Omnism
Template:God Template:Unitarian Universalist sidebar Omnism is the epistemological and theological position in philosophy that all religions contain varying degrees of truth, but no single religion can offer a fully true teleology.[1][2] Omnism is related to syncretism, or the practice of combining multiple belief systems.[3]
Contemporary usage
Contemporary usage has modified "belief in all religions" to refer more to an acceptance of the legitimacy of all religions. The Oxford English Dictionary elaborates that an omnist believes "in a single transcendent purpose or cause uniting all things or people." Omnists interpret this to mean that all religions contain varying elements of a common truth, that omnists are open to potential truths from all religions. The Oxford dictionary defines an omnist as "a person who believes in all faiths or creeds; a person who believes in a single transcendent purpose or cause uniting all things or people, or the members of a particular group of people."[4] Edward Herbert, 1st Baron Herbert of Cherbury, considered the first Deist, argued that all religions were true.[5] In the poem All Religions are One, William Blake professed that every religion originated from God's revelation.[6] Henry Stubbe and other Socinians syncretized Unitarianism with Islamic theology.[7] Unitarian Universalism, which grew out of the Protestant Reformation,[8] is congruent with Omnism, and some congregations in the Unitarian Universalist Association explicitly attest to the category of Omnism.[9][10][11] Other notable interfaith organizations include the Church for the Fellowship of All Peoples[12] and The Parliament of the World's Religions was the first organization with the goal to unite all religions.[13]
Notable omnists
- Philip James Bailey, who first coined the term.[14]
- Ramakrishna, the Hindu mystic, believed in all religions being true. His parable-based teachings advocated the essential unity of religions and proclaimed that world religions are "so many paths to reach one and the same goal".[15]
See also
General and cited references
- Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Thomas P. Power (February 20, 2017). "6 Omnism". Confronting the Idols of Our Age. Wycliffe Studies in Gospel, Church, and Culture. Wipf and Stock. p. 30. ISBN 978-1532604331.
References
Page Template:Reflist/styles.css has no content.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."I Omnist". 15 May 2017.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Definition of OMNIST". Merriam-Webster. 2023-02-15. Retrieved 2023-02-17.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Syncretism: Concept, Types, Characteristics, Features And Examples". Collaborative Research Group. Archived from the original on 7 October 2022. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."omnist". Oxford dictionaries. Archived from the original on July 5, 2018.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Idinopulos, T.A.; Wilson, B.C. (1998). What Is Religion?: Origins, Definitions, and Explanations. Numen Book Series. Brill. p. 144. ISBN 978-90-04-11022-9. Retrieved 2023-02-12.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Summerfield, H. (1998). A Guide to the Books of William Blake for Innocent and Experienced Readers: With Notes on Interpretive Criticism 1910-1984. Colin Smythe Publication. C. Smythe. ISBN 978-0-86140-408-7. Retrieved 2023-01-18.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Shah, Z.A. (2022). Islam and The English Enlightenment: The Untold Story. Claritas Books. p. 110. ISBN 978-1-80011-984-0. Retrieved 2023-02-18.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Bramadat, P.A. (2000). The Church on the World's Turf: An Evangelical Christian Group at a Secular University. Religion in America. Oxford University Press. p. 152. ISBN 978-0-19-535059-3. Retrieved 2023-01-16.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Andrews, Yvonne L. "What is Omnism?". First Church of Lancaster, Unitarian Universalist. Retrieved January 13, 2026.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Patrick, Lydia. "Omnism". Words of Wisdom - Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Gwinnett. Retrieved January 19, 2026.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Fairbanks. "What do UUs Believe?". UUFF.org. Retrieved January 19, 2026.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Andrus, M. (2021). Brothers in the Beloved Community: The Friendship of Thich Nhat Hanh and Martin Luther King Jr. Parallax Press. p. 46. ISBN 978-1-946764-91-1. Retrieved 2023-02-12.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Lehmann, K.; Brodeur, P. (2021). Talking Dialogue: Eleven Episodes in the History of the Modern Interreligious Dialogue Movement. KAICIID – Beyond Dialogue Series. De Gruyter. p. 22. ISBN 978-3-11-052917-3. Retrieved 2023-02-17.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Herbert F. Tucker (17 April 2008). Epic : Britain's Heroic Muse 1790-1910: Britain's Heroic Muse 1790-1910. OUP Oxford. p. 344. ISBN 978-0-19-923298-7.
- ^ Swami Prabhavananda (2019), Religion in Practice, Routledge.
External links
Page Module:Side box/styles.css has no content.Page Template:Sister project/styles.css has no content.
- "Omnist", Oxford English Dictionary, draft revision June 2004, retrieved October 6, 2005.
