A Brief Account of Animism in Biblical Studies
The study of animism influenced early to mid-twentieth-century biblical scholars, especially on the topic of how ancient Israelites related to nature. Since then, biblical studies have paid less attention to animism, though assumptions about what animism is and how it relates to monotheism continue...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Equinox Publ.
2020
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| In: |
Journal for the study of religion, nature and culture
Year: 2020, Volume: 14, Issue: 2, Pages: 250-270 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Biblical studies
/ Old Testament
/ Animism
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| RelBib Classification: | AG Religious life; material religion BC Ancient Orient; religion HA Bible |
| Further subjects: | B
Animism
B Colonialism B Biblical Studies B Comparative Religion B Ecology |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | The study of animism influenced early to mid-twentieth-century biblical scholars, especially on the topic of how ancient Israelites related to nature. Since then, biblical studies have paid less attention to animism, though assumptions about what animism is and how it relates to monotheism continue to shape discussions about nature in the Hebrew Bible. However, since attention to animism has been scant in recent biblical scholarship, these assumptions reflect descriptions of animism put forward by scholars like Edward Burnett Tylor and James George Frazer, which speak of animism as an early and primitive form of religion, inferior to European religions. Biblical scholars doing work in the field of Bible and ecology should instead look to ‘new animism’. Attention to ‘new animism’ can contribute to interpretations of otherwise difficult biblical texts, provide tools of environmental ethics, and perhaps improve dialogues with indigenous communities. |
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| ISSN: | 1749-4915 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal for the study of religion, nature and culture
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1558/jsrnc.39249 |