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 traditionsEthnic 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.

The superstitious practice of placing a rusty nail in a lemon is believed to ward off the evil eye and evil in general, as detailed in the folklore text Popular Beliefs and Superstitions from Utah.

The superstitious practice of placing a rusty nail in lemon is believed to ward off the evil eye and evil in general, as detailed in the folklore text Popular Beliefs and Superstitions from Utah.

Main articles: Indigenous Religions and Outline Indigenous Religions

Common concepts in Indigenous Religions

Articles about Indigenous Religions

Cancun Pyramid Maya Temple Mayan Mexico Ancient

Maya Temple, Cancun – Mexico

The List of Indigenous Religions

African

Traditional African religions

Afro-American religions

European

Austronesian

Austroasiatic

Japanese

American

Uralic (Eurasian)

Altaic

Chinese

Korean

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.