Contemporary Status of Animism

Are Animistic Beliefs Disappearing?

    At one time missiologists believed that Animism would fade away.  They presumed that participants of animistic rites would forsake these rites to become participants of world religions.  In 1973 Tippett gave Animism "ten years, at the very utmost twenty" to disappear (Tippett 1973, 9).  Phil Elkins in the 1960s wrote of the urgency of missions to receptive animistic areas: 

Within the present century the progress of the world will bring all primitive or animistic people into some advanced religion.  They will become Christians, Roman Catholics, Muslems, Hindus, Buddhists, or Communists. . . .  If pure animists, who can be won today, are spurned by Christians in favor of trying to win irresponsive Muslems, Buddhists, Hindus, then in the next forty years these animists will become Muslems, Buddhists, Communists or something else.  (Elkins 1964, 10)

    However, Animism has not died; in many cases it has extended itself.  In writing about missiological trends, David Hesselgrave says, "Cults and the occult, Satanism and witchcraft, are not only surviving on the mission fields of the world, they are also thriving there and simultaneously invading the Western world!" (1988, 205).  Just as Israel was tempted to forget the sovereignty of God to follow animistic Baalism, so are many nominal Christians forsaking God to serve present-day Baals. In some areas of the world (Brazil, for example) folk Catholicism in the rural areas has reformulated itself into organized, vibrant spiritism cults in the urban centers.  Hoornaert writes that Spiritism is "the expression of the religion lived by the majority of Brazilians" (1982, 72).  Twenty-five percent of the Brazilian people are overt spiritists with numerous Catholics being active spiritist participants when confronted with extreme illness, catastrophe, or problems of interpersonal relationships.  In fact, it is estimated that more Brazilians routinely engage in spiritistic rituals than go to Catholic mass (Nielson 1988, 94).

    Despite the growth of Christianity and Islam in Africa, traditional religion is very much alive.  The African theologian Bolaji Idowu writes, "It is well known that in strictly personal matters relating to the passages of life and the crises of life, African Traditional Religion is regarded as the final succor by most Africans. . . .  In matters concerning providence, healing, and general well-being, therefore, most Africans still look to "their own religion" as "the way" (1973, 206).

    In areas where secularism has predominated (North America and Europe), animistic streams of culture are on the rise.  In the North America some cults overtly worship Satan, channel ancestral and astral spirits, attempt to access universal life energy, and revere cultic personalities making them gods.  In Europe Animism continues both under the guise of Catholicism and as a cultic phenomena.  Some studies have shown that the number of witches in France exceeds the Protestant population (Itioka 1990, 9).  A missionary to France writes:

The other day, in the supermarket parking lot, a woman offered to read my palm and tell me a "secret."  I refused, almost wanting to accept out of curiosity.  Quite often here in Toulouse, I receive announcements in my mail box from mediums or seers claiming they have the power to find lost loved ones, to help with love matches, or to look into the future.  The desire to know what is around the corner of our lives is a powerful one, especially if our only hope is in this life (Bennett 1990, 1).

Itioka, in writing about mission trends of the 1990s, comments:  "What we are seeing is a reversal of worldviews.  While the northern hemisphere is becoming more pagan, the southern hemisphere is being evangelized" (1990, 10).

    Generally Animism is not dying but reshaping itself into new contemporary forms.  In some areas animists are becoming Christians, orthodox Muslims, and high religious Buddhists and Hindus.  However, in other societies people are rejecting beliefs in high God and various secular beliefs and embracing Animism.  As long as Satan maintains his grip on the world, Animism as a belief system will not die but simply change with changing times.

How Animistic is Today's World?

    Stephen C. Neill has estimated that 40 percent of the world's population base their lives on animistic thinking (1970, 125).  Because Animism frequently hides behind the facade of other world religions, Neill's already high percentage is probably a low estimate.  According to Kamps' interpretation of the data of Winter and Graham (1982), most of the world's "unreached peoples" are animistic:  "Among the 88 percent of those classified as unreached peoples, it is estimated that 135 million are tribal animists and 1.9 billion are involved in a world religion based in animism" (Kamps 1986, 6).  Thus Warner is correct when he says, "The unreached world as a whole is animistic at its base" (1988a).

    The sheer number of animistic peoples indicates the need for missionaries to learn to communicate God's message in animistic contexts.  Hesselgrave has insightfully said, "It may seem incongruous to the missionary heading for Sao Paulo or Santiago to study tribal religion, but it is doubtful that he will ever really understand Catholicism as it is actually practiced by Brazilians and Chileans-to say nothing of widespread spiritism-until he does.  And understanding must precede effective communication"  (1978, 193).

    The persistence and revival of animistic beliefs in the twentieth century demonstrate the need for qualified missionaries who understand the logic of animistic worldviews and who are prepared to powerfully proclaim God's victory over all powers and forces as demonstrated by the life, resurrection, and exaltation of Jesus Christ.

Works Cited

Bennett, Sherry. 1990. News from Toulouse. Missionary Newsletter. March.

Elkins, Phil. 1964. Toward a More Effective Mission Work. Dallas: Christian Publishing Co.

Hesselgrave, David J. 1978. Communicating Christ Cross-Culturally. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

________. 1988. Today's Choices for Tomorrow's Mission: An Evangelical Perspective on Trends and Moral Issues in Mission. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

Hoornaert, Eduardo. 1982. Verdadeira e falsa religiae no Nordes. Salvador, Bahia: Editora Beneditina 1982, 72. Quoted in Thomas C. Bruneau. The Church in Brazil--The Politics of Religion, 25. Austin: University of Texas Press.

Idowu, E. Bolaji. 1973. African Traditional Religion--A Definition. London: SCM.

Itioka, Neuza. 1990. Mission in the 1990s: Two views. International Bulleting of Missionary Research 14 (January): 7-10.

Neill, Stephen C. 1970. Christian Faith and Other Faiths. New York: Oxford.

Nielson, Niels C., Norvin Hein, Frank E. reynolds, Alan L. Miller, Samuel E. Karff, Alice C. Cowan, Paul McLean, and Timothy Paul Erdel. 1988b. Umbanda in Brazil. In Religions of the World, 94-99. New York: St. Martin's.

Tippett, Alan R. 1973. Verdict Theology in Missionary Theory. Pasadena, CA: William Carey Library.

Warner, Timothy. 1988a. Power encounter. Classroom notes from D833 at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, 11-15 January. Deerfield, IL.

Winter, Ralph D., and D. Bruce Graham. 1982. Unreached Peoples of the World 1983. Pasadena, CA: U.S. Center for World Missions. A poster.

Copyright ©2000 by Gailyn Van Rheenen -- excerpt from Communicating Christ in Animistic Contexts (Pasadena: William Carey Library, 1996)

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