Meaning & use
pantheism
Last updated
Meanings
noununcountablereligion
The belief that God is not a separate being but is identical with the universe and everything in nature.
Grammar: Usually no article: she studied pantheism, not a pantheism.
Patterns
- a form of pantheism
- embrace pantheism
Spinoza is often linked with pantheism because he equated God with nature.
Her walks in the forest led her toward a quiet kind of pantheism.
The lecturer compared pantheism with traditional monotheism.
noununcountableliterary
A broader, looser attitude of reverence toward nature, treating the natural world as divine or sacred.
Grammar: Often used loosely for nature worship: the poem is full of pantheism.
Patterns
- pantheism in something
Critics see a gentle pantheism in the poet's descriptions of mountains and rivers.
The film's pantheism lies in its awe at the wild landscape.
Common combinations
- embrace pantheism
- In later life he came to embrace pantheism.
- a form of pantheism
- The essay describes Stoicism as a form of pantheism.
- accused of pantheism
- The philosopher was accused of pantheism by church leaders.
- pantheism and atheism
- Some critics confuse pantheism and atheism.
- nature-based pantheism
- Nature-based pantheism sees the forest itself as holy.
Synonyms and how they differ
- nature worship
- This is broader and can include rituals toward separate spirits, while pantheism is a specific claim that God equals the universe.
- panentheism
- This is not a true synonym, because it says the universe is within God while God also goes beyond it.
- naturalism
- This usually means explaining things by natural causes without a divine element, so it is closer to a scientific stance than a religious one.
Opposites
Word family
- pantheist noun
- a person who believes in pantheism
- pantheistic adjective
- relating to pantheism
- pantheon noun
- all the gods of a people, or a temple to them
- theism noun
- belief in a god or gods
Commonly confused: pantheism or pantheon? pantheism or polytheism?
pantheism vs pantheon
A pantheon is the set of gods in a religion or a building honoring them. Pantheism is a belief that God and the universe are one.
pantheism vs polytheism
Polytheism is worship of many separate gods; pantheism sees divinity in everything as one.
Practice
A person who believes that God and the natural universe are the same thing would most likely hold to:
Choose one answer.
Pantheism identifies God with the universe. Polytheism means many gods, atheism denies any god, and agnosticism says the question cannot be known.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “pantheism”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.