Panentheism

Panentheism is from the Greek pan (all), en (in), and theos (god), giving a literal sense of all-in-God[1]. The term was coined in the early 19th century to distinguish a specific theological position from pantheism. Where pantheism identifies God with the universe, panentheism holds that the divine includes the universe yet also exceeds it[2].

the term is useful for nuanced theology but is often confused with pantheism.

Panentheism is a theological category that fits multiple traditions in nuanced ways. The core claim: the universe is contained within God, but God is not exhausted by the universe; God has dimensions beyond the universe. This distinguishes panentheism from strict pantheism (which identifies God with the universe) and from classical theism (which often emphasizes God's transcendence over the universe).

In Hindu tradition, Vishishtadvaita Vedanta as articulated by Ramanuja is often described as panentheistic. The world and individual selves are real and are contained within Brahman as body to spirit; Brahman is not exhausted by the world but includes it and exceeds it. The framework has clear panentheistic features.

In Christian tradition, panentheism has been developed by some modern theologians including Charles Hartshorne (process theology), John Cobb, and Jurgen Moltmann. Process theology holds that God includes the world as God's body in some sense while also transcending it. Moltmann's trinitarian panentheism develops similar themes from a different framework. Earlier Christian thinkers including Nicholas of Cusa and certain mystical traditions have been read panentheistically, though the term is anachronistic for them.

Sufi metaphysics, particularly in the tradition of Ibn al-Arabi, has sometimes been described as panentheistic. The relationship between God's transcendence and immanence in classical Sufi thought is complex; the wahdat al-wujud (unity of being) doctrine has been read in various ways including as panentheistic.

Indigenous and earth-based spiritualities often express panentheistic sensibilities, with the divine present in and through the natural world while not being reducible to it.

The distinction between panentheism and pantheism is important. Pantheism strictly identifies God with the universe; panentheism holds the universe as within God while affirming God's distinctness from the universe[2]. Many traditions classed loosely as pantheistic are more accurately panentheistic.

Panentheism has been a productive category in modern philosophical theology. Philip Clayton, Arthur Peacocke[2], and many others have developed panentheistic theology. Comparative work has explored how panentheism appears across traditions while maintaining the specific theological structure of each.

• In Whom We Live and Move and Have Our Beingby Philip Clayton and Arthur Peacocke (editors)
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• God and the Worldby Charles Hartshorne
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