Animism

E119287

anthropological concept philosophical concept religious belief system worldview

Animism is a belief system that sees all elements of the natural world—such as animals, plants, places, and sometimes objects—as possessing a spiritual essence or consciousness.

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All labels observed (3)

Label	Occurrences
Animism canonical	9
African traditional religion	1
Animism (historical)	1

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T1018346 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Animism
Context triple: [Dene, religion, Animism]

A. Tengrism
Tengrism is an ancient Central Asian shamanistic and animistic belief system centered on the sky god Tengri, traditionally practiced by Turkic and Mongolic peoples including the Mongols.
B. Polynesian indigenous religions
Polynesian indigenous religions are the traditional spiritual belief systems of Polynesian peoples, centered on ancestor veneration, nature deities, and complex mythologies that explain the origins and order of the world.
C. Theosophy
Theosophy is a spiritual and philosophical movement that blends Eastern and Western esoteric traditions, emphasizing mystical insight, reincarnation, and the pursuit of universal spiritual truths.
D. Shinto
Shinto is the indigenous religion of Japan centered on the worship of kami (spirits or deities) and the veneration of nature and ancestors.
E. Vietnamese folk religion
Vietnamese folk religion is a syncretic system of indigenous spiritual beliefs and practices in Vietnam, blending ancestor worship, village deities, and elements of Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Animism
Target entity description: Animism is a belief system that sees all elements of the natural world—such as animals, plants, places, and sometimes objects—as possessing a spiritual essence or consciousness.

A. Tengrism
Tengrism is an ancient Central Asian shamanistic and animistic belief system centered on the sky god Tengri, traditionally practiced by Turkic and Mongolic peoples including the Mongols.
B. Polynesian indigenous religions
Polynesian indigenous religions are the traditional spiritual belief systems of Polynesian peoples, centered on ancestor veneration, nature deities, and complex mythologies that explain the origins and order of the world.
C. Theosophy
Theosophy is a spiritual and philosophical movement that blends Eastern and Western esoteric traditions, emphasizing mystical insight, reincarnation, and the pursuit of universal spiritual truths.
D. Shinto
Shinto is the indigenous religion of Japan centered on the worship of kami (spirits or deities) and the veneration of nature and ancestors.
E. Vietnamese folk religion
Vietnamese folk religion is a syncretic system of indigenous spiritual beliefs and practices in Vietnam, blending ancestor worship, village deities, and elements of Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (51)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	anthropological concept ⓘ philosophical concept ⓘ religious belief system ⓘ worldview ⓘ
associatedWith	ancestor veneration ⓘ indigenous religions ⓘ nature worship ⓘ shamanism ⓘ totemism ⓘ
contrastsWith	atheism ⓘ materialism ⓘ monotheism ⓘ secular naturalism ⓘ
dateOfMajorTheorization	1871 ⓘ
definedBy	Edward Burnett Tylor as belief in spiritual beings ⓘ
emphasizes	interconnectedness of humans and nature ⓘ moral relationships with non-human beings ⓘ reciprocity between humans and spirits ⓘ
firstMajorWorkOn	Primitive Culture ⓘ
hasCoreBelief	all elements of the natural world possess a spiritual essence ⓘ animals have spirits ⓘ natural phenomena can be spiritually animated ⓘ objects can have spirits ⓘ places have spirits ⓘ plants have spirits ⓘ
hasVariant	classical animism ⓘ new animism ⓘ
historicallyTheorizedBy	Edward Burnett Tylor ⓘ
influences	environmental ethics ⓘ ritual practices toward animals ⓘ ritual practices toward landscapes ⓘ ritual practices toward plants ⓘ taboos regarding natural resources ⓘ
isTermUsedIn	anthropology ⓘ comparative religion ⓘ environmental humanities ⓘ philosophy of religion ⓘ religious studies ⓘ
newAnimismCharacterizedBy	critique of earlier evolutionary models of religion ⓘ focus on relational personhood ⓘ
oftenIncludes	offerings to spirits ⓘ propitiation of local deities or spirits ⓘ ritual communication with spirits ⓘ
presentIn	many Arctic and Siberian religions ⓘ many Indigenous Australian religions ⓘ many Native American religions ⓘ many traditional African religions ⓘ
recognizes	agency in non-human beings ⓘ spiritual essence in non-human entities ⓘ
viewsNonHumansAs	intentional agents ⓘ persons ⓘ