Monday, October 17, 2016

Omnism, the new spiritual belief


You've probably heard of a lot of other "isms" when it comes to beliefs. There's agnosticism (not sure if there is a God), theism (belief in one or more Gods), monotheism (one God), polytheism (many gods), deism (belief that there is a God, but he's not personally involved), and even atheism (belief in no God). Get ready to add a new ism to your vocabulary: omnism.

It's actually not new; the term was coined back in 1839 by Philip J. Bailey in his poem "Festus." But in the new millennium, the time seems to be ripe for the concept to catch on.

WHAT IS OMNISM?

Omni means 'all'; in turn, omnism is the belief in all.

All of what, exactly? It's the belief that all religions have a point. That (according to the Oxford English Dictionary) everything has a "single, transcendent purpose or cause uniting all things or people."

Omnism is the recognition and respect of all religions; those who hold this belief are called omnists.

Omnism is not a cult.

Like all other isms, monism is a position; not a religion in itself. There are no specific teachings, no rituals and no particular sets of beliefs that omnists follow. It’s more of a way of thinking and a way of approaching religious teachings. 

The Omnist holds an open mind when it comes to spirituality and religion. 

They're open to that wisdom, to the truths found within the different systems. Many omnists say that all religions contain truths, but that no one religion offers all that is truth.

Some omnist may lean towards one religion but are open to the ideas of other religions. They may go to a Christian church but also follow the teachings of Buddha, ancestor worship or Paganism.

Some omnists believe that all religions follow the same god they simply have different titles, rule books and approaches to their religious path.

The funny thing is, a lot of people who consider themselves spiritual but not religious, who feel they are spiritually eclectic and progressive, are often omnists who never even heard the word.

Omnists also are scientific in nature. They tend to love research and science.

If you're omnist and didn't know it raise your hand!


Also read:

1 comment: