What is another word for animism?

Pronunciation: [ˈanɪmˌɪzəm] (IPA)

Animism is the belief that all things in nature have a soul or spirit. There are various synonyms for animism, based on the cultural context of the belief. In Native American culture, animism is often referred to as shamanism, where a shaman is a mediator between the physical and spiritual worlds. In Hinduism, animism is related to the belief in Brahman, or the concept of an all-encompassing unity of spirits. Another synonym for animism can be pantheism, which is the belief that the divine exists in all things. Overall, animism is a term that encompasses a wide range of beliefs across various cultures, all of which seek to connect with the spiritual essence of the natural world.

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Synonyms for Animism:

What are the hypernyms for Animism?

A hypernym is a word with a broad meaning that encompasses more specific words called hyponyms.

What are the hyponyms for Animism?

Hyponyms are more specific words categorized under a broader term, known as a hypernym.

Usage examples for Animism

The problem, however, is far too complicated to be discussed here; and one may briefly say that there seems to have been a time in the evolution of animism when the ancient Celts of Britain, of Ireland, and of Continental Europe too, held, in common with the ancient Greeks, Romans, and Teutons, an original Aryan doctrine.
"The Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries"
W. Y. Evans Wentz
Their creed was a form of pure animism; the storms, the winds, the lightning, trees, rocks, rivers had separate and conscious souls; other inanimate objects not included in an arbitrary list, had unconscious souls, each and every one capable of doing mischief or of good; hence the essence of religion in the act of imploring the good offices of the most powerful spirits, or in moments of exasperation of threatening them with dire punishments.
"Witch-Doctors"
Charles Beadle
Such "animism" instinctively associates with an object's bulk and hardness a capacity for locomotion and general initiative.
"The Approach to Philosophy"
Ralph Barton Perry

Famous quotes with Animism

  • I could not have learned to listen to coyotes without having first learned to listen to my unwillingness to sell my hours, then to listen to the signals of my body, then to listen to the disease that has made my insides my home, and thus become a part of me. And I could not have learned to listen to coyotes without having talked to other people courageous enough to validate my perception of an animate world. I talked to the writer Christoper Manes, who said, 'For most cultures through history--including our own in preliterate times--the entire world used to speak. Anthropologists call this animism, the most pervasive worldview in human history. Animistic cultures listen to the natural world. For them, birds have something to say. So do worms, wolves, and waterfalls.' Later the philosopher Thomas Berry told me, 'The universe is composed of subjects to be communed with, not objects to be exploited. Everything has its own voice. Thunder and lightning and stars and planets, flowers, birds, animals, trees--all these have voices, and they constitute a community of existence that is profoundly related.'
    Derrick Jensen
  • The sole religious orthodoxy permitted in our public schools is the separation of paper from plastic. Not so many miles from this beach, great-grandchildren of westering pioneers chain themselves to redwoods, martyrs of the new animism.
    Richard Rodriguez

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