Are You a Pantheist?

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But pantheism waned in the first half of the 20th century as a new faith in the power of technology took center stage; but mounting environmental problems and the recent expansion of movements like deep ecology have granted pantheism a renaissance of sorts. And in 1998, Harrison founded the World Pantheist Movement (www.pantheism.net) to knit together the global pantheistic community.

The organization now has more than 2,000 members and anticipates that there are millions upon millions of pantheists out there who just don?t know there is a name?or group?for their beliefs. But here?s the question: If pantheism has been around forever, why organize now? After all, modern pantheists seem to pride themselves on how amorphous and unstructured their practice actually is. It can be a religion, a philosophy, or simply a way of life; rituals are strictly optional?some pantheists choose to celebrate solstices and equinoxes and Thoreau?s birthday; others, like Harrison, choose to spend at least half an hour every day exploring nature?and many pantheist traditions seem right in line with the environmental activism already espoused by many organized groups.

?Some people think that pantheists should just commune with trees alone and bump into other pantheists only by chance,? Harrison says. ?That?s fine as long as they?re happy with it. But we know that many pantheists feel quite isolated, especially in largely Christian America.? Harrison believes millions of people are becoming dissatisfied with traditional religions and are searching for alternatives. ?We want to make sure that there is a rational, evidence-respecting, nature-revering option on offer.?

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