animism
noun/ˈænɪmɪzəm/
Etymology From anima + -ism, from Latin anima (“life", "breath", "soul”). Dated sense from German Animismus, coined c. 1720 by physicist/chemist Georg Ernst Stahl (1660-1734) See anima mundi.
1
A belief that spirits inhabit some or all classes of natural objects or phenomena.
- "I'm not entirely comfortable with the level of animism you and Hanners display towards that thing."2015, Jeph Jacques, Questionable Content (webcomic), Number 3126: Been A While I Guess:
2
A belief that an immaterial force animates the universe.
3
Dated A doctrine that animal life is produced by an immaterial spirit.