Presented at the Symposium "Distinctively Christian, Distinctly Mongolian"
in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, on March 11, 2003
By Dr. Gailyn Van Rheenen
I begin this description of animistic worldviews with some
trepidation. I acknowledge that views about animism (and the Christian
approach to animism) vary greatly. Some have not been trained to see
animistic realities. They merely conclude it is something that old people
do. Others see animism from a secular perspective and discount it as
superstition. The encounter between Christianity and animism, therefore,
takes the form of ridicule. A few Christian leaders emphasize power so much
that they implicitly incorporate animistic elements into Christian thinking
and practice. Their encounter with animism is paradoxically more animistic
than Christian.
Many (especially Western missionaries and Westernized
Christian leaders) know little of animism and disregard it in the discussion
of Christian ministry. They are oblivious to the dilemmas of animists who
are on a journey to come to Christ. Many others understand the issues to
some degree, desire to learn more, but have never had the opportunity. This
presentation will be especially meaningful to them.
The purpose of this lecture is to describe five
presuppositions of an animistic worldview, and based upon understanding
these presuppositions, define animism. Understanding animism will then
enable us to more effectively minister in animistic contexts.
Presuppositions of an Animistic Worldview
The Seen is Related to the Unseen
First, animists assume that the seen world is
related to the unseen world. An interaction exists between the divine
and the human, the sacred and the profane, the holy and the secular. The
influences of God, gods, spirits, and ancestors affect the living. Humans
are thought to be controlled by spiritual forces, whether they are ancestors
or ghosts, gods or spirits, witchcraft or sorcery, and curses or the evil
eye. They in turn seek to appease the powers through sacrifices and
libations, to access power to cope with evil through ritual, and to protect
themselves through charms and amulets.
Christians, shaped by Western education and philosophy, are
usually unable to perceive the spiritual world. They divide reality into
two big slices: the natural and the supernatural--the secular and
spiritual. This division can be traced all the back to Thomas Aquinas
(1215-1274). Based upon Aristotelian thought, Aquinas differentiated
nature and grace. "Grace" was the higher realm of God, heaven,
and the unseen. "Nature" was the lower realm of the created, the earthly,
and the visible.
REALM God
OF GRACE Heaven
The unseen
_____________________________________________________
REALM The
created
OF NATURE The earthly
The visible
Figure 1: Aquinas' Model of Grace and Nature
Over a period of time the realm of nature became autonomous
from the higher realm and began to consume it. "Enlightenment" thinking
amplified this process by emphasizing the superiority of human reason and
negating (or in some cases limiting) the influence of the spiritual
realm upon life. Francis Schaeffer writes, "It is destructive when nature
is made autonomous. As soon as one accepts the concept of an autonomous
realm, one finds that the lower element begins to eat up the higher"
(Schaeffer 1968, 209-214).
Contemporary Western cultures still reflects the two-tiered
view of reality that segments the natural and supernatural. Spiritual
beings are relegated to the realm of the supernatural where they can only be
perceived by miracles and visions. Humans are thought to dwell in the
natural realm where they have little contact with spiritual beings or
forces. Few, if any, spiritual beings and impersonal forces are thought to
exist in the world. This compartmentalization of the natural and the
supernatural is diagramed as follows:
SUPERNATURAL Angels
Perceived by miracles
REALM Demons
and visions
God People act by faith.
____________________________________________________________
NATURAL Man
Perceived by sight and
REALM The Church
experience
Science People act by knowledge.
The World
Figure 2:
The Western Compartmentalization of the Natural and
Supernatural
(Adapted from Hiebert 1983)
Hiebert, in an insightful article entitled "The Flaw of the
Excluded Middle" (1982, 35-47), suggests that Western culture has neglected
the realm of this-worldly spiritual beings and forces which exists between
the natural and the supernatural. Belief in this middle realm began to wane
during the Age of Enlightenment due to "the secularization of science and
the mystification of religion" (Hiebert 1982, 43). Reflecting their Western
heritage, many missionaries have traditionally excluded this middle realm.
They, consequently, are ill-prepared to communicate the gospel in animistic
contexts where this realm is emphasized. Hiebert testifies, "As a scientist
I had been trained to deal with the empirical world in naturalistic terms.
