animism

English anthropologist, Edward Burnett Tylor look at the social evolution, language, and myths of primitive cultures.

"At one time, God was a bird. In ancient Egypt, Thoth was the Ibis-headed divinity of magic & wisdom. Winged divine beings populated the pantheon of Greek antiquity, & Quetzalcoatl was the plumed serpent deity of the pre-Columbian Aztecs. It is said that in spite of, or better, to spite, this time-honoured wealth of divine avifauna, Christianity divorced God from the avian world in order to defend a pure form of monotheism. This work calls this new but ancient vision of the world 'Christian animism' in order to signal the continuity of biblical religion with the beliefs of indigenous & non-Western communities that Spirit enfleshes itself within everything that grows, walks, flies, & swims in & over the Earth"--OCLC.

Provides a comprehensive overview of the various practices and beliefs of animism--the acceptance of the idea that souls exist in animals, plants, and other objects.