Animism Essay

Religion is not unlike a castle, a grand architecture built upon the compilation of individual beliefs and traditions. It begins small at first, almost unseen as its foundations are set in place. As the bricks of belief are stacked, its walls grow and become something more recognizable. Next, the wooden boards of tradition are set in place and the structure is fleshed out, and ornate wallpaperings and furnishing begin to decor the interior as the structure develops into an elegant work of art, and the religion blossoms into a way of life. As society has grown and developed into a sophisticated marvel, so too has the castle of Christian religion. One might not expect remnant aspects of ancient tribal belief systems to be prevalent in the

Unlike religions, animism has no particular founder, follows no established doctrine or moral code, and entails no specific forms of worship. Animism denotes a “view of the world consistent with a certain range of religious beliefs and practices, many of which […] survive in more-complex and hierarchical religions” (Park). Rather than being considered a religion unto itself, animism is more a belief system - a belief system that complements and supplements many religions across the world, and a belief system that most religions were ultimately founded upon. Animism at its simplest is a belief that our world is populated not only by physical persons, but by spiritual entities as well. Those that hold animistic views believe that these spiritual entities are great in number, often residing in not only physical representations such as objects of nature such as trees, streams, and mountains, but that they are also often found in natural events and concepts as well, such as rain storms, earthquakes, moon phases, and even in expressions of emotions such as anger. As supported by Mark Wallace, animism is “how early civilizations … attributed a soul to all things, both living and non-living” (Wallace 218). Indeed, animism was very prevalent in early religions, and provided the strong fundamental building blocks for most religions that exist