As a theologian, I was taught to answer ultimate questions in theistic
terms. For me the middle zone did not really exist" (1982, 43). When
Hiebert entered an Indian context where rakasas ("evil spirits") and
ancestors were known to impact life and had to be manipulated and
controlled, he had no answers to questions of the middle realm (1982, 43).
Peter O'Brien recounts a similar experience. His rethinking of the nature
of principalities and powers began as he taught at a theological seminary in
Asia. He found that his students considered Paul's perception of the powers
"perfectly intelligible in their own cultural contexts," but they critically
objected to the Western commentaries which failed "to take seriously the
accounts about demons, exorcism, and Christ's defeat of them" (O'Brien 1984,
130). Thus while those of an animistic heritage emphasize the excluded
middle, missionaries sent to teach them have little conception of this
realm.
Animists do not make the typical Western dichotomy between
the natural and the supernatural. This is true even in North American
animistic contexts. For example, a foundational concept of the New Age
movement is that the physical world and the spiritual world are
"interrelated, interdependent, and interpenetrating" (Groothuis 1986,
18-20). Tina Lucia, a New Age therapist living in Stone Mountain, Georgia,
uses crystals for healing purposes because "physical problems are
manifestations of spiritual problems" (Friedrich 1987, 64). John Taylor,
writing about an African context, says, "No distinction can be made between
sacred and secular, between natural and supernatural, for Nature, Man and
the Unseen are inseparably involved in one another in a total community"
(1963, 64). In animistic contexts no distinction can be made between the
natural and the supernatural. "Whatever happens in the physical world has
its spiritual coordinates . . . . Everything man is, does, handles,
projects, and interacts with is interpenetrated with the spiritual" (Steyne
1989, 39).
Life is Interconnected
Second, animists believe that all of life is
interconnected. People are intimately linked to their families,
some of whom are living and some who have already passed into the spiritual
realm. They are also connected to the spiritual world: The
ambivalent yearnings of gods and spirits impact the living. Animists feel a
connectedness with nature: The stars, planets, and moon are thought
to affect earthly events. The natural realm is so related to the human
realm that practitioners divine current and future events by analyzing what
animals are doing or by sacrificing animals and analyzing their livers,
entrails, or stomachs. Many animists also believe that they are connected
with other human beings. They are able to access the thoughts of
other human beings through Extra Sensory Perception (ESP) or some other
types of thought transfers.
These interconnections of life appear more overtly during
cultural rituals (birth rites, coming-of-age ceremonies, weddings, and
funerals) than at any other times. For example, traditional Kipsigis living
in Kenya believe that the spirits of the dead will eventually be called back
to live in the bodies of another generation. This is not obvious unless the
missionary sees and hears what occurs at traditional burial ceremonies.
When a father dies, his eldest son throws crabgrass into the grave as a
parting blessing and verbally bids his father farewell. "Go safely," he
says. "We will soon call you to come back to us." This calling back of the
dead into life is done when a new child is born. Such an explicit statement
of a cyclical worldview is seldom heard except at times of death and birth.
The traditional Kipsigis hope is this-worldly--to be reborn into the present
world. These animistic perspectives of life become apparent to the
identificational missionary during death and funeral rites. Without
understanding these motifs, the missionary lives in a cultural void.
Power is Sought to Control Life
Third, animists seek power to control the affairs of everyday
life. The essence of Animism is power--power of the ancestor to control
those of his lineage, power of an evil eye to kill a newborn or ruin a
harvest, power of planets to affect earthly destiny, power of the demonic to
possess a spiritist, power of magic to control human events, power of
impersonal forces to heal a child or make a person wealthy. Animism's
"foundation is based in power and in power personalities" (Kamps 1986, 5).
This power can be used malevolently to harm one's
enemy or benevolently to enable a barren wife to give birth to a
child. When an individual secretly uses spiritual power, the intent is
almost always malevolent--meant to cause suffering. The public use of
spiritual power by recognized leaders of a society is usually benevolent,
discovering who has brought evil upon the society. Power might also be
classified as ambivalent--used to either help or hinder depending on
the disposition of the possessor. Whether spiritual power is used
negatively, positively, or ambivalently, its existence is never
questioned by the animist.
Animists' relationships with spiritual beings is viewed in
terms of power. Spiritual beings are propitiated, coerced, and placated
because they have power. Magic ritual is employed because of its power to
influence impersonal spiritual forces and personal spiritual beings.
