Already used by Stahl in 1707 in his work Theoria medica vera (True Medical Theory) to denote, in the medical field, the theory that identifies the soul with the life principle, in anthropology animism refers to Tylor’s concept of religion, which he expounded in Primitive Culture (1871). In anthropology the term animism has also been
The ultimate source of the term animism is the Latin word, anima, meaning spirit, soul, or life force. In contemporary anthropology, animism is the generic term for numerous and diverse religions focused on the belief that nature includes spirits, sacred forces, and similar extraordinary phenomena. This is reflected in the classic minimal definition of religion