Three Main World-Stories, and a Fourth ... "Thing"
Earlier on this website, we suggested that it is better to think of worldviews as world-stories. While there are approximately 6 and a half billion people on earth, and every person has a world-story, there are not nearly that many different world-stories. It is possible to group together those world-stories and religions that share many common features. When we do so, it is possible to see three basic "galaxies" of world-stories, within which there are variations, but which share a common "proximity" to one another. These mega-categories are theism, atheism, and spiritualism.
In addition, there is another"thing," perhaps best described as a "perspective." And that is postmodernism (pomo). Pomo doesn't really qualify as a world-story for two reasons. First, pomo may be (and has been) described as a rejection of any single, big story as capable of explaining everything. And second, postmoderns don't necessarily share anything like the same answers about world-story questions we've raised. Instead it is a reaction to (or some would argue the natural result of) its predecessor, modernism. Pomo thinkers do indeed have perspectives that they share with each other, but there is nothing like a consensus on our six questions. The "story" of pomo (ironically) is that we have come to be suspcious about any one story being able to command the allegiance of all people. So what we have are pomo atheists, and pomo theists, and pomo spiritualists. It does effect the way that they understand their fundamental world-story, but pomo thinking is an overlay to these more essential categories.
The term theism simply refers to a person's beliefs about god. Specifically, we use the term theism for what is more appropriately called monotheism, which is belief in a single, personal God. Various prefixes are sometimes added to this term to clarify more specifically people's beliefs about their god(s). Read More
Atheism
Atheism refers to the rejection of belief in any god(s) or spiritual realities. The physical world which is observable by the five senses constitutes the totality of what is real. There are several forms of atheism, differing primarily on an optimistic outlook on life versus a pessimistic outlook. Read More
Spiritualism
Spiritualism is a term which we use to describe those who believe in the existence of spiritual realities or dimensions beyond the physical world, but who do not believe in a single, personal god. Read More
Postmodernism
Postmodernism is a term which designates a major shift in culture which has taken place over the last several decades. Read More
