An Unstable “Religion”
The Oxford Handbook of the Anthropology of Religion February 19, 2026 DOI: 10.1093/9780191822285.003.0010
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractEuropean colonizers initially failed to recognize Indigenous Amazonian rituals as religious. Only in the nineteenth century, with anthropology and Tylor's concept of animism, did shamanism—a practice widespread in Amazonia—gain recognition as local religion. This chapter examines shamanism and its associated "perspectivism" in contrast to classical animism. It concludes by exploring how perspectivist peoples convert to Christianity and adopt an objectified notion of "culture," often introduced by missionaries.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key finding | Shamanism and perspectivism in Amazonia were historically unrecognized as religion, and their conversion to Christianity involves adopting an objectified notion of culture. |
Abstract
Abstract It is known that the first Europeans to arrive in Amazonia did not recognize Indigenous ritual practices as religious. Only in the nineteenth century, with the advent of anthropology, especially with the Taylorian conceptualization of animism, did shamanism, a practice associated with this ontology and widespread in the Amazonian world, begin to be recognized in the literature as constituting local religion. The chapter deals with shamanism and especially the “perspectivism” related to it, analyzing it in counterpoint to the classical notion of animism. In its conclusion, it explores the modes and effects of the conversion of these perspectivist peoples to Christianity and to an objectified notion of “culture,” often brought by the missionaries themselves.