What is “Religion”? The Anthropology of Religion

[@johnstainbrook4186]

I really loved the concept of Animism and the soul that you brought up. Animated things in our world seem to have life on their own such as the sun, the moon, stars, wind, and rivers because they seem to move on their own, i.e. they are animated. When humans die they become lifeless or are no longer animated. When they are alive they have breath and when they are dead, before they begin to decay, they are essentially the same but without this breath. Thus, at least in my mind, the “anima” is associated with ancient Hebrew concepts of the “breath” or, in Hebrew, the “ruach” of god (e.g. god breathed life into Adam). It is my understanding that in ancient Hebrew thought you only have life when you have this divine breath. Finally, with Platonism in the middle of the Iron Age, the essence of our “anima,” or animated nature, became known as the soul. In Hebrew thought this animated nature or the “ruach” of god was also equated with the soul. Not sure if my thinking is correct but I sure enjoyed your video which got me thinking about the possible connections!