What does animism mean?
Animism is the belief that the natural world is inhabited by spirits or souls — that animals, plants, rivers, mountains, weather, and other features of the environment possess a spiritual essence or consciousness. As a formal concept it entered anthropology through the work of Edward Burnett Tylor, who treated it as the earliest and most widespread form of religious belief, and it remains central to describing many indigenous traditions, from Shinto in Japan to numerous Native American and African cosmologies. The word derives from the Latin 'anima', meaning breath or soul, which also gives us 'animal' and 'animate'. Beyond religion, psychologists use the term for the childhood tendency to attribute life and intention to inanimate objects, such as believing a doll can feel pain. Used neutrally and descriptively, 'animism' names one of humanity's most enduring ways of relating to nature.
nounThe belief that natural objects, phenomena, and the universe as a whole possess a spirit or soul, or that spirits inhabit animals, plants, rivers, mountains, and other features of the world. In anthropology, it also refers to the attribution of conscious life to inanimate things.
- The religious belief that spirits or souls inhabit natural objects, places, animals, and plants.
- In anthropology and psychology, the attribution of life or consciousness to inanimate objects (e.g., a child treating a doll as alive).
"Many indigenous traditions around the world are grounded in animism, viewing rivers, forests, and mountains as living beings."
"Shinto practice reflects a form of animism in which sacred spirits, or kami, dwell in trees, rocks, and waterfalls."
"Developmental psychologists note that young children often display animism, insisting that their toys have feelings."
Rarely pluralized; the plural may appear when comparing multiple distinct animist belief systems.
"Scholars distinguish between the animisms of different cultures rather than treating them as a single system."
The word 'animism' was borrowed from an 18th-century biologist's theory about the soul of living matter — before anthropologist Edward Tylor made it the name for humanity's oldest religion.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of animism
Animism comes from the Latin 'anima', meaning breath, spirit, or soul. The term itself originated in early 18th-century Germany, where the chemist Georg Ernst Stahl used 'animismus' for his doctrine that a vital soul governs bodily processes; anthropologist Edward Burnett Tylor later adopted and transformed the word in the 19th century to describe the attribution of spirits throughout nature, establishing its modern sense. Cognates sharing the Latin root include 'animal', 'animate', and 'unanimous'.
Related word forms
How animism is actually used
Animism is used chiefly in academic contexts — anthropology, history of religion, and developmental psychology — but appears in general writing about indigenous and traditional belief systems. It describes belief systems respectfully and neutrally; it should not be used pejoratively.
Easily confused with animism
Animalism refers to behavior or philosophy emphasizing physical or instinctual human nature (as in Orwell's Animal Farm), whereas animism is the belief that spirits inhabit natural objects.