The Emotions of Pantheism
by Harold W. Wood, Jr.
(reprinted from Vol. 16, No.1, Pantheist Vision, Vernal Equinox, 1995)
I have heard from a number of people over the years who say they are sympathetic with the Pantheist spirit of appreciation for Nature and even the rejection of anthropocentrism, but emphatically reject Pantheism because they just don’t believe in ”religion"of any kind, believing that to do so makes one a "religious fanatic.” These people typically reject "religion" categorically as either superstitious nonsense conflicting with “reason,” or as something that is improperly authoritarian, controlled by venal priests or shamans telling the lay people what to do.
But the Universal Pantheist Society does not view Pantheist religion as either unreasonable or authoritarian. That describes some religions very well. But not ours. To me at least, "religion" is
something adopted, conceived, and controlled solely by the individual person. We each create our own religion, even if we don't call it that.
Undoubtedly, however, even while we try to be intellectually sound in our approach to religion, the role of the emotional aspects of Pantheism are paramount. For many of us, the feelings of love, reverence, and awe for Nature came first, and Pantheism is simply the intellectual or philosophical justification for it.
By contrast, some of our inquirers say they in fact “love" Nature or the great outdoors, but insist that they mean they merely "enjoy" it, admire its beauty, have fun in it, but not that they could never "worship" it. They will say that they simply "enjoy" their surroundings when taking a walk in natural areas, and that is all. Why is it, they ask, that Pantheists can claim to have adopted a religion, since nearly everyone can enjoy a walk in the woods without having to adopt an entirely new world view?
The answer is that the feelings Pantheists have are of a much higher level than those achieve by a mere “recreational” walk in the woods. They are the emotions of awe and reverence; special emotions, ones that we sometimes feel too infrequently, but which are devoutly sought by Pantheists.
Some of our inquirers even deny feeling or even having any desire to feel any awe or reverence toward nature at all. The fundamentalists of monotheism, of course, are one group who reject Pantheism per se because they choose to worship the idea of something different than the Universe itself. But there seems to be also many “fundamentalist” atheists and agnostics who likewise reject Pantheism, who say they could never "worship" anything.
But such views reflect a fundamental misunderstanding of the concept of “worship."
"To worship" (taking the dictionary definition) means first of all the "reverent love and devotion accorded a deity", and only secondarily "the ceremonies, prayers, or other religious forms by which this
love is expressed." Thus, ceremonies might be developed to give an organized expression of "reverent love and devotion", but a rite or ritual is merely a cultural invention; a mere matter of surfaces. By contrast, the emotions or feelings of "reverent love and devotion" for the natural world is something that I believe is part of our humanity, not merely part of our culture. For children, a sense of wonder and reverence for Nature is intuitive; but unfortunately such feelings are often "educated out" of us in one way or another.
Moreover, there is an enormous difference between worshipping an idol made with human hands - whether it is a mere icon, or an imaginary “supreme,” “supernatural" being, and having feelings of "reverent love" for the Universe out of which we evolved and are ourselves a part. The former needs to be propitiated, but the latter can more accurately be appreciated. The Pantheist’s reverent love for the Universe is founded on appreciation, not upon a fear of some unseen force that demands propitiation and sacrifice.
What distinguishes "reverent love" from ordinary love? Reverence is defined in my dictionary as "a feeling of profound awe and respect and often love; veneration.” Thus it seems that "profound awe and respect" is what provides the special difference. But awe is defined as "a mixed emotion of reverence, respect, dread and wonder inspired by authority, genius, great beauty, sublimity, or might,” so we have a somewhat circular definition. But confronted by the sublimity of the universe, and by "awe-inspiring" natural beauty, if we are truly alive we cannot help but feel a sense of wonder and appreciation for Nature.
Having awe and reverence for Nature is something which enhances life. Biologist Rachel Carson, said in The Sense of Wonder, in speaking about introducing children to nature, "It is not half so important to know as to feel.” Those who cannot feel awe and reverence for the natural world, which unfortunately appears to be a growing number of the population, are as good as dead, because they have died in their spirit.
Experiencing the emotions of wonder, awe and reverence are a crucial part of what it means to be human. They are religious acts, but not superstitious ones. They are hard feelings for some to have, living as we do in a world of science and data and massive amounts of intellectual information. In reality, these emotions are not so difficult to achieve, when we actually take time to observe Nature. Whenever we take time from the workaday world to contemplate even commonplace aspects of nature -- whether it is a red sunset, a fresh spring flower, the veins and bones and musculature of our own hands, or a flash of bluebird on the wing -- we can only marvel at the intricate relation of everything, from stars and planets driven by gravity, to the coursing of blood in the arteries of living things. When the ordinary becomes unappreciated because it is commonplace, we can think of the vastness of the Andromeda galaxy, or of the infinitesimal mysteries of the atom, and we soon realize that a blade of grass nodding in the breeze is every bit as wonderful and awe-inspiring.
It is these feelings that make life worthwhile. These feelings should not be belittled as “mere emotions,” for they cut to the core of our being and the purpose of our existence. Some things are easier to understand with our hearts than our heads, and our love for the Universe of which we are a part is one of those things, and nothing can be more important. Accordingly, the emotions of Pantheism are an ultimate expression of religion.
Harold W. Wood, Jr. is the editor of Pantheist Vision and a co-founder of the Universal Pantheist Society.
Source: "The Emotions of Pantheism by Harold W. Wood, Jr.
