Animism

Animism is a belief common in many different religions and philosophies. An animist is a person who believes or practices animism. Animism is the belief that there is more in nature than the physical things that can be seen and touched. The part that is not physical can be called a soul, life force, or spirit. Physical things come in two types: things that are alive and things that are not alive. Animals and plants are alive. Most animists believe animals and plants have a spirit.^[1] Some animists also believe some non-living parts of nature have spirits.^[1] These non-living parts of nature include the wind, the rain, and geographic features like mountains and rivers.

The word "Animism" looks like the words of other belief systems with the suffix "-ism." However, it is not like other belief systems. Animism is not organized on purpose. Animists did not come up with the word "Animism." Animists did not apply the word to themselves. Instead, Animism is an idea of European anthropologists. The first anthropologist who described Animism was Edward B. Taylor.^[1] Taylor was trying to describe what was similar among many groups all over the world. The word "Animism" is very new: it was first used in 1832.^[2] In contrast, the ideas described by "Animism" are very old. The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy claims that Animism "has been the dominant religious tradition across all human societies since our ancestors first left Africa."^[3]

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} Cite error: The named reference :1 was used but no text was provided for refs named (see the help page).
2. ↑ "Definition of ANIMISM". www.merriam-webster.com. Retrieved 2022-11-11.
3. ↑ Cite error: The named reference :0 was used but no text was provided for refs named (see the help page).