My Journey to Discovering Omnism

Growing up with a Hindu father, and a Catholic mother, I was lucky enough not to have parents who pressed their very different beliefs on me. I lived in an open-minded, liberal community where I was around a number different cultures and religions. When they were married, my parent’s religious beliefs were never an issue for them and they began to accept each other's views, for better or for worse. Whether it was my dad steering clear from a steak house, or my mother practicing Lent, I learned many traditions and customs in both faiths.

If you would have asked me what I believed in last year, I wouldn’t know how to answer. As a kid, I always considered myself Catholic. I spent much of my childhood believing Jesus was the Son of God, hearing my grandmother talk about Mother Theresa, and attending occasional mass. However, I never felt connected to the Catholicism. I just found it convenient to say I was Catholic in the case that religion came up in a conversation. I truly felt like I had a respect for all faiths. Just over a year ago, I wondered if there was a denomination catered to believing in all religions. So I did what seven billion other people in this world did when they had a question, I Googled it. Low and behold, I came across omnism.

Omnism is the recognition of all religions. To put it in perspective, they all matter and have a meaning for it’s existence. One main belief is that everything created in this world is important. While this may sound like a new term, it’s actually not. Poet, Philip J Bailey first used the word Omnist in his poem Festus, published in 1839. In summary, the poem explains Man’s relationship with God, and God's relationship with Man. Bailey goes on to simply say, “I am an omnist, and believe in all religions.

Although Omnism is not a religion, it is a sense of spirituality. There is no church or sacred texts in regards to the belief. There is no given theology, in which case individuals tend to formulate how they believe in Omnism. It is a very open-minded, transcended thinking. The closest comparison to this term is Universalist Unitarian, which inhibits strong spiritual interactions with the universe and all people around us.

Through my journey in becoming an Omnist, I find myself having the pleasure of learning about new religions, and becoming a deep thinker in how this world was created. Is there a God? Are there multiple Gods? Or was it just science? These are the questions I will often find myself asking. Before becoming an Omnist, I wondered if I was an Atheist. However, my spiritual beliefs were strong and I always took in account that there was something out there. I never could truly block out nonsecular credences.

Being an Omnist has truly impacted my life, and opened my mind to so many new stories and testimonies. I have the opportunity to study new religions and faiths. Millennials and GenZ are becoming widely described as having “lesser religious beliefs” than any other generation before. Many are labeled Atheists. Though, I feel Omnism will become widely popular in our culture today. Young people are more accepting, and tolerant of other groups. For decades, society has pushed religion down people’s throats. Let’s take a moment to think about other ways Man was created and honor all philosophies. We share the world, let’s share the love.