Pantheist Vision (Vol. 16, No. 1, Vernal Equinox, 1995)
(reprinted from Vol. 16, No.1, Pantheist Vision, Vernal Equinox, 1995)
I have heard from a number of people over the years who say they are sympathetic with the Pantheist spirit of appreciation for Nature and even the rejection of anthropocentrism, but emphatically reject Pantheism because they just don’t believe in ”religion"of any kind, believing that to do so makes one a "religious fanatic.” These people typically reject "religion" categorically as either superstitious nonsense conflicting with “reason,” or as something that is improperly authoritarian, controlled by venal priests or shamans telling the lay people what to do.
But the Universal Pantheist Society does not view Pantheist religion as either unreasonable or authoritarian. That describes some religions very well. But not ours. To me at least, "religion" is
something adopted, conceived, and controlled solely by the individual person. We each create our own religion, even if we don't call it that.
Undoubtedly, however, even while we try to be intellectually sound in our approach to religion, the role of the emotional aspects of Pantheism are paramount. For many of us, the feelings of love, reverence, and awe for Nature came first, and Pantheism is simply the intellectual or philosophical justification for it.
By contrast, some of our inquirers say they in fact “love" Nature or the great outdoors, but insist that they mean they merely "enjoy" it, admire its beauty, have fun in it, but not that they could never "worship" it. They will say that they simply "enjoy" their surroundings when taking a walk in natural areas, and that is all. Why is it, they ask, that Pantheists can claim to have adopted a religion, since nearly everyone can enjoy a walk in the woods without having to adopt an entirely new world view?
The answer is that the feelings Pantheists have are of a much higher level than those achieve by a mere “recreational” walk in the woods. They are the emotions of awe and reverence; special emotions, ones that we sometimes feel too infrequently, but which are devoutly sought by Pantheists.
Some of our inquirers even deny feeling or even having any desire to feel any awe or reverence toward nature at all. The fundamentalists of monotheism, of course, are one group who reject Pantheism per se because they choose to worship the idea of something different than the Universe itself. But there seems to be also many “fundamentalist” atheists and agnostics who likewise reject Pantheism, who say they could never "worship" anything.
But such views reflect a fundamental misunderstanding of the concept of “worship."
"To worship" (taking the dictionary definition) means first of all the "reverent love and devotion accorded a deity", and only secondarily "the ceremonies, prayers, or other religious forms by which this
love is expressed." Thus, ceremonies might be developed to give an organized expression of "reverent love and devotion", but a rite or ritual is merely a cultural invention; a mere matter of surfaces. By contrast, the emotions or feelings of "reverent love and devotion" for the natural world is something that I believe is part of our humanity, not merely part of our culture. For children, a sense of wonder and reverence for Nature is intuitive; but unfortunately such feelings are often "educated out" of us in one way or another.
Moreover, there is an enormous difference between worshipping an idol made with human hands - whether it is a mere icon, or an imaginary “supreme,” “supernatural" being, and having feelings of "reverent love" for the Universe out of which we evolved and are ourselves a part. The former needs to be propitiated, but the latter can more accurately be appreciated. The Pantheist’s reverent love for the Universe is founded on appreciation, not upon a fear of some unseen force that demands propitiation and sacrifice.
What distinguishes "reverent love" from ordinary love? Reverence is defined in my dictionary as "a feeling of profound awe and respect and often love; veneration.” Thus it seems that "profound awe and respect" is what provides the special difference. But awe is defined as "a mixed emotion of reverence, respect, dread and wonder inspired by authority, genius, great beauty, sublimity, or might,” so we have a somewhat circular definition. But confronted by the sublimity of the universe, and by "awe-inspiring" natural beauty, if we are truly alive we cannot help but feel a sense of wonder and appreciation for Nature.
Having awe and reverence for Nature is something which enhances life. Biologist Rachel Carson, said in The Sense of Wonder, in speaking about introducing children to nature, "It is not half so important to know as to feel.” Those who cannot feel awe and reverence for the natural world, which unfortunately appears to be a growing number of the population, are as good as dead, because they have died in their spirit.
Experiencing the emotions of wonder, awe and reverence are a crucial part of what it means to be human. They are religious acts, but not superstitious ones. They are hard feelings for some to have, living as we do in a world of science and data and massive amounts of intellectual information. In reality, these emotions are not so difficult to achieve, when we actually take time to observe Nature. Whenever we take time from the workaday world to contemplate even commonplace aspects of nature -- whether it is a red sunset, a fresh spring flower, the veins and bones and musculature of our own hands, or a flash of bluebird on the wing -- we can only marvel at the intricate relation of everything, from stars and planets driven by gravity, to the coursing of blood in the arteries of living things. When the ordinary becomes unappreciated because it is commonplace, we can think of the vastness of the Andromeda galaxy, or of the infinitesimal mysteries of the atom, and we soon realize that a blade of grass nodding in the breeze is every bit as wonderful and awe-inspiring.
It is these feelings that make life worthwhile. These feelings should not be belittled as “mere emotions,” for they cut to the core of our being and the purpose of our existence. Some things are easier to understand with our hearts than our heads, and our love for the Universe of which we are a part is one of those things, and nothing can be more important. Accordingly, the emotions of Pantheism are an ultimate expression of religion.
Harold W. Wood, Jr. is the editor of Pantheist Vision and a co-founder of the Universal Pantheist Society.
Source: "The Emotions of Pantheism by Harold W. Wood, Jr.
Pantheist Vision (Vol. 16, No. 1, Vernal Equinox, 1995)