Definition of Animism

A Comprehensive Definition

    On this website animism is defined as the belief that personal spiritual beings and impersonal spiritual forces have power over human affairs and that humans, consequently, must discover what beings and forces are impacting them in order to determine future action and, frequently, to manipulate their power.  What are the cultural ramifications of this definition?  What are the implications of it for the Western missionary evangelizing in animistic contexts?

Animism:  A Belief System 

    Animism is a belief system through which reality is perceived.  This belief system assumes that the seen world is related to the unseen:  An interaction exists between the divine and the human, the sacred and the profane, the holy and the secular.  Personal spiritual beings and impersonal spiritual forces are everywhere thought to be shaping what happens in the animists' world.  Animists live in continual fear of these powers.

    A Western secularist would likely look at these beliefs with amazement and ridicule.  "How can these unseen powers be real?" he reasons.  "How can anyone really believe that spirits and forces should be feared, manipulated, or worshipped?"  To him, belief in spiritual beings and forces does not seem "logical."  However, the animist begins with different presuppositions.  He assumes that spirits and forces shape reality and interprets daily events to fit this model of reality.  While a Westerner generally interprets reality through a secular worldview believing no spiritual powers impact the living, the animist presupposes that all of life is being controlled by spiritual beings and forces.  The animistic model is as logical as the secular model, if one accepts the basic assumptions of spirits and forces shaping reality.

Animism:  A Belief in Beings and Forces 

    Beings and forces are typically interacting phenomena in animistic contexts.  Beings are personal spirits which include God, gods, ancestors, ghosts, totemic spirits, nature spirits, angels, demons, and Satan.  Forces are impersonal powers.  They include the power behind the use of magic, astrology, witchcraft, evil eye, and other related phenomena.  Some cultures have broad, descriptive terms for this power, like mana in Melanesia, toh in parts of Indonesia, and baraka in the Muslim world.  These impersonal spiritual powers will be discussed in Chapter 10.  Since personal spiritual beings and impersonal spiritual forces interact in animistic cultures, they must be studied in relation to one another.

Animism:  Power to Control Human Affairs

    The essence of Animism is power--power of the ancestor to control those of his lineage, power of an evil eye to kill a newborn or ruin a harvest, power of planets to affect earthly destiny, power of the demonic to possess a spiritist, power of magic to control human events, power of impersonal forces to heal a child or make a person wealthy.  Animism's "foundation is based in power and in power personalities" (Kamps 1986, 5).

    The secret use of spiritual power by an individual is almost always malevolent--meant to cause suffering.  When used publicly by recognized leaders of a society, spiritual power is often benevolent, discovering who has brought evil upon the society.  Whether spiritual power is used negatively or positively, its existence is never questioned by the animist.

Animism:  Discovering What Beings and Forces are Impacting Life 

    The animist lives in fear of the spiritual powers.  He may appease the spirits before and after harvest, seek the spirit world to insure success before the marriage of his daughter, determine how the planets and stars will be arranged on the day of an important election, or dress up his male child like a girl so that he might not be injured by the evil eye of a jealous neighbor.  The animist is overwhelmed by the many powers that might bring evil upon his life.  He believes that only by use of the powers can he be successful.  He desperately searches for information to ward off evil and manipulate the powers to do his bidding.

    He is never completely confident that all powers are lined up on his side.  When confronted with unexpected evil, he typically asks questions like "Who has caused this affliction to come upon me?  Why has it happened to my family at this particular time?  What power is troubling me?  Has this been caused by an ancestor?  By some spirit?  By witchcraft?  By the evil eye?  By the stars?  Who can help me discover the cause and source of this evil?"

    Benevolent animistic specialists are consulted to determine the cause of the affliction and prescribe remedies.  It might be determined that malevolent practitioners have brought the evil upon those afflicted.  Sometimes malevolent practitioners, despised and feared in every animistic society, are consulted to defeat enemies.  A taxonomy of both benevolent and malevolent animistic practitioners is given in Chapter 7.

    Each animistic society uses numerous methods to determine which powers are impacting their lives.  These methodologies of divination--omens, astrology, technique, ordeals, relying on the dead, dreams, and possession--will be discussed in Chapter 8.

Animism:  Determining Future Action and Manipulating Power 

    Animists seek to discover what beings and forces are impacting them in order to determine future action and, if necessary, manipulate powers that stand in the way of health, wealth, and security.  They believe that they can only determine future courses of action by discovering what is happening in the spiritual realms.  They may determine that the time is favorable to invest in the stock market, sign a treaty, plant crops in the fields, or marry a wife.  Ominous signs might lead them to postpone action or to attempt to manipulate the powers. 

    Much of Animism is based on manipulation.  The animist does not seek a personal relationship with the powers.  He rather seeks to manipulate spiritual beings and forces to do his will.  He might manipulate spiritual powers in order to determine the source of calamity, to predict the future, to curse those who are in opposition, or to determine a fortuitous time to invest in the stock market.

    People of God, in contrast to animists, believe that humans should neither divine spiritual causation nor attempt to manipulate the divine.  They must rely on God and pay homage to him.  The prophets exhorted Judah to "wait on the Lord" and "put trust in him" (Isa. 8:17).  But instead of "waiting on the Lord," they desired immediate knowledge and power and consequently began to consult the mediums and the wizards.  Isaiah rightly asked Israel: "Should not a people inquire of their God?  Why consult the dead on behalf of the living?" (Isa. 8:19).  They should have relied on the "law and testimony" in order to receive the true "light of dawn" (Isa. 8:20).  Instead of relying on God, they attempted to manipulate their destiny by animistic rites.

    The Judeo-Christian way is based upon personally relating to sovereign God giving to him glory and honor.   Conversely, the animistic way is based on manipulating the divine to serve human needs.  To guide the Christian evangelist to communicate God's eternal message in an animistic context, Chapters 5, 6, and 11 give theological integration and orientation to the study of spiritual powers.  Chapter 5 presents a basic biblical theology of spiritual beings and forces.  Christian proclamation in animistic contexts based on a biblical theology of the kingdom is described in Chapter 6.  Chapter 11 contrasts animistic and Christian perspectives of sin and salvation and gives guidelines for teaching Christian conceptions in animistic contexts.

Works Cited

Kamps, Timothy James. 1986. The biblical forms and elements of power encounter. Master's thesis, Columbia Graduate School of Bible and Missions, Columbia, S.C.

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

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