The problem of evil leads many to atheism. It is hard to reconcile the reality of evil with belief in a perfectly good and powerful God. Patriarchal theological language, male pronouns of God, and lack of embodied and female perspectives lead others to reject traditional descriptions of God. In a time of climate crisis, the need for environmental well-being leads yet others to embrace conceptions of God that emphasize the immanence of God and the inherent value of the natural world. The way the God-world relationship is described and conceptualized thus affects us. This study critically reconstructs, analyzes, and assesses reasons for embracing panentheism or pantheism instead of classical theism. Depending on how God is conceptualized, different consequences for the human and non-human world follow.

The investigation of the reasons to embrace or reject panentheism and pantheism is structured into five chapters, focusing on gender equality, environmental well-being, science and religion, the problem of evil, and worship-worthiness. A novel view of worship-worthiness is presented - a view that makes fruitful discussions of the adequacy of alternative conceptions of God possible.

There are benefits and challenges with all conceptions of God. However, several reasons related to gender equality, environmental well-being, science, the problem of evil, and worship-worthiness suggests that a strict form of panentheism has explanatory and moral advantages over other conceptions of the God-world relationship. Pantheism has benefits that are equal to strict panentheism regarding environmental well-being and gender equality; but reasons pertaining to science, the problem of evil, and worship-worthiness suggests that pantheism should be rejected.

Although not without its problems, the study offers reasons to think that strict panentheism, such as process-panentheism, conceptualizes an essentially loving God that is worthy of worship.