"Naturalistic Pantheism" is one "branch" of the various available pantheisms out there.
At the most basic level, pantheism means "pan" (all) + "theos" (god). The original philosophy states that Nature = God, and there is no human-like god or gods that rule the universe. Some forms of pantheism claim that Nature is god-like in the sense that it has a consciousness as humans do. In our modern era, this is viewed as the "New Age" version of pantheism.
The big question in all of this is: "How do you define 'God'?"
Naturalistic Pantheists, as opposed to their "New Age" counterparts, do not believe that Nature has a deified awareness and will. It is only "God" in the sense that Nature is the highest form of reality. In other words, there is no other realm wherein lies god or gods, angels, demons, heaven, hell, fairies, goblins, human or other creature's souls, etc. This is the "Naturalistic" part. This means that Nature is the end of the line. We need not search for an invisible reality that supersedes our present world.
While there definitely is the "super natural" in the sense that Nature is absolutely, mind-blowingly wonderful, there is nothing "supernatural" in terms of reality that cannot conceivably be explained scientifically. While some self-proclaimed "agnostics" may acknowledge the possibility of realities beyond the scope of Nature, we have no evidence for such at the present, and no other proof seems to be appearing on the horizon.
Naturalistic Pantheists, on the other hand, have a common vision with other pantheists in viewing all of Nature as being unified, though at the same time being extremely diverse. We humans, and all creatures in the Cosmos, are part of one huge, interconnected whole.
For more detailed descriptions of the ins and outs of Naturalistic, sometimes termed "Scientific", Pantheism, see the World Pantheist Movement website at http://www.pantheism.net/ and a Canada-based group site http://www.sacredsecularsanctuary.com/principles.html.
References:
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/pantheism/
http://open-site.org/Society/Philosophy/Religion/Pantheism/
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/naturalism/
At the most basic level, pantheism means "pan" (all) + "theos" (god). The original philosophy states that Nature = God, and there is no human-like god or gods that rule the universe. Some forms of pantheism claim that Nature is god-like in the sense that it has a consciousness as humans do. In our modern era, this is viewed as the "New Age" version of pantheism.
The big question in all of this is: "How do you define 'God'?"
Naturalistic Pantheists, as opposed to their "New Age" counterparts, do not believe that Nature has a deified awareness and will. It is only "God" in the sense that Nature is the highest form of reality. In other words, there is no other realm wherein lies god or gods, angels, demons, heaven, hell, fairies, goblins, human or other creature's souls, etc. This is the "Naturalistic" part. This means that Nature is the end of the line. We need not search for an invisible reality that supersedes our present world.
While there definitely is the "super natural" in the sense that Nature is absolutely, mind-blowingly wonderful, there is nothing "supernatural" in terms of reality that cannot conceivably be explained scientifically. While some self-proclaimed "agnostics" may acknowledge the possibility of realities beyond the scope of Nature, we have no evidence for such at the present, and no other proof seems to be appearing on the horizon.
Naturalistic Pantheists, on the other hand, have a common vision with other pantheists in viewing all of Nature as being unified, though at the same time being extremely diverse. We humans, and all creatures in the Cosmos, are part of one huge, interconnected whole.
For more detailed descriptions of the ins and outs of Naturalistic, sometimes termed "Scientific", Pantheism, see the World Pantheist Movement website at http://www.pantheism.net/ and a Canada-based group site http://www.sacredsecularsanctuary.com/principles.html.
References:
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/pantheism/
http://open-site.org/Society/Philosophy/Religion/Pantheism/
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/naturalism/