Animism
Culture Region- Animism currently has around 232 million but there are many variations of it. It is the belief that animals and plants have a spiritual essence with them and that even inanimate objects can have this spiritual essence on occasion. Animism is not a specific organized religion but yet it is a term referring to indigenous tribes that generally have practices involving these beliefs.
Diffusion- Animism is widely spread across the African continent by the indigenous people that still live there. Animism has not spread out of Africa much at all since most of the people practicing it choose to be isolated from the rest of the modern world. There is no known founder of these religions since some form of Animism has been practiced for millenia.
Religious Ecology- Since the people that practice Animism believe that animals and plants posses a spiritual essence, these plants and animals need to be treated with the utmost respect and in some cases, they need to be revered as holy. Many indigenous groups live among these plants and animals and for them to treat these things poorly would be ruining their own home.
Culture Integration- Animism is a huge part of every day life in the African culture. It is incorporated into everything that they do. In our modern world on the other hand, Animism is considered a dying belief as it withers away with the emergence of modern technology.
Cultural Landscapes- There are no specific religious sites of worship for all of the people that practice Animism as a whole. Holy sites vary from tribe to tribe and region to region.