equal centers of awareness of the Universe and nature, and all deserve a life of equal dignity and mutual respect. To this end we support and work towards freedom, democracy, justice, and non-discrimination, and a world community based on peace, sustainable ways of life, full respect for human rights and an end to poverty. 5. There is a single kind of substance, energy/matter, which is vibrant and infinitely creative in all its forms. Body and mind are indivisibly united. 6. We see death as the return to nature of our elements, and the end of our existence as individuals. The forms of "afterlife" available to humans are natural ones, in the natural world. Our actions, our ideas and memories of us live on, according to what we do in our lives. Our genes live on in our families, and our elements are endlessly recycled in nature. 7. We honor reality, and keep our minds open to the evidence of the senses and of science's unending quest for deeper understanding. These are our best means of coming to know the Universe, and on them we base our aesthetic and religious feelings about reality. 8. Every individual has direct access through perception, emotion and meditation to ultimate reality, which is the Universe and Nature. There is no need for mediation by priests, gurus or revealed scriptures. 9. We uphold the separation of religion and state, and the universal human right of freedom of religion. We recognize the freedom of all pantheists to express and celebrate their beliefs, as individuals or in groups, in any non-harmful ritual, symbol or vocabulary that is meaningful to them. |
| Personally, I don't care what the exact label is. I already know what I believe, finding a name for it merely allows people of similar beliefs to find one another. The one that is the closest fit is Pantheist. But that still isn't quite all there is to what I believe. Just keep in mind that like Christian or Muslim, it's a broad term that includes a great number of people of differing beliefs. Since every single living person is different, what one Christian believes isn't what all Christian's believe.. What I believe is not necessarily what anyone else believes either... so what. I like being different. It's what make me, me, and not you! :) I have no objection to anyone who has differing spritual beliefs, and respect those who state that they have no spritual beliefs at all. I have friends who are devout Christians, and I have friends that are adament athiests, and others who are ambivilant agnostics. But just as I respect each person's right to believe what they choose, I expect the same courtesy in return. Unfortunately, many of the more mainstream religions honestly believe that their way is the only way and everyone else is going to burn in hell. My usual comment to Christians is that God is much too vast to ever be sufficiently worshipped in one way only. That's why there are so many different people that believe so many different things. My grandmother always said, "God made me and he don't make junk." I think that pretty much wraps it all up, don't you? |
| We are all part of something larger. Just as the atoms in my body make up the cells for my heart or my brain, I am just one of the many living beings make up this planet, and this planet is just one of many that make up this solar system, and this solar system is just one of many that make up this Universe, and this Universe is just one of many that make up.... Well... it goes on and on and on. Do I think that the "something greater" is aware of me? Not any more than I am aware of a each individual blood cell. Do I believe that the "something" is aware of itself? There is no evidence to convince me that it is... nor is there any evidence to convince me that there isn't. I'm here regardless and try to make the best of each and every day. |
| I don't observe artifical holidays like Mother's day, Grandparent's day and New Years, or "borrowed" ones from other religions and and tried to claim that it's their own, like Easter and Christmas. I much prefer to celebrate nature by observing the sunrise, the sun set, the full moon, the new moon, the Summer and Winter solstices and Spring and Fall equinoxes.... They are the things we have in common with every person on the planet. My love of nature and the natural world as well as my respect for science and just plain logic and common sense are very much a part of my spiritual beliefs so for a long time I felt that the category that fit the best was pagan. I was attracted to paganism because I have always been drawn to nature and am awed her changing seasons. While Wicca is the most well known of all the pagan belief systems, and one that I do respect, I need to make it clear that I am not Wiccan. While I do enjoy watching many of the rituals, I don't believe in a deity or deities as sentient beings that will act on my wishes if I say the right words and burn the right incense. I do not feel the need to personify aspects of nature to respect them, or to set apart the power that exists within myself and all living beings to know that it's real. |
| The belief statement of the World Panthiest Movement courtesy of http://www.pantheism.net/ |
