Indigenous Religions

On this page, we have collected articles related to Indigenous Religions on our website.

Indigenous religions or Nature Religions consist of the traditional customs and beliefs (Paganism, Animism, Totemism, Shamanism) of particular ethnic groups, refined and expanded upon for thousands of years, often lacking formal doctrine.

Indigenous religions, formerly found on every continent, but now marginalized by the major organized faiths. Despite this, they often persist as undercurrents of folk religion. This category includes African traditional religions, Asian Shamanism, Native American religions, Mesoamerican Religion, Inuit Religion, Austronesian and Australian Aboriginal traditions, Ethnic religion, and arguably Chinese folk religion (overlaps with Far Eastern religions).

Indigenous religions is a category used in the study of religion to demarcate the religious belief systems of communities described as being “indigenous“. This category is often juxtaposed against others such as the “world religions” and “new religious movements“. The term is commonly applied to a range of different belief systems across the Americas, Australasia, Asia, Africa, and Northern Europe, particularly to those practiced by communities living under the impact of colonialism.

Main articles: Indigenous Religions and Outline Indigenous Religions

Common concepts in Indigenous Religions

Nature Religion Syncretism Religious syncretism Spirituality Spirit world Divination

Folk Religion Ethnic Religion Ancestor Worship Pantheon Religious ecstasy

Paganism Animism Totemism Shamanism Polytheism Henotheism

Articles about Indigenous Religions

African Traditional Concept of God Persecution of Traditional African Religion Indigenous American Philosophy Gitche Manitou Great Spirit Manitou Mother goddess

Medicine Man Supernatural Witch-doctor Magic Black Magic Witchcraft Maleficium (sorcery)

The List of Indigenous Religions

African Religion in Africa Traditional African religions Bantu Mythology Serer religion Yoruba Religion African Divination Ubuntu Philosophy Traditional Berber Religion Afro-American religions Haitian Vodou Hoodoo Louisiana Voodoo Rastafarianism European Paganism Modern Paganism Heathenry Austronesian Australian Aboriginal traditions The Dreaming Austroasiatic Vietnamese folk religion Caodaism Japanese Religion in Japan Shinto Ryukyuan religion Shinbutsu-shūgō

American Inuit religion Alaska Native Religion Mythologies of The Americas Aztec philosophy Native American religions Ghost Dance Mexicayotl Crow religion Indian Shaker Church Native American Church Longhouse Religion Mesoamerican religion Olmec Religion Aztec religion Maya religion Inca Religion Uralic (Eurasian) Dravidian folk religion Altaic Shamanism Siberian shamanism Tengrism Mongolian shamanism Chinese Chinese folk religion Chinese shamanism Korean Religion in Korea Cheondoism Korean shamanism

Bibliography

• Cusack, Carole M. (2016). “Archaeology and the World Religions Paradigm: The European Neolithic, Religion and Cultural Imperialism”. In Christopher R. Cotter; David G. Robertson (eds.). After World Religions: Reconstructing Religious Studies. London and New York: Routledge. pp. 153–67. ISBN 978-1-138-91912-9.
• Gregorius, Fredrik (2015). “Modern Heathenism in Sweden: A Case Study in the Creation of a Traditional Religion”. In Rountree, Kathryn (ed.). Contemporary Pagan and Native Faith Movements in Europe: Colonialist and Nationalist Impulses. New York and Oxford: Berghahn. pp. 64–85. ISBN 978-1-78238-646-9.
• Harvey, Graham (2000). “Introduction”. In Graham Harvey (ed.). Indigenous Religions: A Companion. London and New York: Cassell. pp. 1–19. ISBN 978-0304704484.
• Nelson, John K. (1996). A Year in the Life of a Shinto Shrine. Seattle and London: University of Washington Press. ISBN 978-0295975009.
• Snook, Jennifer (2015). American Heathens: The Politics of Identity in a Pagan Religious Movement. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. ISBN 978-1-4399-1097-9.
• Snook, Jennifer; Horrell, Thad; Horton, Kristen (2017). “Heathens in the United States: The Return to “Tribes” in the Construction of a Peoplehood”. In Rountree, Kathryn (ed.). Cosmopolitanism, Nationalism, and Modern Paganism. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 43–64. ISBN 978-1-137-57040-6.