by Lewis Loflin
A debate on the Conservative and Libertarian Deists Facebook group sparked this: does pantheism—or its cousin panendeism—drag folks to Leftism? One member asked:
“An admin who coined ‘panendeism’ hates socialism and green agendas like us. Can panendeism square with anti-collectivism, or is he just resisting despite it?”
If it’s who I think—a vet, not some college-indoctrinated drone—he’s likely immune to Leftist mush. Elite humanities departments churn out most of that rot, not battlefield grit.
Leftism’s a pseudo-religion for liberal-progressives—a chaotic stew of atheism, collectivism, and statism. It’s not uniform, but the threads hold: happiness via group will, enforced by state muscle; private property on paper, controlled in practice; “freedom” as handouts, not liberty (see Questioning Separation). Pantheism, atheism’s feel-good mask, fits right in (see Pantheism).
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778), with Voltaire, birthed the French Revolution’s bloodbath (see Rousseau, Voltaire). His Discourse on Inequality and Social Contract (1762) dumped reason for feelings—Romanticism’s high priest, per Dr. Diane Thompson (here). His “general will” fueled collectivist nightmares, not Deism’s rational liberty (see Revolt Against Reason, Romanticism). Ref: IEP.
Rousseau’s counter-Enlightenment—trashing science for “esteem”—echoes in progressive education (John Dewey, Frankfurt School). Add Eastern mysticism, Earth-worship, and moral relativism—bam, you’ve got environmentalism, the West’s top pantheist cult (see Environmentalism as Religion).
Pantheism’s ancient—Hinduism, Greek Stoics—but today’s version is wishy-washy spiritualism craving purpose. Leftism hijacks it: atheism’s cold, so pantheism (or panentheism—“God’s in all, beyond all”) adds a glow (see Gnosticism). Christians chased union with Christ; pantheists chase Gaia. It’s not inherently leftist—Hindus aren’t commies—but university indoctrination twists it that way.
Vague beliefs breed cult bait. A conservative pantheist might resist Leftism via culture, but their kids—unmoored—won’t. Leftism preys on the rootless.
Panendeism’s “God becomes the universe” leans on Aristotle’s discredited Prime Mover, not Deism’s transcendent Creator (see Creed). English Deists and Founders—Jefferson, Adams—were Unitarians, not pantheists. They moderated Christianity, not trashed it (see English Deism). French radicals (Rousseau’s spawn) aimed to gut culture, hijacking Deism into “isms”—socialism, humanism—that bleed red.
Leftist “Deists” don’t build—they destroy. Tearing down’s their game, using pantheism’s mush to dodge atheism’s chill and snag Deism’s cred (see Origins).
Pantheism doesn’t force Leftism—a vet can resist—but its vagueness opens the door. Leftism thrives on it: collectivism, eco-spiritualism, anti-reason—Rousseau’s legacy. Environmentalism’s shift from “social justice” to “environmental justice” shows Marxism’s drift into green dogma. Deism’s clear—God’s separate, humans rule nature, reason trumps feelings (see Deism). Pantheism’s a leftist tool unless you’ve got roots to fight it. Read David Heleniak’s Rousseau and the Real Culture War (free e-book).
