In religions where the Divine is personified with terms like “Father,” followers can interact with the Divine as if engaging with another person. Christianity, for example, speaks of a “personal relationship with God.”
Omnism broadens this understanding by defining one’s “personal relationship with the Divine” through their individual beliefs, perspectives, or religious views about the Divine. For instance, a Taoist might refer to the Divine as “the Tao,” embodying principles rather than personality, while a Christian may experience the Divine in a more personal, fatherly role.
Omnists believe that the Divine meets us in the forms we understand—appearing as one God for those who see unity, as many for those who perceive a plurality, or as an impersonal force or principle for those who see divinity beyond personhood. For those who seek a personal relationship, the Divine may answer to the names we choose, whether called God, Goddess, Allah, Shiva, Shakti, or even Universe. Just as the word “Allah” in Islam refers to the same God of Abraham in Judaism and Christianity, Omnism recognizes that different names and expressions of reverence reflect personal journeys and cultural histories.
In honoring these diverse paths, Omnism encourages respect for the unique language each of us uses to connect with the Divine and seeks to strengthen
Shared Ancestry of Divine Names: The Sky Father
Just as the image of polytheistic believers recognizing each other’s gods as different aspects of the same being shows the inclusivity of ancient polytheistic systems, history and linguistics also reveal an ancient connection between different cultures’ primary deities.
Consider the Proto-Indo-European language, the ancient root of many languages across Europe and Asia. In Proto-Indo-European Mythology, the primary god of the sky was called Dyues Phtr or “Sky Father.” Over millennia, as cultures evolved and split, this deity’s name adapted in each language that descended from Proto-Indo-European, becoming:
- Greek: Zeus Pater—the chief god of the Greek pantheon, lord of the sky.
- Roman: Jupiter (Ju Piter)—the king of the Roman gods, similarly a sky god.
- Vedic (Hindu): Dyaus Pitr—an early Vedic deity associated with the heavens.
Though each culture developed its unique mythology and understanding of divinity, they retained this shared name for their “Sky Father,” reflecting a common origin. This evolution illustrates how different names and myths can emerge from a single ancestral concept, shaped by language and culture but pointing to a shared root.
In Omnism, we honor this connection, recognizing that what some call God, others may call Zeus, Jupiter, Dyaus, or Universe—each a cultural lens through which the same Divine is experienced. Understanding this shared history reminds us that, at our roots, humanity has always sought to name and connect with the Divine, whether through a singular god, many gods, or abstract principles.
Emperor Asoka of India captured this spirit of inclusivity in the 3rd century BCE, inscribing a decree in stone:
“One should not honor only one’s own religion and condemn the religions of others, but one should honor others’ religions. So doing, one helps one’s own religion to grow and renders service to the religions of others too. In acting otherwise one digs the grave of one’s own religion and also does harm to other religions. Whosoever honors his own religion and condemns other religions, does so indeed through devotion to his own religion, thinking “I will glorify my own religion”. But on the contrary, in so doing he injures his own religion more gravely. So concord is good: Let all listen, and be willing to listen to the doctrines professed by others.”
-Emperor Asoka in Rock Edict XII
Official Disclaimer of Faith on the Collective approach to the Divine.
As members of the Church of Omnism, we honor the diverse perspectives and faiths that shape each member’s understanding of the Divine. We recognize every personal relationship with the Divine as valid and true to the believer.
Although members of the Church may have different views and some may hold public positions, no interpretation is considered higher or more accurate than another. The Church’s only exception is the belief that one’s understanding of the Divine is the sole truth, superior to all others. Such a belief is contradictory to the core tenet of Omnism and, therefore, must be respectfully rejected.
For simplicity, members may use different names—whether ‘God,’ ‘the Divine,’ ‘the Universe,’ ‘Goddess,’ ‘the All,’ or others—but all refer to the same underlying source. Just as an actor wears different masks in a play, each name represents a unique aspect or persona of the All1, allowing each individual to connect with the Divine in the way that resonates with their personal beliefs.
The Divine many refer to as God can take many forms. The Church of Omnism respects your interpretation of the Divine or God Essence you hold to be true and all the Church asks is that each of our members respect each other’s views in this same way.
We conclude with this verse from the Bhagavad Gita, in which the Divine, called by many names, speaks to all seekers:
“In whatsoever form one seeks Me, I reach them in that form,
for all humanity are but following the paths I laid down for them.“
-Bhagavad Gita 4:11
Footnotes
- The term “the All” is drawn from early Christian Gnostic beliefs. The Gnostics, a separate sect that emerged in the 1st century, used “the All” to describe the Divine as an inclusive, encompassing force. This terminology reflected their view that the “God” of the Old Testament and the “God” Jesus spoke of were distinct entities, each with radically different teachings and qualities. Gnostics saw “the All” as transcending these differences, embracing both unity and multiplicity within the Divine. Their beliefs ultimately diverged from mainstream Christian doctrine and were declared heretical by the Catholic Church. ↩︎