ANIMISM

1. ANIMISM

2. ANIMISM • Animism is not a religion. It is a CATEGORY of religions and belief systems. • Animistic belief systems are based on a general belief that there are deities (gods) or spirits in living things, in nature, or in the Earth. • The world’s earliest belief systems were examples of animism. • Examples of prehistoric animism have been found in every global region that had a human population • Examples of animism in the world today can be found in: • North America: Native American ‘Mother Earth’ beliefs • South America: indigenous peoples of the Amazon rain forest • Sub-Saharan Africa • China: Daoism • Japan: Shinto

3. Examples of animism in the world today can be found in: • North America: Native American ‘Mother Earth’ beliefs • South America: indigenous peoples of the Amazon rain forest • Australia: indigenous Aboriginal peoples • Sub-Saharan Africa • China: Daoism • Japan: Shinto • Examples in the Americas, Australia, and sub-Saharan Africa can be tied back to PREHISTORIC TIMES and are often viewed as ‘primitive’ • The examples of Daoism and Shinto come later, after the start of ‘civilization’

4. Features of ‘prehistoric’ animism • Herbal Remedies • Mysticism • Magic • Ancestor Worship • A belief in ‘oneness’ with the earth or universe • In addition to the indigenous animism that still exists, there are other ancient belief systems that are considered ‘animistic’ that have mostly died out. An example of this would be the religion of the Druids.

5. Animism in ‘Civilized Lands’… • Daoism (or Taoism), which is found in China, Korea, and southeast Asia • Shinto, which is found in Japan

6. Daoism (or Taoism): which means ‘the way’ Chinese belief system based on belief that there is a balance of all things in nature and the universe

7. Daoism probably existed in some form for thousands of years, but became a ‘formal’ belief system around 300 BCE • The basic teachings of Daoism are found in the TAO TE CHING, written by Laozi (or Lao Zi, or Lao Tzu), who is considered the founder or creator of Daoism.

8. Daoism is Polytheistic • Daoists believe that there are spirits (kami) living in all things

9. Yin and Yang Daoists believe that Yin and Yang are opposing forces found in all things in balance. Yin is supposed to be darkness, femininity, evil, ‘the trough of a wave’ Yang is supposed to be light, masculinity, goodness, ‘the crest of a wave’. Daoists have an interesting view of salvation. Because good and evil are balanced, there is nothing to be saved from, so there is no Daoist equivalent to ‘heaven’

10. Worship • Daoism is highly individualistic. Daoists generally worship alone or as a family at a temple or shrine.

11. Inclusive • Like most Eastern Belief systems, Daoism is inclusive. • A person can be a Daoist and a Confucian and a Buddhist all at the same time.

12. Shinto • Shinto is a Japanese adaptation of Daoism. • Shinto translates to something like ‘the Chinese way’ • Because Japan’s geography is more extreme than China’s (limited farmland, mostly mountains, earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunamis, dependence on the sea for fish to eat, and yes, Japan even features the world’s snowiest large city [Syracuse is #7]), Shinto is a belief system held by almost all Japanese people.

13. Worship: Shinto is an individual practice, usually in shrines or temples

14. Salvation: • There is a Shinto saying, “Born Shinto, dies Buddhist” • This indicates that the belief is that one should live in harmony with nature, but that salvation occurs in Buddhism’ • This shows that Shinto is an inclusive faith