topic on understanding culture

1. Cultural, Social, and Political Institutions, Understanding Culture,
Society, and Politics
Religion and Belief Systems: Animism
 Lesson6 chapters
 Questions
Objectives
At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
 recognize animism as an essential belief system,and
 recognize how animism is expressedin other religions of the world.
 What is animism?
 How did animism influence the growth and developmentof the major
religions of the world?
Find out the answers in this lesson!
Animism and its Beliefs
Animism is the belief that all natural entities have spirits or souls. It views
all things like animals, plants, and inanimate objects as sacred life forms.In
the ancient times, people worshipped nature for adoration, blessings,
thanksgiving, and protection.They prayed for sustained abundant harvest,
good health, good fortune, and peace in their community.
Animism is an act of respect.In animism, all things are to be honored. Our
human ancestors displayed this through rites like offering sacrifices,
dancing, and praying in dedication to spirits, souls, nature, and even rivers,
mountains, the sun, moon, and stars.
Origin of Animism
Animism came from the Latin word anima which means 'breath', 'spirit', and
'life.'
It is widely believed that the inception of animism can be traced back to the
ancient times before organized religions were formed.Because of its
primitive beginnings,animism is regarded as the foundation of the spiritual

2. life of all cultures. Due to its unrecorded history, no one is credited as its
founder.
Early inhabitants of traditional hunting-gathering, agricultural, or pastoral
territories were believed to have practiced animism. To name a few,
Indonesia,China, Thailand, Philippines,and other Southeast Asian
territories were the cradles of animism in the oldentimes. Before
Christianity, ancient Filipinos worshipped spirits in nature to appease them
and to provide them with life-sustaining resources.
Animism: Religion or Belief System?
Animism is not like any of the major religions of the world. It has no worship
site or structure, unlike the mosques of Muslims or church of the Christians.
It does not possessscriptures like Qur’an of the Muslims or Bible of the
Christians. It cannot provide us with statistics about how much it is
practiced now and then.
According to anthropologist E. B. Tylor, animism is a theory of religion and
is not a type of religion. Some academics argued that the use of this term
to pertain to the indigenous belief of existence of spirits in inanimate
objects is no longer appropriate and necessary. These reasons are why
debates about its nature exist.
Religion is an organized system of beliefs and practices that explains the
cause, nature, and purpose of the universe. It involves societalorganization
and moral code that governs human affairs and orderof existence.For
every religion, there is a belief system. Belief systems are sets of
principles that help interpret natural and supernatural occurrences that
affectlives.
No religion exists without a belief system. However, belief systems may
exist with or without religion or an organized entity
Animism Today
Today, animism is not practiced in isolation but expressed in many forms
and observed in both modernand traditional settings.Manifested by their
respectand worship rites for natural elements,religions around the globe
clearly apply teachings of the primitive religion. Hinduism, Jainism, and

3. Shintoism are some religions whose beliefs and practices subscribesto
that of animism's.
Shintoism,the native religion of Japan, worships the existence of natural
objects such as mountains, rivers, rocks, and trees.
Hinduism,which originated in India, believes that the earth is an
expressionof their gods and therefore must be preserved and venerated.
Jainism,a traditional Indian religion, observes non-violence towards all
creatures
Write four personal experiences or situations wherein your actions
subscribed to the teachings of animism.
What do you think?
How does respectfor inanimate objects help people build a moral attitude?
Keypoints
 Animism is the belief that all natural entities have spirits or souls. It
views all things, like animals, plants, and inanimate objects,as
sacred life forms.
 Religion is an organized system of beliefs and practices that explains
the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe. It involves societal
organization and a moral code that governs human affairs and order
of existence.
 A belief system is a set of principles that helps interpret natural and
supernatural occurrences that affectlives.
 Shintoism is the native religion of Japan which worships the
existence of natural objects such as mountains, rivers, rocks, and
trees.
 Hinduism is a religion that believes that the earth is an expressionof
their gods and must therefore be preserved and venerated.
 Jainism is a traditional Indian religion known for observing non-
violence towards all creatures.

4.  Animism is not practiced in isolation but expressed in many forms
and observed in both modernand traditional settings.
 Early inhabitants of Indonesia,China,Thailand,and other rice-
growing or agriculture-based territories were believed to have
practiced animism. People worship nature for adoration, blessings,
thanksgiving, and protection