ANIMISM

The belief that within all objects and creatures there is a soul or personality that exists. Many scholars offered the idea that animism I the first spiritual concept ever made.

3 FUNDAMENTAL FORMS

• The belief that objects both natural & manufactured have spirits
• The belief in spirits that are not firmly connected to anything physical.
• The worship of the souls of people & animals. Both living & dead.

Historical Roots

• The oldest known belief of Mankind.
• Known as the "source of all religions".
• Thought to have originated from Native Americans around 9000 B.C.

CORE BELIEFS

• Community centered life.
• Ancestors, living & unborn.
• The Spirit World.
• Appeasing the gods.
• Focuses on the present.

Core Beliefs (cont.)

• Power to control the forces around you.
• Spirits can take any form.
• Shamans believe they can find lost souls in the Spirit Realm.
• Obsession with good luck & bad luck. (Feng Shui)

Problems

• Extremely vague & relative.
• Rituals are essential in maintaining balance & safety.
• Eating the wrong fruit at the wrong time could be catastrophic.
• Native American Haudenausaunee Thanksgiving Address*
• *can take up to 1 hour to recite & directly thanks every being.

Religions that inquire Animism:

Monotheism, Pantheism, Tengriism, Theism, Wildlife Worship, Celtic Animism, Celtic Polytheism, Folk Religion, Anecdotal Cognitivism, Totemism...

Ancestor reverence, Shamanism, Shinto, Hindu, Mun (Munism, Bongthingism), New Age Movement, Neopaganism, Eco-paganism, Witchcraft, Tree Worship, Hyang, Hylozloism, Mana, Panpsychism, Polytheism, Fairies, Nature Worship.