Writer's Guidelines for "Pantheist Vision"
"Pantheist Vision" is the official journal/newsletter for the Universal Pantheist Society. It has been published quarterly since 1976.
Please send your contributions via email to: [email protected].
Pantheist Vision is published as an idea interchange among Pantheists. Its purpose is to support fellowship among Pantheists and to encourage discussion and communication among Pantheists.
Please review this page to get a feeling for the interests of our members and subscribers.
Subject and Topic Guidelines:
Topics may be wide-ranging, so long as they are related in some manner to the Pantheist world view. Viewpoints expressed in Pantheist Vision are those of the authors, and are not necessarily the position of the Universal Pantheist Society.
Upon joining, every new member is encouraged to write a short statement on “What Pantheism Means to Me." These are typically just a paragraph long, and we regularly print these in Pantheist Vision. You may wish to elaborate on these short paragraphs to send a page or two to flesh out your thoughts.
We seek as our focus positive expressions of ideas and activities expressing reverent behavior toward the Earth and Pantheist philosophy. Inspiration for Pantheists is most valued.
We are less about making philosophical distinctions or theological niceties as we are on finding, sharing, and celebrating the sacredness within the Earth and Universe. We wish to avoid the theological squabbles that have plagued so many other faiths - even Earth-centered ones. We strive to be "universal," because the identification of sacredness in the Earth and the Universe demands reverent behavior - something common to all Pantheists of whatever variation and individuality.
Short quotations from authors or literary figures, up to 200 words, especially those in the public domain (ie. published 1927 or earlier), are solicited for our regular “Pantheists Viewpoints” column.
We also hope to receive more book reviews, film reviews, and music reviews dealing with topics that provide Pantheist inspiration.
Perhaps there is a special place that gives you special feelings of oneness with Nature or the Universe? (You don't have to identify the precise location - but share your thoughts on why this place feels special to you!) Earth Encounters is another feature in Pantheist Vision — our members’ personal experiences in Nature. Your experience might be about a special place, plant, animal, or encounter in the natural world. These can take the form of short stories, essays, or poems describing anything from a special experience in a wild place, an unexpected wildlife encounter, perhaps a particularly blissful or cherished moment while spending time outdoors, and may also include your special philosophical ideas relating to Pantheism and living as a Pantheist.
Submissions for Earth Encounters should be a maximum of 500 words, and if possible include some photos or artwork that reflect the topic of the column.
Letters to the editor in response to published articles or expressing opinions are always welcome. Sketches or artwork are also solicited, but should be high-contrast for offset printing.
Factual articles or essays which deal with any of the following would be excellent material for submission to Pantheist Vision:
What is Not Accepted
Articles with a supernatural or superstitious flair will not be accepted. Needless to say, conspiracy theories of any kind are not welcome, as they are by definition based on prejudice and and insufficient evidence.
Because many other publications treat the subject, simple reports on environmental issues or political / lobbying letter-writing requests are not suitable for Pantheist Vision. Those kinds of alerts are appropriate instead for our jointly-sponsored Facebook Group Unified Pantheists for the Planet.
Technical Guidelines
Maximum length: 2000 words for features: but 750 - 1,000 words preferred. Earth Encounters column should be less than 500 words. In general shorter pieces are encouraged.
Style Guide
For consistent usage and capitalization rules, please note the following:
Editorial Guidelines
Submissions
E-mail submissions in plain text are welcome, but to show desired formatting you may prefer to submit an attachment in Apple Pages, Microsoft Word, Open Office, or Google Docs format. If you must submit hard copy, a self-addressed stamped return envelope should be enclosed if you wish your submission returned. Authors will receive five copies of the issue their work appears in. Additional copies can be arranged in advance if desired.
Submission of articles for "Pantheist Vision" gives the Universal Pantheist Society a non-exclusive license to re-publish the article on its websites: www.pantheist.net and network.pantheist.net, or in future compiled books or ebooks.
Authors are requested to submit a short two- to four-line autobiographical sketch along with their submission.
Publication Schedule
Authors are invited to submit their contributions at any time throughout the calendar year.
However, the following is our schedule for each quarterly issue:
Spring - Writing Deadline: Jan 15 - Date related contents March, April, May
Summer - Writing Deadline: April 15: - Date related contents June, July, August
Autumn - Writing Deadline: July 15 - Date related contents September, October, November
Winter - Writing Deadline: October 15 - Date related contents December, January, February
Submissions should be e-mailed (preferred) to: [email protected]
or if you must, mailed to:
Harold Wood, Editor,
Universal Pantheist Society
P.O. Box 69644
Tucson, AZ 85737
Please send your contributions via email to: [email protected].
Pantheist Vision is published as an idea interchange among Pantheists. Its purpose is to support fellowship among Pantheists and to encourage discussion and communication among Pantheists.
Please review this page to get a feeling for the interests of our members and subscribers.