Shamans reveal to the living the source of powers which impact their lives.
Various methodologies of divination are employed to determine what power is
causing misfortune or illness and what other power(s) must be employed to
counter such negative power. Animism is a power religion based upon
manipulation and coercion of spiritual powers.
Christians of an animistic heritage must not view God’s power
as something to be manipulated and coerced. They have been called into a
loving, covenant relationship with creator God. Within this covenant
relationship Christians perceive that not only is God's power quantitatively
greater than Satan's, but its quality also has a different nature. Satan's
power is debasing--contorting the disobedient who follow the cravings of
their own sinful nature (Eph. 2:3). God's power, rooted in his great love,
raises believers above these earthly cravings into heavenly realms (Eph.
2:4-6). Not only is God's power quantitatively greater than Satan's, the
quality is also different.
Controlling Powers are Determined by Divination
Four, animists seek to determine by divination what powers
and forces are influencing their lives. Marta, a Bolivian Christian
living in La Paz, was frightened. She was feeling sick and steadily losing
weight. Soon after doctors indicated that nothing was wrong, a friend
half-jokingly commented, "Somebody must have put a spell on you." Marta
casually mentioned this to her mother, a Sunday school superintendent and
faithful church member, never imagining that her mother would take the
comment seriously. Her mother approached a curandero, a shaman who
divines the source of problems, prescribes solutions, and sometimes casts
spells. The curandero divined Marta's problem by casting coca leaves
and analyzing their pattern. Her illness, the curandero said, was
caused by the jealously of her husband's former girlfriend, who had cast a
spell on her. The curandero prescribed that a live guinea pig be
rubbed over Marta's body to absorb the spell. This pig would then be taken
to the girlfriend's town and burned. This rite would both free Marta from
the spell and kill the other woman (Koop 1987, 6). Even faithful Christians
in animistic contexts are tempted to turn to divination during times of
crises.
Divination, as illustrated in the story of Marta, is the
decision-making process by which animists determine the impact of personal
and impersonal powers upon themselves. Divination is a method for "bringing
into the open what is hidden or unknown" to make everyday decisions of life
(Turner 1981, 29). This discovery of the unknown is a twofold process.
First, animists seek to discover the source of an immediate, everyday
problem. In the case of Marta the casting and reading of coca leaves was the
methodology for discovering the cause of her illness. Second, animists seek
to determine an appropriate human response based on the knowledge gained in
the initial stage of divination. In the case of Marta the rubbing of a live
guinea pig over her body and burning it in the place where the enemy lived
inverted the power, turning it around to kill the one who initiated it.
Diviners use innumerable and varied types of methods to
determine the will of spiritual powers. They check omens, use astrology,
divine by technique, employ ordeals, rely on guidance from the dead,
interpret dreams and visions, and divine while possessed. These types of
divination are based on the conception that the universe functions
harmoniously as an organism. The stars of the heavens, the signs of nature,
the dreams of the night, and the wishes of spiritual beings are all
interrelated and connected to events which occur in the world. What happens
to one part of the organism is reflected in its other parts. The
astrologist reads signs of the heavens to determine the workings of the
world. He believes that these elements work together harmoniously in an
interconnected world.
The motivation that leads animists to perform divination is
opposed to the very nature of God. God is love, and this love leads him to
personally relate to humanity. While prayerful supplication affects his
working, divination implies a desire to force deity, an impatience to look
behind the curtain of time, a disbelief in God's sovereignty. It is an
attempt to manipulate the spiritual forces of God's world to learn its
secrets and manipulate them for personal benefit. These motivations, based
on greedy self-benefit, are alien to the mind of God. While the Christian
way is relational, the animistic way is manipulative.
Sources of Evil are Anxiously Sought
Five, animists are concerned about what powers have or
will in the future cause evil in their lives. They consequently live in
fear. They believe that only by use of the powers can they be successful.
They desperately search for information to ward off evil and manipulate the
powers to do their bidding. They may appease the spirits before and after
harvest, seek the spirit world to insure success before the marriage of
their daughter, determine how the planets and stars will be arranged on the
day of an important election, or dress their male child like a girl so that
he might not be injured by the evil eye of a jealous neighbor.
