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The World Pantheist Movement (WPM) is the world's largest organization of people associated with pantheism, a philosophy which asserts that spirituality should be centered on nature. The WPM promotes strict naturalistic pantheism without belief in any supernatural beings, realms, or powers. The WPM grew out of a mailing list started by Paul Harrison in 1997, arising around his Scientific Pantheism website. An initial group of 15 volunteers worked on a joint statement of agreed beliefs (the Pantheist Credo).〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.pantheism.net/manifest.htm )〕 The WPM officially opened for membership in December 1999. == Beliefs and practices == The official views of the World Pantheist Movement are listed in the nine points of the Belief Statement (see external links). These are summarized as follows:〔 * Reverence, awe, wonder and a feeling of unity with Nature and the wider Universe. * Respect and active care for the rights of all humans and other living beings. * Celebration of our lives in our bodies on this beautiful earth as a joy and a privilege. * Realism - acceptance that the external world exists independently of human consciousness or perception. * Strong naturalism - without belief in supernatural realms, afterlives, beings or forces. * Respect for reason, evidence and the scientific method as our best ways of understanding nature and the Universe. * Promotion of religious tolerance, freedom of religion and complete separation of state and religion. The specific Statement is as follows:〔 * 1. We revere and celebrate the Universe as the totality of being, past, present and future. It is self-organizing, ever-evolving and inexhaustibly diverse. Its overwhelming power, beauty and fundamental mystery compel the deepest human reverence and wonder. * 2. All matter, energy, and life are an interconnected unity of which we are an inseparable part. We rejoice in our existence and seek to participate ever more deeply in this unity through knowledge, celebration, meditation, empathy, love, ethical action and art. * 3. We are an integral part of Nature, which we should cherish, revere and preserve in all its magnificent beauty and diversity. We should strive to live in harmony with Nature locally and globally. We acknowledge the inherent value of all life, human and non-human, and strive to treat all living beings with compassion and respect. * 4. All humans are equal centers of awareness of the Universe and nature, and all deserve a life of equal dignity and mutual respect. To this end we support and work towards freedom, democracy, justice, and non-discrimination, and a world community based on peace, sustainable ways of life, full respect for human rights and an end to poverty. * 5. There is a single kind of substance, energy/matter, which is vibrant and infinitely creative in all its forms. Body and mind are indivisibly united. * 6. We see death as the return to nature of our elements, and the end of our existence as individuals. The forms of "afterlife" available to humans are natural ones, in the natural world. Our actions, our ideas and memories of us live on, according to what we do in our lives. Our genes live on in our families, and our elements are endlessly recycled in nature. * 7. We honor reality, and keep our minds open to the evidence of the senses and of science's unending quest for deeper understanding. These are our best means of coming to know the Universe, and on them we base our aesthetic and religious feelings about reality. * 8. Every individual has direct access through perception, emotion and meditation to ultimate reality, which is the Universe and Nature. There is no need for mediation by priests, gurus or revealed scriptures. * 9. We uphold the separation of religion and state, and the universal human right of freedom of religion. We recognize the freedom of all pantheists to express and celebrate their beliefs, as individuals or in groups, in any non-harmful ritual, symbol or vocabulary that is meaningful to them. The WPM encourages wonder and awe at the beauty and mystery of the Universe and fosters the full range of positive emotional responses to life. It promotes ethical principles such as respect for the rights of humans and other living creatures, non-discrimination, justice and peace. It respects the scientific method as humanity's most accurate approach for deepening its understanding of nature, while accepting that science is a never-ending quest and that some technologies have created massive social and environmental problems. It accepts that there are some questions that science may never answer - such as why anything exists, rather than nothing at all. It does not give any credence to ideas such as a separate soul distinct from the body, or of the consciousness' survival after death, but believes that people achieve a form of immortality through the ongoing effects of their actions, the things they create, others' memories, the legacy of their genes, and the recycling of their elements in nature. It does not prescribe any particular set of religious practices, instead leaving the matter up to individuals. Pantheistic activity is viewed not as a ritual that must be upheld in order to placate gods and spirits, or to follow rules prescribed in scripture, but rather as an individual expression of one's deep feelings towards Nature and the wider Universe. Among members and friends of the WPM, the most common practices are meditation and close, daily observation of nature. Both of these are sometimes accompanied by the use of natural objects such as pebbles, shells, bark etc. About a quarter of WPM members report using some form of pagan celebration, but this is done for self-expression and fun, rather than out of literal belief in pagan theologies. Members and friends may meet in small groups, the format of which varies. Groups may discuss general ideas; watch and discuss relevant (often nature-related) books, or films; share personal experiences; go on nature outings; or participate in nature conservation projects or other forms of community service. Viewing the recycling of human elements in soil, water, and the atmosphere as a major element of human "immortality," the WPM supports the "natural death" approach. In this context, it seeks to return the elements to the natural cycle in the fastest and most responsible way possible, such as burial in a biodegradable container in nature-reserve type grounds.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.pantheism.net/pan/free/pan15s.pdf )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「World Pantheist Movement」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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