Everyone ought to worship God according to his own inclinations, and not to be constrained by force. – Flavius Josephus, 37 AD – 100 AD.
Omnitheism. It’s one of those words I like to throw around that no one quite understands. From an etymological standpoint the word is no different then pantheism in that both “pan-“ and “omni-” means “all” in Latin and Greek respectively. “Pantheism”, which is the worship of all things as collectively being God, is a well established word in the English language. This is in contrast with “Omnitheism” which can only be found sparely used by a handful of people on the internet and does not have a definition from an authoritative source.Why use a word that has so little history to describe my religious inclinations? It may seem silly, but I don’t believe any of the other words properly describe how I view the Divine. I’m not saying that there has not been others throughout history who share my particular understanding of the Divine. I’m not saying that I invented the word “Omnitheism” either, as there are currently at least three or four people who could lay claim to that title, none of whom are myself. I am going to work towards giving this word a proper definition that everyone can understand and appreciate, that clearly differentiates it from other religious terminology.
So what is Omnitheism? There are two ways in which you can define this word. One method of defining this word by dropping large theological concepts into the collective laps of my readers and elaborating on them with the eloquence of an 18th century philosopher. The benefit of defining a word this way is appearing intelligent and well educated to the two, or maybe three, readers that might be able to follow my train-wreck of logic. Seeing as I do not yet have a theological degree, I don’t see the point in trying to fool with break-teeth words; I would probably end up using the words incorrectly anyway.
The other method of definition looks at how we relate to the Divine and practice of our spirituality. This method, unlike the other, would give you an idea of what Omnitheism looks like. This is the method I want to use because I want to give you a working understanding of what it means to be an omnitheist. No pretense, no twelve syllable words, and no bull.
As you may have guessed, Omnitheism is a melting pot of religions and philosophies. Omnitheism is the belief that no single religion, philosophy, or science can ever accurately explain or describe in full the nature of reality, the nature of the human experience, or the nature of the divine, yet each contributes to an over-all understanding of such. In addition, Omnitheism encourages constant spiritual exploration and experimentation in contrast to the unyielding belief or dogma of many religions. This may lead to many interesting questions. I’m not going to attempt to answer them all in one post, but I will attempt to touch on what omnitheists believe concerning God, what makes Omnitheism different from other spiritual paths, and how omnitheists worship.
To an omnitheist, the Divine is both distant and personal, a part of creation and apart from creation, many entities and one, intelligent and a force of nature. The metaphors and examples of what omnitheists believe concerning God could very well fill an entire book. I’ll spare you the repetition; the bottom line is, our language and logic are not able fully explain the nature of the Divine. Seemingly contradictory statements made about the Divine could very well both be true in one sense and both false in another sense. Omnitheists don’t pretend to know the nature of God, but still can form their own opinions based upon what is known to be true and their own personal spiritual experience.
One thing that all Omnitheists agree on is that the Divine does not seem to differentiate believers in one religion from the other. Members of all religions and paths have similar profound experiences, although they might be interpreted differently depending on the culture. Omnitheism takes that observation and brings it to a logical conclusion. It doesn’t matter how you define the Divine, all that matters is that it is experienced by all people.
How is Omnitheism, then, different then deism or spiritual atheism? It is how omnitheists relate to the collected wisdom, practices, and stories of other religions. Unlike deism or spiritual atheism, Omnitheism still finds validity in the holy texts, practices, and the ideas of other religions. Omnitheism teaches that the Divine speaks to different people in different ways. Just because the Divine reveals itself to one person in one fashion and other people in another fashion does not mean one must be true and the other false.
As already discussed, our language and understanding are not fully able to comprehend the Divine, so what the Divine gives us are allegories and symbolism. While this makes all holy texts inherently flawed, through attempting to understand what is being said and the essential truths behind the words and practices, we begin to be able to realize more of those truths. That realization and work cannot be done by someone else; it has to be done by each individual for him or herself.
That leads us to the issue of worship. The problem, if you can call it a problem, is that Omnitheism is a belief that can manifest itself in a large number of ways. You could almost imagine this faith as an empty white room that you are expected to paint in any color or combination of colors that you desire. This differs from mainstream religions, in that the work of building a relationship with the divine isn’t already done. You must put forth the effort to find what colors, or what means of worship, work for you.
The majority of omnitheists will be those who strive to worship God through the practices of several different religions. It only makes sense; most people would become omnitheists because they see similarity and beauty in more then one religion. Does that mean that the practice of these omnitheists are cobbled together like some strange Frankenstein monster? No. Omnitheism is not only the view that all religions are valid, but also is the view that all religions should be respected. What it means is that omnitheists will try to relate to God in a way that is completely unique unto themselves, making a subtle art out of their own worship. One might find regular prayer and meditation important to their individual worship, while another omnitheist might preform rituals of her own design. Yet another omnitheist may forgo all means of worship, concentrating instead in honoring the Divine by living a life of integrity and joy.
I’m not claiming that Omnitheism is for everyone, nor am I suggesting that this spiritual path is more valid just because it is broader in scope. Each person needs to find their own way to relate to the Divine; no one religion or path can ever satisfy everyone. As someone who has taken a serious look at several different religions and realized that they each have something to offer, I found “Omnitheist” to be the only label with which I felt comfortable. I suspect that there are more than a few other individuals who might feel as I do, but just do not have the word to describe what they believe. Perhaps you feel that Omnitheism fits you, or perhaps someone you know, as well?
Originally Published October 12th, 2007.
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