Our Philosophy at Church of Ancient Ways has as its primary belief that people share more in common with one another, as human than what our different race, religion and culture may imply.

We believe that the underlying truths of world religions, both ancient and modern, are the same. There is no conflict between religion, science, nature, secular humanism, and the human journey. Our Philosophy is very compatible with the original Greek “Philo Sophia”, from which the word we know comes. It means “Lover of Wisdom”. While knowledge can be gleaned from a book, wisdom is experiential. We see this as the difference between “religion” and “spirituality” and an example of how the two are neither mutually inclusive or exclusive.

The Dali Lama recently described the Global trend to move away from the politics of Organized Religion and towards Spirituality as being like going to dinner with a group of friends. Although you are all ordering something different from the menu, you can still celebrate that you are all sitting down to a common meal.

We practice an eclectic, hands on spirituality which embraces all faiths, spiritual paths, and philosophies. Whether you practice Christianity, Judaism, Hindusim, Buddhism, Secular Humanism, or one of the Earth-Centered Spiritualities, sharing the elements from your path that bring you connection, clarity, and joy are exciting to us. We want to celebrate the things that make each human the best they can be for themselves and the world at large. We believe that divinity is present in all things, at all times. We believe that everything is still connected to and a part of the whole, valuable, and therefore should be respected as such. We respect all paths and the human beings who travel them. For us, our philosophy seems to be an embracing of the simple things that everyone can agree upon.

The problem with modern religion is not one of spirit. It lies in the political structures that come along claiming to be the “only way” and then they proceed to set up a toll booth to collect from those who wish to be on the “right” path. This we have difficulty accepting, after all Spirit is too big to be held within the confines of any one religion. We believe all words and writings of true faith and spirit mean different things to different people at different times in their lives but share a core message of love, kindness, respect, and ongoing progress towards transformation and the light and a closer relationship with God. We are all both student and teacher here. For us it is about sharing the joy to be found in learning and growing, not judging or condemning.

That was a lot of words, right?

When CoAW was founded in 1997 the short form was:
“Do the best you can all the time. If you find yourself doing less than your best, knock it off and start over.”

Church of Ancient Ways received 501(c)(3) status in 1997 as an Interfaith Organization. We believe there are fundamental principles—found across religions, philosophies, and even scientific thought—that guide people toward goodness and a strong internal moral compass. Our goal is to honor all paths that seek this goodness, and to celebrate our shared humanity.