Subject and Topic Guidelines:
Topics may be wide-ranging, so long as they are related in some manner to the Pantheist world view. Viewpoints expressed in Pantheist Vision are those of the authors, and are not necessarily the position of the Universal Pantheist Society.
Upon joining, every new member is encouraged to write a short statement on “What Pantheism Means to Me." These are typically just a paragraph long, and we regularly print these in Pantheist Vision. You may wish to elaborate on these short paragraphs to send a page or two to flesh out your thoughts.
We seek as our focus positive expressions of ideas and activities expressing reverent behavior toward the Earth and Pantheist philosophy. Inspiration for Pantheists is most valued.
We are less about making philosophical distinctions or theological niceties as we are on finding, sharing, and celebrating the sacredness within the Earth and Universe. We wish to avoid the theological squabbles that have plagued so many other faiths - even Earth-centered ones. We strive to be "universal," because the identification of sacredness in the Earth and the Universe demands reverent behavior - something common to all Pantheists of whatever variation and individuality.
Short quotations from authors or literary figures, up to 200 words, especially those in the public domain (ie. published 1927 or earlier), are solicited for our regular “Pantheists Viewpoints” column.
We also hope to receive more book reviews, film reviews, and music reviews dealing with topics that provide Pantheist inspiration.
Perhaps there is a special place that gives you special feelings of oneness with Nature or the Universe? (You don't have to identify the precise location - but share your thoughts on why this place feels special to you!) Earth Encounters is another feature in Pantheist Vision — our members’ personal experiences in Nature. Your experience might be about a special place, plant, animal, or encounter in the natural world. These can take the form of short stories, essays, or poems describing anything from a special experience in a wild place, an unexpected wildlife encounter, perhaps a particularly blissful or cherished moment while spending time outdoors, and may also include your special philosophical ideas relating to Pantheism and living as a Pantheist.
Submissions for Earth Encounters should be a maximum of 500 words, and if possible include some photos or artwork that reflect the topic of the column.
Letters to the editor in response to published articles or expressing opinions are always welcome. Sketches or artwork are also solicited, but should be high-contrast for offset printing.
Factual articles or essays which deal with any of the following would be excellent material for submission to Pantheist Vision:
- Philosophical works regarding the place of humankind within the Universe
- Descriptions of Pantheist approaches to the way of knowledge
- Ideas for celebration activities or other devotions
- Expressions of ethical pursuits for Pantheists
- Strategy suggestions for reducing the world-view of anthropocentrism
- Personal growth and improvement in relationships with the natural world
- Suggestions for celebrating and encouraging reverent behavior toward the Earth
- Character sketches of people who wrote about Pantheism historically, or led pantheistic life-styles
- The relation of Pantheism to personal growth; education; diet, health, and personal fitness; the arts and sciences; social, economic, and political institutions; history; social problems; news events; and the Universe.
What is Not Accepted
Articles with a supernatural or superstitious flair will not be accepted. Needless to say, conspiracy theories of any kind are not welcome, as they are by definition based on prejudice and and insufficient evidence.
Because many other publications treat the subject, simple reports on environmental issues or political / lobbying letter-writing requests are not suitable for Pantheist Vision. Those kinds of alerts are appropriate instead for our jointly-sponsored Facebook Group Unified Pantheists for the Planet.
Technical Guidelines
Maximum length: 2000 words for features: but 750 - 1,000 words preferred. Earth Encounters column should be less than 500 words. In general shorter pieces are encouraged.
Style Guide
For consistent usage and capitalization rules, please note the following:
- For the word "Nature," Nature as a personification is capitalized; same as for "Universe." When used as a descriptor it is not, “the nature of lions…”
- The names of planets and their moons are capitalized, as is Moon when referring to our own moon, and Universe when referring to ours.
- While it is traditionally “proper” not to capitalize animal and plant names, the International Ornithologist’s Union is advocating capitalizing bird names. Likewise, the American Society of Mammologists capitalizes common names of animals. It is a lot clearer (and more respectful) to use capitals. e.g. Blue Spruce, Gray Jay, Hippopotamus, etc. because these are names, not descriptions. Note, however, that when referring not to the animal itself but as a type, you would use lower case. Examples:
"There are 2 common types of rats found throughout the world: the Norway Rat and the Black Rat."
"Arizona has three species of jackrabbits: the Antelope Jackrabbit, the Black-tailed Jackrabbit, and the White-sided Jackrabbit." - “Pantheism” and “Pantheist” should generally be capitalized because while the grammar rule is that names of philosophies are not capitalized (such as atheist), the names of religions and their followers are capitalized (such as Buddhist and Buddhism).
- Within text, italicize without quotation marks the titles of books, periodicals (magazines, journals, newspapers), movies, TV shows, blogs, and music albums. Quotation marks without italics should enclose the titles of short works, such as sections of long works including chapters, articles, songs, short stories, essays, poems, short films, etc. In headlines, use single quotation marks without italics for book and movie titles.
