Integrational Polytheism is a form of polytheism where you believe in the existence of not several, but of all the gods ever described. It has also been known as Eclectic Polytheism and other such names on the internet, but this article is in reference to the religious ideas of Calum Carlyle, who calls it Integrational Polytheism.
Of course it is impossible to serve, or even to know about, every described god, so an Integrational Polytheist can choose which gods to follow, while simply acknowledging the rest. Because Integrational Polytheists believe in all gods, their philosophy requires respect for other beliefs, unless those beliefs stifle or repress another belief. E.g., an Integrational Polytheist doesn't need to respect a homophobe's beliefs as those are oppressive towards homosexual people. This is basically the concept of "live and let live". Integrational Polytheists could be said to believe that all religions have equivalent importance to each other.
Integrational Polytheism allows a person much freedom to make their own beliefs, but there are still a few basic rules to be observed:
- Freedom of choice.
- Freedom of expression.
- Importance of all religions and philosophies.
These three basic rules have a higher priority for Integrational Polytheists than the individual rules of any particular religion, or so it would appear from discussions on the Integrational Polytheism bulletin board.
External links
For more information and detail on the origins of Integrational Polytheism, please visit Calum Carlyle's website about Integrational Polytheism listed below.