Paper short abstract:

Animism is a fast growing spirituality in modern Britain, yet still little understood. This paper looks at how British animistic beliefs form perceptions and relationships, heightening sensitivities and experience of connection, in particular with the ancestral dead and their physical remains.

Paper long abstract:

Within the materialist and dualist worldviews of western society, animism is often dismissed as primitive, yet many of the growing faith community of British Paganism would define themselves as animist: they believe all matter is inspirited, ensouled or sentient, thus sacred and deserving of respect. Such beliefs encompass a connectivity within nature that not only engenders a heightened awareness of the nonhuman environment, but also provokes a sensitivity about human nature, the relational self, and how that extends beyond the transition of death.

In this paper, I speak of the particular qualities most prevalent in British animism, including what is still called ancestor worship: remaining present within the memory of the community, within the landscape, and within their own physical remains, the dead are revered. At and beyond death, their essence is of no less importance than in life. They continue to be 'persons', members of the tribe, their gifts acknowledged as still humming with the value of stories, experience and cohesion.

Whether the death occurred four or 4000 years ago, where there is any relational connection - such as a landscape shared - the animist's encounter with that person evokes a visceral reaction, provoking a profound need to embrace, to listen, to share, protect and care. When such a connection occurs within the artificial preserve of a museum, the overwhelming spiritual response can be to return those remains to the earth through reburial: the dead must be allowed the freedom of change, within the landscape, community and nature's cycles.