Meanings
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1
noun
the doctrine that all natural objects and the universe itself have souls
Animism is common among primitive peoples.
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2
noun
A belief that spirits inhabit some or all classes of natural objects or phenomena.
"I'm not entirely comfortable with the level of animism you and Hanners display towards that thing.".
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3
noun
A belief that an immaterial force animates the universe.
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4
noun
A doctrine that animal life is produced by an immaterial spirit.
Etymology
From anima + -ism, from Latin anima (“life", "breath", "soul”). Dated sense from German Animismus, coined c. 1720 by physicist/chemist Georg Ernst Stahl (1660-1734) See anima mundi.