Editing Animatism (section)

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'''Animatism''' is a term coined by British [[anthropologist]] [[Robert Ranulph Marett|Robert Marett]] in the context of his teleological theory of the evolution of religion. It refers to "a belief in a generalized, impersonal power over which people have some measure of control".<ref name="Ferraro, Gary 2008. p. 340">Ferraro, Gary. 2008. ''Cultural Anthropology: An Applied Perspective, 7th ed.'' Belmont, CA: Thompson Wadsworth. p. 340</ref> Marett argues that certain cultures believe "people, animals, plants, and inanimate objects were endowed with certain powers, which were both impersonal and supernatural."<ref name="Ferraro, Gary 2008. p. 340" /> ''[[Mana (Oceanian mythology)|Mana]]'', Marett states, is a concentrated form of animatistic force found within any of these objects that confer power, strength, and success.<ref>Ferraro, Gary. 2008. ''Cultural Anthropology: An Applied Perspective, 7th ed.'' Belmont, CA: Thompson Wadsworth.</ref>

Animatism is a belief that inanimate, miraculous qualities exists in the natural world. It also talks about the belief that everything is infused with a life force giving each lifeless object personality or perception, but not a soul as in animism. It is a widespread belief among small-scale societies. In South Pacific regions, such as Melanesia and Polynesia, this belief comes in form of manaism, which is derived from mana.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Mana {{!}} Polynesian and Melanesian religion|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/mana-Polynesian-and-Melanesian-religion|access-date=2020-11-02|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en}}</ref>

Many indigenous cultures believe in animatism. They believe that worshipping inanimate objects will drive them away from the evil forces around.<ref name=":0">{{Citation|last=Eswarappa|first=Kasi|title=Animatism|date=2019|url=https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27771-9_200238-1|work=Encyclopedia of Psychology and Religion|pages=1–4|editor-last=Leeming|editor-first=David A.|place=Berlin, Heidelberg|publisher=Springer|language=en|doi=10.1007/978-3-642-27771-9_200238-1|isbn=978-3-642-27771-9|access-date=2020-10-05|last2=Mathew|first2=Gladis S.|url-access=subscription}}</ref> These groups also believe that the inanimate objects they worship have mystical powers that are sent by God to help them on Earth.<ref name=":0" />

Animatism laid the foundation for animism by introducing the notion of supernatural forces residing within lifeless entities, thus paving the way for the development of more complex belief systems.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Talianova Eren |first=Mariia |title=Folklor Kaynaklarına Göre Eski Türk ve Slav İnanç Sistemi |publisher=Gazi Kitapevi |year=2020 |isbn=9786257315203 |pages=7 |language=tr}}</ref>