Belief in the existence of spirits separable from bodies. Such beliefs are traditionally identified with small-scale (“primitive”) societies, though they also occur in major world religions.
They were first competently surveyed by Edward Burnett Tylor in Primitive Culture (1871). Classic animism, according to Tylor, consists of attributing conscious life to natural objects or phenomena, a practice that eventually gave rise to the notion of a soul. &Seealso; shaman.
This is the complete article, containing 68 words
(approx. 1 page at 300 words per page).
View More Summaries on Animism
