Religion Meaning

Ethics

Future

Monotheism

Monotheism means the worship of one god.

Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are all monotheistic religions: God demands an exclusive relationship with His followers and an acknowledgement of His unique power.

All major monotheistic faiths have a concept of the 'end of days' or final judgment

Deism

God as the divine watchmaker.

God sent into motion the universe with His power but we are now able to use our own reason to govern our lives.

Enlightened reason and science is the best way to understand the future.

Naturalism

The natural world is the source of meaning.

Ethics can be found 'in nature.'

Rather than formal religion, we must look to nature for guidance.

Nihilism

Life has no inherent meaning.

There is no system of morality inherent to the human condition beyond that which we construct.

We are adrift and not heading to a purposeful future.

Existentialism

There is no inherent meaning: we have a responsibility to construct meaning.

Given that human beings are totally free, we must create moral structures for ourselves that are useful.

We must move forward and not be curtailed...

As free beings in an uncaring universe we have responsibilities to ourselves and others.
Pantheism

God is in everything.

Human beings must show respect for others and the natural world, given the presence of God in all things.

Respect for the environment and other aspects of nature is imperative, to acknowledge the divine within everything.

New Consciousness

Spirituality is found within the individual, not formal faith structures.

Human beings must respect themselves first before they can respect others.

Looking within is the first step to spiritual awakening.

Religious traditions: A comparison

All religious traditions, whether ancient like the major monotheistic faiths of Judaism, Christianity, or Islam or recent like the New Consciousness movement, attempt to make sense of the world to help human beings understand their place within it. Monotheistic religions stress the direct, personal connection that God has with human beings. God demands that His creation acknowledges that he is the creator and the one God. "You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God..." (Exodus 20:5). This is fundamentally different from the 18th century Enlightenment philosophy of Deism. While Deists acknowledge God…