- Please try to avoid using masculine in plural - e.g. not "man's search for meaning" but 'humankind's search for meaning." Instead of generic "his," use "his or her.” In fact, instead of his, or even his or her, it is now appropriate to use they. Consistent with the Oxford English Dictionary and the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the pronoun "they" - historically taught to be used only as a plural referent - may now be used as a singular, in order to to refer to a person who does not identify with a gender-specific (or binary) pronoun. Oxford explains, "Singular they has become the pronoun of choice to replace he and she in cases where the gender of the antecedent – the word the pronoun refers to – is unknown, irrelevant, or nonbinary, or where gender needs to be concealed." It is true, as Webster's notes: "Nonbinary they takes a plural verb, despite its singular referent, which can make the grammatically conservative uncomfortable." However, several style guides, including the AP Style Guide and the Chicago Manual of Style have likewise endorsed that change: "Like it or not, “they” has been displacing “he or she” and similar attempts to write around the English language’s lack of a dedicated gender-neutral singular pronoun for some time now."
Editorial Guidelines
- The start of a paragraph should indent 0.25 inches.
- There should only be one space between the period at the end of a sentence and the start of the next.
- In American English, we always put periods and commas inside quotation marks.
- Web links should be underlined and active but with black, not blue color.
Submissions
E-mail submissions in plain text are welcome, but to show desired formatting you may prefer to submit an attachment in Apple Pages, Microsoft Word, Open Office, or Google Docs format. If you must submit hard copy, a self-addressed stamped return envelope should be enclosed if you wish your submission returned. Authors will receive five copies of the issue their work appears in. Additional copies can be arranged in advance if desired.
Submission of articles for "Pantheist Vision" gives the Universal Pantheist Society a non-exclusive license to re-publish the article on its websites: www.pantheist.net and network.pantheist.net, or in future compiled books or ebooks.
Authors are requested to submit a short two- to four-line autobiographical sketch along with their submission.
Publication Schedule
Authors are invited to submit their contributions at any time throughout the calendar year.
However, the following is our schedule for each quarterly issue:
Spring - Writing Deadline: Jan 15 - Date related contents March, April, May
Summer - Writing Deadline: April 15: - Date related contents June, July, August
Autumn - Writing Deadline: July 15 - Date related contents September, October, November
Winter - Writing Deadline: October 15 - Date related contents December, January, February
Submissions should be e-mailed (preferred) to: [email protected]
or if you must, mailed to:
Harold Wood, Editor,
Universal Pantheist Society
P.O. Box 69644
Tucson, AZ 85737
About the Universal Pantheist Society
The purposes of the Society are: "to unite Pantheists everywhere into a common fellowship, to undertake the conveyance of information about Pantheism to the interested public, to encourage discussion and communication among Pantheists, to provide mutual aid and defense of Pantheists everywhere, to stimulate a revision of social attitudes away from anthropocentrism and toward reverence for the Earth and a vision of the ultimate context for human existence, and to take appropriate action toward the protection and restoration of the Earth."
Recognizing that freedom of belief is inherent in the Pantheist tradition, our bylaws prohibit any requirement for or subscription to any particular religious belief, doctrine, or creed. Persons uniting with the Society do so to further their own understanding of Pantheists attitudes, and through their fellowship with others find purposive means of expressing their faith in daily life.
The purposes of the Society are: "to unite Pantheists everywhere into a common fellowship, to undertake the conveyance of information about Pantheism to the interested public, to encourage discussion and communication among Pantheists, to provide mutual aid and defense of Pantheists everywhere, to stimulate a revision of social attitudes away from anthropocentrism and toward reverence for the Earth and a vision of the ultimate context for human existence, and to take appropriate action toward the protection and restoration of the Earth."
Recognizing that freedom of belief is inherent in the Pantheist tradition, our bylaws prohibit any requirement for or subscription to any particular religious belief, doctrine, or creed. Persons uniting with the Society do so to further their own understanding of Pantheists attitudes, and through their fellowship with others find purposive means of expressing their faith in daily life.
You can renew your membership online with MasterCard and Visa through PayPal:
You may also renew by sending your check to:
Universal Pantheist Society
P.O. Box 69644
Tucson, AZ 85737
Contributions to the Universal Pantheist Society are deductible for income and estate tax purposes to the extent the law allows.
Universal Pantheist Society
P.O. Box 69644
Tucson, AZ 85737
Contributions to the Universal Pantheist Society are deductible for income and estate tax purposes to the extent the law allows.
Society Publications
- Pantheist Vision - Selected articles from our quarterly newsletter
- Special Publications
- Membership Application Form
"If I am right in my diagnosis of mankind's present-day distress,
the remedy lies in reverting from the world view of monotheism
to the world view of pantheism, which is older and was once universal."
- Arnold Toynbee
the remedy lies in reverting from the world view of monotheism
to the world view of pantheism, which is older and was once universal."
- Arnold Toynbee