Animism (from Latin anima, "breath" or "soul") is the belief that spirits or souls dwell not only in humans but in animals, plants, rivers, mountains, weather and objects. The term was made famous by the anthropologist Edward Burnett Tylor in 1871. Today scholars often describe animism less as a mistaken theory and more as a relational way of living with a world of non-human persons.
Animism at a glance
| Etymology | Latin anima, "breath, soul, life" |
|---|---|
| Term popularized by | Edward Burnett Tylor, Primitive Culture (1871) |
| Earlier use | Georg Ernst Stahl's animismus (1708), a medical theory |
| Classic definition | "The belief in Spiritual Beings" (Tylor) |
| Key later scholars | A. Irving Hallowell, Nurit Bird-David, Graham Harvey, Philippe Descola |
| Related ideas | Totemism, shamanism, ancestor worship, panpsychism |
Origins of the Concept
The word animism was first used in the eighteenth century by the German physician Georg Ernst Stahl for a theory that the soul is the principle of bodily life. Its modern meaning comes from Edward Burnett Tylor, whose book Primitive Culture (1871) proposed a "minimum definition of religion" as the belief in spiritual beings. Tylor argued that early humans, reflecting on dreams, visions and death, concluded that people have a detachable soul, and then extended this idea to animals, plants and things.
For Tylor, animism was the earliest stage of religion, from which polytheism and monotheism later developed. His theory fitted the evolutionary thinking of Victorian anthropology, which ranked societies from "primitive" to "civilized." This framework is now rejected by anthropologists, but Tylor's term stayed in use.
Criticism of the Classic Theory
Critics soon challenged Tylor. R. R. Marett suggested that a vaguer sense of impersonal sacred power, which he called "animatism," might come before belief in individual spirits. Emile Durkheim argued that religion is rooted in society rather than in individual reasoning about dreams. Later anthropologists pointed out that labeling other peoples' worldviews as childlike errors said more about European assumptions than about the people studied. The psychologist Jean Piaget also used "animism" for young children's tendency to treat objects as alive, which reinforced the unhelpful comparison between children and so-called primitive cultures.
The New Animism
A major rethinking began with A. Irving Hallowell's essay on Ojibwe ontology (1960). He showed that for Ojibwe people the category of "person" includes some stones, winds and animals, and that what matters is how beings behave and relate, not whether they look human. In 1999 Nurit Bird-David described animism as a "relational epistemology," a way of knowing the world through relationships. Graham Harvey's Animism: Respecting the Living World (2005) summarized this view with the phrase that the world is "full of persons, only some of whom are human."
Philippe Descola, in Beyond Nature and Culture, treats animism as one of four basic ways humans understand the relation between inner life and physical form. These approaches, sometimes called the "new animism," focus on etiquette, reciprocity and respect rather than on belief in invisible ghosts.
Animism in Practice
Animistic outlooks appear in many Indigenous cultures of the Americas, Siberia, Africa, Southeast Asia and Australia, although each people has its own terms and practices, and "animism" is an outsider's label. Common elements include offerings to the spirits of places, rules for hunting that show respect for animals, relationships with guardian spirits, and specialists who mediate with the non-human world, often described as shamans. Japanese Shinto, with its reverence for kami in mountains, trees and waterfalls, is frequently compared with animism, as is folk belief in fairies and land spirits in Europe. Animism often overlaps with ancestor worship and animal worship.
Science, Law and Legacy
Cognitive scientists of religion, such as Stewart Guthrie in Faces in the Clouds (1993), have proposed that humans are predisposed to detect agents and intentions in their environment, which may help explain why animistic ideas are so widespread. This is a theory about the mind and does not by itself judge whether animistic beliefs are true.
Animistic ideas have also entered environmental ethics and law. In 2017 New Zealand recognized the Whanganui River as a legal person, reflecting the Maori understanding of the river as an ancestor. Many modern Pagans and environmentalists describe themselves as animists, drawing on the scholarly new animism while developing their own practices.
Related Concepts
Animism is often discussed together with several neighboring ideas, which should not be confused with it:
- Animatism: R. R. Marett's term for belief in an impersonal sacred force rather than individual spirits.
- Totemism: a special relationship between a social group and an animal, plant or other natural species.
- Shamanism: the practice of specialists who travel to, or communicate with, the spirit world on behalf of a community.
- Panpsychism: a philosophical position, discussed by some modern philosophers of mind, that consciousness or mind is a basic feature of all matter.
- Nature spirits: beings such as devas in Theosophy or the spirits of groves and springs in European folklore, sometimes associated with sacred sites like Lake Nemi.
Each of these concepts has its own history in scholarship, and many specialists stress that the categories were created by outside observers.
Related entries
Frequently asked questions
What is animism in simple terms?
Animism is the belief that humans are not the only beings with a soul or spirit. Animals, plants, rivers, mountains and even some objects may be understood as living persons who deserve respect. Many animists focus on maintaining good relationships with these beings through offerings, courtesy and careful behavior.
Is animism a religion?
Animism is not a single organized religion with a founder or scripture. It is a scholarly term for a worldview found in many cultures, often within broader traditions such as Indigenous religions or Shinto. Some modern Pagans, however, use "animist" as a description of their own spiritual identity.
Who coined the term animism?
Georg Ernst Stahl used the Latin animismus in 1708 for a medical theory of the soul. The modern religious meaning was established by the British anthropologist Edward Burnett Tylor in Primitive Culture (1871), where he defined animism as the belief in spiritual beings and treated it as the root of religion.
Sources and further reading
This entry replaces an article from the original Mystica encyclopedia (online since 2001). It was rewritten from the sources above by The Mystica Editorial Team under our editorial standards. Last reviewed: September 30, 2026.