Animists are never completely confident that all powers are
lined up on their side. When confronted with unexpected evil, they typically
ask questions like "Who has caused this affliction to come upon us? Why has
it happened to our family at this particular time? What power is troubling
us? Has this been caused by an ancestor? By some spirit? By witchcraft?
By the evil eye? By the stars? Who can help us discover the cause and
source of this evil?"
Benevolent animistic specialists are consulted to determine
the cause of the affliction and prescribe remedies. It might be determined
that malevolent practitioners have brought the evil upon those afflicted.
Sometimes malevolent practitioners, despised and feared in every animistic
society, are consulted to defeat enemies.
These characteristics will all appear in some form in our
definition of animism.
Defining Animism
The term animism originally meant "belief in spiritual
beings.” Edward Tylor, considered the father of the discipline
Anthropology, wrote, "Animism, in its full development, includes the belief
in souls and in a future state, in controlling deities and subordinate
spirits, . . . resulting in some kind of active worship" (1970b, 11). These
spirits include both those of living ancestors who are "capable of continued
existence" after death and "other spirits, upward to the rank of powerful
deities" (Tylor 1970b, 10). Through his cultural studies in Melanesia R.H.
Codrington discovered beliefs in impersonal spiritual forces (1891). It
soon became clear in both anthropological study and missionary ministry that
no clear differentiation can be made between personal spiritual beings and
impersonal forces. These powers are thought to exist side by side and
interact with each other. For example, in Folk Islam
In most world cultures personal spiritual beings exist side
by side with impersonal spiritual forces and even interact with each other.
Therefore, a broader definition of Animism is needed—one that acknowledges
that impersonal and personal spiritual powers cannot be easily segmented.
Animism then can be defined as
"the belief that personal spiritual beings and impersonal spiritual forces
have power over human affairs and that humans, consequently, must discover
what beings and forces are impacting them in order to determine future
action and, frequently, to manipulate their power." We will now
discuss the various components of this definition.
Animism is a belief system through which reality is
perceived. The seen world is related to the unseen. Personal spiritual
beings and impersonal spiritual forces are everywhere thought to be shaping
what happens in the animists' world. Animists live in continual fear of
these powers.
Beings and forces are
thought to exist side-by-side in animistic contexts. Beings are
personal spirits that include God, gods, ancestors, ghosts, totemic spirits,
nature spirits, angels, demons, and Satan. Forces are impersonal
powers. They include the power behind the use of magic, astrology,
witchcraft, evil eye, and other related phenomena. Some cultures have broad,
descriptive terms for this power, like mana in Melanesia, toh
in parts of Indonesia, and baraka in the Muslim world. Since
personal spiritual beings and impersonal spiritual forces interact in
animistic cultures, they must be studied in relation to one another
Because the essence of animism is power, this word is
central to the definition. Animists believe in the power of the ancestor to
control those of his lineage, the power of an evil eye to kill a newborn or
ruin a harvest, the power of planets to affect earthly destiny, the power of
the demonic to possess a spiritist, the power of magic to control human
events, and the power of impersonal forces to heal a child or make a person
wealthy.
The phrase "discovering what beings and forces are
impacting life" defines the role of divination in the life
of the animist. The animist lives in fearful of the spiritual powers that
might bring evil upon his life. He believes that only by use of the powers
can he be successful. He desperately searches for information to ward off
evil and manipulate the powers to do his bidding.
The phrases "to determine future action" and "to
manipulate their power" designate the two primary functions of animism.
Animists first determine what spiritual beings and forces are impacting them
through some sort of divination and then seek to manipulate these powers by
appeasement or ritual to do their will.
Understanding Spiritism in Brazil will help us see these
concepts within a specific cultural context.
An Illustration: Gods and Spirits in Brazil
Although
Brazil is officially a Catholic nation, it has been called "the land where
spirits thrive" (Maust 1985, 48). In fact, more Brazilians participate in
spiritistic rituals than go to mass (Nielson 1988, 94). Spiritism is a new
religion derived both consciously and unconsciously from the blending of
many different heritages of Brazilian thought and culture. Early Portugese
settlers, although nominally Catholic, were animistic. Their worship
"centered on a cult of the saints, promises, communications with the dead .
. . largely to the exclusion of doctrinal matters and the sacraments" (Bruneau
1982, 24). Religious reforms which touched other parts of the European
continent had little influence upon the Christo-pagan Catholicism of
Portugal. African slaves added another element to Brazilian spiritism.
