Nature worship, also called naturism[Oxford English Dictionary] or physiolatry,[A Dictionary of Religion and Ethics edited by Shailer Mathews, Gerald Birney Smith, p 305] 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[ The New International Encyclopædia, Volume 14 edited by Daniel Coit Gilman, Harry Thurston Peck, Frank Moore Colby, pp 288–289] Due to their admiration of nature, the works of Edmund Spenser, Anthony Ashley-Cooper and Carl Linnaeus were viewed as nature worship.
In the Western world
Paganism in Europe
In ancient European paganism, the deification of natural forces was central to religious life.
The
Celts and Germanic tribes believed that gods and spirits resided in natural elements such as trees, rivers, and mountains. For example,
Thor was associated with thunder, and his hammer,
Mjolnir, was believed to control storms and lightning. Similarly, the goddess
Nerthus was linked to fertility and the earth, with rituals involving plowing sacred fields to ensure a bountiful harvest.
The reverence for these deified natural forces was expressed through various rituals, including food offerings, sacrifices, and festivals. Sacred groves were considered the dwelling places of these deities, and entering such spaces was often restricted to priests or those performing rituals.
Ancient Greece
In ancient Greece, many natural forces were personified and worshipped as gods and goddesses.
For example,
Poseidon was the god of the sea, controlling storms, earthquakes, and horses.
Demeter, the goddess of agriculture, was believed to be responsible for the fertility of the earth and the changing seasons. Rituals dedicated to these deities often included offerings, sacrifices, and festivals like the Eleusinian Mysteries, which celebrated the cyclical nature of life, death, and rebirth in alignment with the agricultural calendar.
The deification of natural forces in Greek religion reflects the deep connection between humans and the environment, where natural phenomena were seen as manifestations of divine power that needed to be respected and honored through ritual practices.
Native American traditions
Among Native American tribes, natural forces were often deified and revered as powerful spiritual beings. The
Great Spirit, a central figure in many Native American belief systems, was considered the creator and sustainer of all life, with control over the natural world. Specific tribes also worshipped particular natural forces, such as the Iroquois' reverence for Thunder Beings, who were believed to bring rain and fertility to the land.
Rituals to honor these deities included dances, songs, and offerings. The Sun Dance, practiced by several Plains tribes, was a key ritual that involved fasting, dancing, and other ceremonies to seek the favor of the sun, considered a powerful life-giving force.
In the Eastern world
Hinduism
In Hinduism, the deification of natural forces is evident in the worship of gods and goddesses associated with various elements of nature. Agni, the god of fire, is one of the most ancient and revered deities, representing the vital force of life and the medium through which offerings are made to other gods. Indra, the god of rain and thunderstorms, is another example of a natural force personified as a deity, with rituals performed to invoke his blessings for rainfall and agricultural prosperity.
The concept of Prakriti, or nature, in Hindu philosophy further emphasizes the divine nature of the natural world. Rituals often involve offerings to rivers, trees, and mountains, which are seen as embodiments of the divine feminine energy, or Shakti.
Shintoism in Japan
Shinto, the indigenous religion of Japan, is fundamentally a form of nature worship where natural forces are deified as
kami (spirits). The sun goddess
Amaterasu is the most revered
kami in Shinto, symbolizing life, growth, and the continuity of the Japanese nation. Mountains like Mount Fuji are also considered sacred, believed to be the dwelling places of powerful
kami.
Shinto rituals often involve purification rites, offerings of food and sake, and festivals like Matsuri that celebrate the natural forces and ensure their continued favor.
Buddhism and Taoism
In Mahayana Buddhism, nature worship is reflected in the reverence for sacred mountains and trees, such as the
Bodhi tree, under which the
Buddha attained enlightenment.
Taoism, with its focus on harmony with the Tao (the natural way), venerates natural landscapes and elements as expressions of the divine.
Laozi, the founder of Taoism, taught that the natural world and its forces should be revered as manifestations of the Tao, leading to the deification of mountains, rivers, and other natural elements.
Criticism
English historian,
Ronald Hutton, has been critical of the antiquity of Nature Worship since at least 1998 until the present. He has argued that the gods of Ancient Mediterranean were not Nature Deities of any sort; rather, they were gods of "civilization and human activity," meanwhile the "Earth-Mother goddesses" are characterized by him as mere literary figures as opposed to deities, because he believes they lack any temples dedicated to them or a priesthood to serve them. He strongly juxtaposes this view by differentiating ancient pagans from Neopagans and Wiccans who profess to be nature worshippers as an essential component of their faith, which he believes is unlike any other in recorded history.
[Hutton, Ronald. "The Discovery of the Modern Goddess." Nature Religion Today: Paganism in the Modern World. Eds. Joanne Pearson, Richard H. Roberts and Geoffrey Samuel. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1998: p.89.] Despite having been charged by New Zealand Wiccan, Ben Whitmore, with having disenfranchised those
Modern paganism "who feel kinship and connection" with the gods and pagans of the Ancient World,
[ Whitmore, Ben. Trials of the Moon: Reopening the Case for Historical Witchcraft. Aukland: Briar Books, 2010: p. 2-3.] Prof. Hutton has reprised these views, virtually verbatim, in the second edition of his book,
Triumph of the Moon.
[Hutton, Ronald. The Triumph of the Moon: A History of Modern Pagan Witchcraft. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2019: p. 33.]
Forms and aspects of nature worship
See also
-
Goddess worship (disambiguation)
