Nature worship also called naturism[1] or physiolatry[2] is any of a variety of religious, spiritual and devotional practices that focus on the worship of the nature spirits considered to be behind the natural phenomena visible throughout nature.[3] A nature deity can be in charge of nature, a place, a biotope, the biosphere, the cosmos, or the universe. Nature worship is often considered the primitive source of modern religious beliefs[4][5] and can be found in pantheism, theism, panentheism, deism, polytheism, animism, totemism, shamanism, and paganism. Common to most forms of nature worship is a spiritual focus on the individual's connection and influence on some aspects of the natural world and reverence towards it.[6] Due to their admiration of nature, the works of Carl Linnaeus and Charles Wordsworth were viewed as nature worship.[7][8]

Forms and aspects of nature worship

See also

See also: List of nature deities

References

  1. ^ Oxford English Dictionary
  2. ^ "Definition of PHYSIOLATRY". Merriam-Webster. 2022-10-13. Retrieved 2022-10-13.
  3. ^ A Dictionary of Religion and Ethics edited by Shailer Mathews, Gerald Birney Smith, p 305
  4. ^ Uversa Press (2003). The Urantia Book. New York: Fifth Epochal Fellowship. pp. 805–810. ISBN 0965197220.
  5. ^ Weir, James (16 July 2008). "Lust and Religion" (eBook).
  6. ^ The New International Encyclopædia, Volume 14 edited by Daniel Coit Gilman, Harry Thurston Peck, Frank Moore Colby, pp 288-289
  7. ^ Wesleyan-Methodist Magazine: Being a Continuation of the Arminian Or Methodist Magazine First Publ. by John Wesley. 1778. p. 914. Retrieved 2022-10-13.
  8. ^ Gill, S. (2006). William Wordsworth's The Prelude: A Casebook. Casebooks in Criticism. OUP USA. p. 181. ISBN 978-0-19-518091-6. Retrieved 2022-10-13.
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