Publisher's Synopsis
Pantheism is the belief that reality is identical with divinity, [1] or that all-things compose an all-encompassing, immanent god.[2] Pantheist belief does not recognize a distinct personal god, [3] anthropomorphic or otherwise, but instead characterizes a broad range of doctrines differing in forms of relationships between reality and divinity.[4] Pantheistic concepts date back thousands of years, and pantheistic elements have been identified in various religious traditions. The term pantheism was coined by mathematician Joseph Raphson in 1697[5][6] and has since been used to describe the beliefs of a variety of people and organizations.Pantheism was popularized in Western culture as a theology and philosophy based on the work of the 17th-century philosopher Baruch Spinoza, in particular, his book Ethics.[7] A pantheistic stance was also taken in the 16th century by philosopher and cosmologist Giordano Bruno.[8] Ideas resembling pantheism existed in South and East Asian religions before the 18th century (notably Sikhism, Hinduism, Sanamahism, Confucianism, and Taoism
