What is Apollonianism?
Apollonian spirituality, or Apollonianism, is an attempt to formulate a religion that is not only compatible with science and reason, but which incorporates the principles of science, reason, and skeptical inquire as its very foundation. This may at first appear impossible, for theology seems diametrically opposed to rationality and the empirical sciences. However, Apollonianism assumes this is only due to the inability of ancient religions to account for the staggering influx of scientific understanding which has accumulated over the past 200 years.
There do, however, exist religions and religious philosophies that are not incompatible with science and reason: Platonism, Neoplatonism, Hermeticism, Humanism, and the Eastern traditions such as Taoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism, just to name a few. Apollonianism seeks to incorporate these religions and philosophies into an overall system that emphasizes reason and modern science as a key path to intellectual enlightenment.
To that end, a series of apothegms have been created to put forward the essence of this Apollonian spiritual system: the Apothegms of Enlightenment. These apothegms should be considered the foundation of Apollonianism, and give the essential "tenets" and ethical principles that should govern Apollonian spirituality.
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Basic Beliefs
Apollonianism asserts that there is no greater truth in the Cosmos than what can be observed and discovered, and that science is the key to gaining such knowledge. Just as the philosophers of ancient times were the scientists of their day, so too must we, following in their footsteps, turn to modern science for our answers today.
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Science and Religion
The central concern of Apollonian spirituality is the understanding that there exists not greater truth in the Cosmos than what can be observed and discovered, and that science provides the only means to gain such knowledge. At first this perspective may seem entirely atheistic, or perhaps analogous to Secular Humanism. As Apollonians, we believe that reason, logic, and creativity must be cultivated if we are to progress as a technologically advanced species--and yet, without some form of spirituality we are left empty and cold.
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The Old with the New
If Apollonianism aspires to create a new spiritual philosophy for the 21st century and beyond, some may wonder why we look to ancient philosophies such as Platonism, Stoicism, and Hermetism, as well as various religions both Eastern and Western. The answer is simply that, as a religion, Apollonian spirituality requires a solid foundation firmly rooted in the past. These ancient philosophies and religions constitute a basic framework into which Apollonianism can prosper and grow. Without such a framework, Apollonianism would have no direction and no concrete basis, and would very likely crumble, or simply dissolve into pure atheism.