Position Statements and Views

The Church of All Worlds is a neo-pagan organisation interested in evolving a tribal consciousness, and whilst there are many differences among members, most of us feel and believe similar things about the core issues of Life and Spirituality. These are summarised here to help you better understand our Church.

Beliefs

CAW is not a belief-based religion, but a religion of experience. We are committed to honouring each other's unique individual experiences and perspective. Individual CAW members simply "believe" what they wish to.

Theology

CAW embraces the theology of Pantheism, as we experience "God" as an immanent quality, inherently manifest in every living Being, from a single cell to an entire planet. This is why we use the phrase "Thou art God, Thou art Goddess" as a greeting. We conceive of Divinity as the highest level of aware consciousness accessible to each living Being, manifesting itself through the self-actualisation of that Being.

Death and the Afterlife

We have no certain knowledge about life after death, and therefore we cannot teach about it. We feel it is more appropriate to be concerned with life after birth. Our orientation is towards living, not dying, and we hold no official dogma regarding an afterlife.

Politics

Politically, CAW is basically "green" in orientation, though with no official affiliation with any political party. CAW's aim is to make a connection to the Holy Biosphere of Mother Earth; to protect Her and to heal the rift between humanity and nature. Some of our members choose to do this via the traditional political process and others via movements such as Greenpeace and Earth First! and other grass-roots environmental organisations.

War and Conscientious Objection

We categorically support the right of all who honour Mother Earth to non-violently oppose war in any and all forms. War is deacide, for it is destructive of the Goddess embodied in all living creatures. We are all fragments of Gaia; to kill each other is to kill Her. Even our enemies are sacred.

Sexuality

CAW sanctions all loving and responsible relationships between informed and mutually consenting adults, whatever their gender, number or practice. This means we honour and welcome all sexual orientations, genders and practices into our Nests and circles; we perform handfastings for heterosexual, gay, bisexual, or transsexual couples, triples and group marriages. We support all aspects of personal and mutual choice, including the choice to have an exclusive, monogamous nuclear family and the choice to be celibate. We also actively encourage and promote safe sexual practices. The magazine of the Church, Green Egg includes articles and information on the sacred nature of sexuality, sexual etiquette, alternative sexual lifestyles and rituals.

Abortion and Birth Control

We are life-affirming, regarding the quality of life to be of utmost importance. Therefore we unconditionally support the right of every woman to make her own decisions regarding her desire and ability to bear and responsibly raise a child. We declare and defend a woman's right to safe, effective, affordable and acceptable methods of fertility regulation of her choice, including timely abortion, if and when she should deem it necessary.

Drugs

We recognise the history (and continued use) of psychotropic substances as sacraments within virtually every culture on the planet. It seems to be the unanimous collective wisdom of the Ancient Elders that if such substances are to be used at all, they should be used in a sacred way (that is, not as a "recreational drug"). At the same time, CAW follows the "prime directive" of non-interference, recognising that whatever a person wishes to do with their own body is nobody else's business.

Good and Evil

The Church of All Worlds expresses these as relative concepts. "Good" could be seen as that which promotes: life, choice, actualisation, evolutionary, diversity, and enlightenment. "Evil" would be that which is against: nature, life, choice, actualisation, evolutionary, and diversity. "Good" is that which enhances and maximises options; "evil" is that which reduces them. We do not see these in terms of dualism, but rather we perceive a continuum moving always in a direction towards greater manifestation of evolutionary actualisation and increasing consciousness; in other words Divinity.

The Church of All Worlds

An Australian National Goddess, Nature & Earth Worshipping Church.

Correspondence to:
CAW
PO Box 238
FAIRY MEADOW NSW 2519

Ph: (02) 4284 6159 — Martin Ison

For information on CAW approved courses and workshops on magic, ritual and Pagan spirituality contact Lifeways, care of the Secretary (address above).