What would you say are the main similarities and differences between atheism and pantheism?

Question

I have been reading a lot about pantheism, and the two are a lot alike, but not entirely.

wow, some of the answerers need to do some research, or I do. Pantheists do NOT believe in a lot of gods, that is more like paganism. Pantheists believe in NATURE, and that we die and our molecules and atoms return to the Earth, etc. (isn't that a similarity?)Just substitute the word God for Nature and you start to get it.

Pantheists see awe in nature, surely atheists do too, and this is a similarity as well? Why so many snide remarks guys?

thank you Universal Pants and Jesus Myth, thank you !!! right on!

Answer 1

People frequently misunderstand pantheism. I am an atheist and a scientific pantheist. Here is a site that describes it beautifully:

http://www.pantheism.net/paul/

Here is another really good site about pantheism:

http://www.pantheism.net/

They look the same but are different sites.

Answer 2

I'm not entirely sure, but I'm going to take an educated guess. Atheism postulates that God does not exist. Scientific pantheism asserts that God and the material universe are one and the same. All that is material is divine, all that is divine is material. Science and divinity/spiritualism are the same thing. So in scientific pantheism (and I'm guessing any form of pantheism) it is just stipulating that the divine and the universe are the same thing: it's a matter of definition. Both atheism and pantheism would deny that there's any sort of divine being that exists outside the material universe, but atheism would probably go further and deny that the universe itself has any sort of divinity.

Answer 3

Basically atheism is not a philosophy. It describes what I do not believe in (a supernatural God). There is a spectrum of pantheism though - some can be supernaturalist and are referred to as dualist and idealist varieties of pantheism. They are the more "All is God" variety that people associate with the term pantheist.

However, the original meaning of the term pantheism as defined by John Toland in 1705 was naturalistic and did not have a belief in the supernatural. Most pantheists in pantheist organizations are actually of the naturalistic variety.

I'm an atheist and a naturalistic pantheist which means that "I believe in God/dess but spell it N-A-T-U-R-E." It is sort of like a nontheistic and rational "pagan". It's paganism for the 21st century and is even more earth-centered than "mainstream" paganism which focuses on magic. It is very eco-centered and Green in focus.

Knowing of the interdependence of nature (food cycle, etc.) as well as the interdependence of actions (ancestors' past actions affect my current circumstances and my actions will affect the circumstances of my descendents) fills me with a sense of gratefulness which I demonstrate both through my actions as well as concrete actions of respect and honor.

We celebrate the solstices and equinoxes. Some of us even do rituals - for myself I have developed offeratory rituals to honor Nature and the ancestors, Sacred Meal ritual, and chanting and meditation practices. These are available in the files section of the public pantheist groups here on Yahoo and on Beliefnet.

Answer 4

I am sorry for some of the annoying/cruel posters. I think a main similarity is the most obvious, neither believe in one, almighty, humanlike god. Differences may be that pantheists are by nature more spiritual than atheists (many atheists would classify themselves as non-spiritual, but not all), making them (and take this however you want) less cynical in general, and more open to people of other faiths. This could also be attributed to the fact that they do have a belief in something (in the religion department i mean), while an atheist generally does not.

Answer 5

Wow you have really received some bad uneducated responses. Atheism and Pantheism are really very similar, why people are talking about pantheons of gods I have no idea.
Pantheists are really for all intents and purposes atheists who just believe that something started the universe or is the universe and it's laws itself. This "deity" doesn't interfere, know or care that we exist. They don't worship any deity, or go to any form of church, no commandments or holy book. As you mentioned there is obviously some difference but the differences really are quite small.

Edit-UP's answer wasn't here when I started typing, I am sure the sites provided will be better than my breif description.

Answer 6

Well, the views are opposites; one being that there is no God and the other that everything is God.

more or less theres not really much difference in the ends, only in the means, because what Pantheist are referring to as God is not really a god or gods. Its merely that which is known to exist. The universe and everything within it, which atheists believe in as well. They just call it God for no particular reason... I imagine to ascribe some sort of misdirected purpose and meaning to the universe...

Answer 7

i don't think there's enough consensus about either to really compare. pantheists believe everything is sacred, and while some atheists are spiritual, many don't believe anything is sacred. i suspect that you'd get a lot of divergent ideas among pantheists, also. i believe that everything is sacred and that there are many gods. but, others believe that there is only nature, or that there only a certain number of gods.

Answer 8

Okay, I'll stop being my radical self, but I still say these two things are total opposites. Reverend Soleil, I have to agree that I see no similarities, either.

www.dictionary.com; "pantheist": Belief in and worship of all gods. (This is cut and pasted straight from the entry.) I was taught this very same thing when I first began to study Witchcraft years ago, because so many people do draw parallels.

We'll have to agree to disagree on this one.

Answer 9

I am very interested in Pantheism, and have been following and learning about it right here with you. It seems the main cause of misunderstanding here is with two words, "god" and "sacred". Pantheism isn't about any god, goddess or gods, etc. It seems to be more about all things being sacred parts of the whole, or holistic.
Have fun on your quest.

Answer 10

Pantheism is nothing like atheism. It is similar perhaps to deism or maybe even agnosticism. Atheism is the lack of belief in god or gods. Pantheism is the belief that the universe itself is god.