These slaves were forced to outwardly embrace Catholicism, but the gods that
they from Africa became intertwined with this new religion. They thought
that if their African gods could not help in a certain situation, maybe the
other deities could be induced to act. In time the West African gods became
interchangeable with Catholic deities (St. Clair 1971, 62).[2]
Brazilian Spiritism was also influenced by the
writings of Denizard Rivail, a French doctor who claimed to be the
reincarnation of the Druid Allan Kardec. A high class Spiritism, called
Kardecism and characterized by "reincarnation, seances, healings, and enough
Christian terminology to confuse people" (Maust 1985, 49), developed from
this French influence upon Brazil. Finally, Brazilian Spiritism was also
influenced by the animistic beliefs of indigenous Indians.
This merging
of Catholic, African, French, and Indian heritages of animism has led to new
forms of Spiritism in Brazil. For example, Umbanda, the largest of the
Spiritist groups, has effectively syncretized animistic belief in spiritual
beings to fit the Brazilian context. Zelio de Moraes, Umbanda's founder,
divined solutions to people's problems while possessed by the spirit of a
Brazilian half-breed named Caboclo of the Seven Crossroads. Caboclo was
half-Indian and half-African. Because of his mixed breeding, he communicated
directly with the local Indian spirits who once inhabited the land and the
African spirits of Condomble. Brazilians understood this mixing of blood.
Caboclo was one of them. As a half-breed, he could understand their nation
and their problems. Caboclo told Zelio that neither Kardecism nor Condomble
was right. He began to dictate a new set of rules incorporating parts of
Kardecism, Condomble, and Catholicism with other distinctive elements into a
new whole (St. Clair 1971, 136-137). Like Caboclo and the nation of Brazil,
Umbanda seeks to unify a people of many different heritages by integrating
animistic beliefs from each tradition.
Spiritism,
whatever its distinctive form, is based on the belief that humans can
contact spirits and influence them to act on their behalf. Hundreds of
believers come to spiritist centers to seek guidance from spirit-gods.
During an orunko ceremony, the spirit-gods come down and "ride" the
mediums, who are considered the cavalos ("horses") of the
spirit-gods. Through the mediums these gods divine solutions to all types
of human problems: A woman estranged from her lover seeks the cause of the
disrupted relationship and the course of action to bring reconciliation; the
sick yearn to know what has caused the illness and how health can be
restored; and the businessman seeks the reason his business has fallen apart
and how it might be rejuvenated.
Condomble,
Kardecism, and Umbanda are distinct contextualizations of animistic beliefs
drawn from various cultural streams. Christians generally classify these
pagan gods as demonic forces dressed up in contemporary garments.
Conclusion
These basic understandings of animism can only help us to
more effectively minister in animistic contexts. The following lectures
will continue this discussion: How should the Gospel be distinctively
communicated in animistic contexts? How should Christians define power?
Why are they receptive when the Gospel is distinctively presented? To what
degree has Western cultural baggage hindered us from effectively
communicating a distinctive Christian message in animistic contexts?
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Bruneau, Thomas C. 1982. The Church in Brazil --The
Politics of Religion. Austin:
University of Texas Press.
Friedrich, Otto. 1987. New Age harmonies. Time, 7
December, 62-72.
Groothuis, Douglas R. 1986. Unmasking the New Age.
Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity.
Hiebert, Paul. 1982. The flaw of the excluded middle.
Missiology 10 (January):35-47.
Kamps, Timothy James. 1986. The biblical forms and elements
of power encounter. Master's thesis,
Columbia
Graduate School of Bible and Missions, Columbia, S.C.
Maust, John. 1985. The land where spirits thrive.
Christianity Today (13 December): 48-50.
Nielson, Niels C. 1988. Umbanda in Brazil. In Religions
of the World, 94-99. New York: St. Martin's.
O'Brien, P.T. 1984. Principalities and powers: Opponents of
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Touch Publications.
Taylor, John V. 1963. The Primal Vision. London:
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Turner, Victor W. 1981. The Drums of Affliction.
London: Hutchinson.
Tylor, Edward. 1970. Religion in Primitive Culture
(Primitive Culture, Part 2). London: John Murray,
1958. Reprint, Gloucester, Mass.: Peter Smith.
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