animalism

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animalism

religion

Also known as: nagualism, theriocentrism

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June 18, 2026

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Animalism is the manifestation of animal traits or the gratification of base appetites. It is characterized by brutality, sensuality, and savagery. This concept is distinct from animism, which is the belief in spiritual beings concerned with human affairs.12

In prehistoric contexts, animalism describes a close magical and religious connection between humans and animals, often featuring human-animal hybrid figures and rituals aimed at appeasing game. This is also seen in hunting and gathering societies where animals, vital for survival, were respected and sometimes anthropomorphized due to a perceived close connection between humans and the natural world. While sometimes confused with animal worship or totemism, animalism emphasizes the human-animal bond and the expression of animalistic tendencies.345

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myth
The alter ego, or life index
…of the latter relationship is nagualism, a phenomenon found among the aboriginals of Guatemala and Honduras in Central America. Nagualism is the belief that there exists a nagual—an object or, more often, an animal—that stands in a parallel relationship to a person. If the nagual suffers harm or death, the…
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…of the latter relationship is nagualism, a phenomenon found among the aboriginals of Guatemala and Honduras in Central America. Nagualism is the belief that there exists a nagual—an object or, more often, an animal—that stands in a parallel relationship to a person. If the nagual suffers harm or death, the…
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personal identity
Animalism
Considerations such as these have been raised by proponents of “animalism,” the theory that in the 1990s became the main competitor of the psychological view. According to the American philosopher Eric Olson and others, persons are biologically individuated animals whose persistence through time consists…
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Considerations such as these have been raised by proponents of “animalism,” the theory that in the 1990s became the main competitor of the psychological view. According to the American philosopher Eric Olson and others, persons are biologically individuated animals whose persistence through time consists…
Read More

prehistoric religion
Hunting rites and animal cults
…is still known today as animalism (or nagualism or theriocentrism). It is characterized by close magical and religious ties of humans with animals, especially with wild animals. It is also characterized in terms of otherworldly and superworldly realms and practices, such as placating and begging for forgiveness of the game…
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…is still known today as animalism (or nagualism or theriocentrism). It is characterized by close magical and religious ties of humans with animals, especially with wild animals. It is also characterized in terms of otherworldly and superworldly realms and practices, such as placating and begging for forgiveness of the game…
Read More

nature worship
Worship of animals
Among the numerous animals that are prominent in religion and magic, the wild animals of the forests, the sea, and the air that are most important for the hunter are the most significant. Hunting and gathering societies, rooted in the earliest human cultures, believed that they not only…
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Among the numerous animals that are prominent in religion and magic, the wild animals of the forests, the sea, and the air that are most important for the hunter are the most significant. Hunting and gathering societies, rooted in the earliest human cultures, believed that they not only…
Read More