Religion

HOW ANIMISTIC BELIEFS AND PRACTICES EMERGED IN MODERN RELIGIONS Animism is the doctrine which places the source of mental and even physical life in an energy independent of or at least distinct from the body. Animism can be divided into three categories: Worship of the souls of men and animals, manifesting itself above all as worship of the dead(Necolatry); worship of spiritual beings who are not associated in a permanent way with certain bodies …

…of Jesus; Muslims walk around the sacred Black Stone and kiss it during their pilgrimage to Mecca; Hindus bathe in the sacred Ganges; Parsis bring gifts of sandalwood to be burned in the sacred fire temple; Christians and even secular people go on pilgrimages to the graves of presidents and rock stars. The animistic understanding of life is one of the most pervasive and influential of all the impulse of mankind - religions. Word Count (1583).