March 15, 2025
Online at 9:30am – 12:30 PDT
Presented by Global Humanities and co-sponsored by the Christian Animism Network.
This online symposium will include scholarly reflection and the voices of engaged practitioners who will explore animism as a worldview that is most often associated with Indigenous peoples around the world. Animism understands the earth to be vitally alive and populated with diverse personhoods beyond human beings. While the broader push toward ecological spirituality has certainly made major moves in an animistic direction, what do various Christian traditions make of animism’s claims? Is there an affinity or antagonism toward animism in Christian scripture? In what ways do Indigenous Christians syncretize and embody animistic practices? What theological languages and symbols might best harmonize with an animistic worldview? What rituals and liturgies harbor animistic elements? And how might existing rituals, liturgies, and pastoral practices grow in more animistic directions? These questions will be explored from various perspectives, projects and examples.