http://www.adherents.com/index.html
Animism
Group
animism
animism
Where
Australia
Hong Kong
Indonesia:
animism Borneo - Iban
animism
animism
Indonesia:
Sarawak
world
Number
of
Adherents
727
-
-
-
-
Number
of
congreg./
churches/
units
% of
total
pop.
0.00%
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Number
of
countries
-
-
-
-
-
Year
Source
Quote/
Notes
1996
*LINK* Parliament of Australia web
site; page: "Census 96: Religion "
(viewed 18 Dec. 1999)
Self-identification, from 1996 govt. census. [Listed in table
as "Animism ", i.e., people who specifically identified their
religion as such. Distinct from Australian aboriginal
religions.]
1998
Kagda, Falaq. Hong Kong (series:
Cultures of the World). New York:
Marshall Cavendish Corp. (1998); pg.
67.
"Most Hong Kong Chinese practice a mix of Buddhism,
Taoism, and Confucianism... Animism can still be found;
offerings or joss sticks are placed at the foot of certain rocks
and trees that are believed to house spirits. "
1970
Cavendish, Richard (ed.). Man, Myth
& Magic: An Illustrated Encyclopedia "Nowhere in the world is animism so developed, elaborated
of the Supernatural (vol. 3). New
and intellectualized as among the Iban people of Sarawak
York: Marshall Cavendish Corp.
and the related tribes of Borneo... "
(1970); pg. 312.
1970
Cavendish, Richard (ed.). Man, Myth
& Magic: An Illustrated Encyclopedia "Nowhere in the world is animism so developed, elaborated
of the Supernatural (vol. 3). New
and intellectualized as among the Iban people of Sarawak
York: Marshall Cavendish Corp.
and the related tribes of Borneo... "
(1970); pg. 312.
1981
Crim, Keith (ed.). The Perennial
Dictionary of World Religions. San
Francisco: Harper Collins (1989).
Reprint; originally pub. as Abingdon
Dictionary of Living Religions, 1981;
pg. 37.
"Animism. The belief that all of reality is pervaded or
inhabited by spirits or souls; the belief that all of reality is in
some sense animate. The term, which was introduced by
Tylor, is often used imprecisely for the religions of all the
small, isolated, technologically simple, preliterate societies
of the world--the societies which are sometimes pejoratively
and inaccurately called 'primitive.' Some form of animism is
a characteristic feature, often an important one, of such
religions, but it is also found in some of the so-called 'higher'
ones. "
Animism cont.
Group
animism
animism
Where
world
world
Number
of
Adherents
Number
% of
of
total congreg./
pop. churches/
units
- 40.00%
-
-
-
-
Number
of
countries
-
-
Year Source
1991
1994
Quote/
Notes
Halverson, Dean C. (ed.) The
Compact Guide to World Religions;
Colorado Springs, Colorado:
International Students Inc. (1996).
[Publisher is an Evangelical
missionary organization.]; pg. 38.
"...although precise figures are hard to come by, the
estimates concerning the percentages of animists in the
world are large... Gailyn Van Rheenen, an expert on
animistic religions, estimates that 'at least 40% of the world's
population' is animistic. " [Note: This is an unusually high
estimate, and probably an extreme/aberrant use of the term.
Most records where the source has listed a segment of the
population as "animist " or practicing "animism " are listed
as "primal-indigenous " in Adherents.com]
*LINK* Hexham, Irving. Concise
Dictionary of Religion. Carol Stream,
USA: InterVarsity Press (1994). (v.
online 6 Oct. 1999)
"ANIMISM: a very misleading term often used to
characterize African and other non-literate religious systems.
The term was first introduced by Sir Edward B. TYLOR as a
'minimum definition' of RELIGION... Today the term
animism has fallen into disuse among serious scholars of
religion although it is still retained by some
MISSIOLOGISTS. The reason most academics have
rejected this term is because it fails to recognize the highly
complex NATURE of many non-literate religions which do
not rely on simplistic notions of the spiritual world. The idea
behind animism is in fact a racist one which assumes that
non-literate peoples lack the INTELLECTUAL ability to
develop complex religions and PHILOSOPHIES. It is
therefore best abandoned to allow for the recognition of the
complexity of religious systems. "
http://www.adherents.com/index.html
Polytheism
Group
Number
%
Number
of
Number
of
of
congreg./
of
Where
total
Adherents
churches/ countries
pop.
units
polytheism world
polytheism world
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Year
-1220
B.C.E.
1970
Source
Quote/
Notes
Yenne, Bill. 100 Men Who Shaped
World History. San Francisco, CA:
Bluewood Books (1994); pg. 10.
"Moses. 1300-.1220 BC... Most ancient religions--such as those in
Mesopotamia, Egypt, India, Greece and later Rome--were
polytheistic, meaning that their followers believed in many gods
and goddesses, such as a god of the Sun, a goddess of the Moon,
and so on... "
Cavendish, Richard (ed.). Man, Myth &
Magic: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of
the Supernatural (vol. 16). New York:
Marshall Cavendish Corp. (1970); pg.
2233.
"Polytheism. From Greek word for 'many' and 'god', belief in
many gods, who preside over different departments of Nature and
aspects of life; distinguished from monotheism, belief that there is
only one God, and from henotheism, devotion to a single god
without asserting that he is the only one. "
http://www.adherents.com/index.html
Monotheism
Group
Number
%
Number
of
Number
of
of
congreg./
of
Year Source
Where
total
Adherents
churches/ countries
pop.
units
monotheism world
-
-
-
-
1970
Cavendish, Richard (ed.). Man, Myth &
Magic: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of the
Supernatural (vol. 16). New York:
Marshall Cavendish Corp. (1970); pg.
2233.
Quote/
Notes
"Polytheism. From Greek word for 'many' and 'god', belief in many
gods, who preside over different departments of Nature and aspects
of life; distinguished from monotheism, belief that there is only one
God, and from henotheism, devotion to a single god without
asserting that he is the only one. "