User:Oliviachung5/Indigenous religion

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Indigenous religions, also referred to as tribal, primitive, or native religions, is a category used in the study of religion to distinguish the religious belief systems of communities labeled as "indigenous". This category is often contrasted against other religious categories 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 term "indigenous religions" is usually applied to the localized belief systems of small-scale societies. These belief systems do not typically engage in proselytization, thus distinguishing them from "world religions" like Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism which seek religious conversion. Indigenous religions are of society's earliest faiths, and are often orally transmitted and have close relationships to nature. Indigenous religions are usually polytheistic and believe that there is no separation between the natural and supernatural worlds. There are also many similarities between "indigenous religions" and "world religions", specifically with Catholic and Protestant beliefs. Indigenous religions believe in a divine "Great Spirit" or creator, which is often called upon in times of need, and believe in an "Evil Spirit" or "Evil God". More specific beliefs and traditions differ between indigenous groups. Numerically, the majority of the world's religions could be classed as "indigenous", although the number of "indigenous religionists" is significantly smaller than the number of individuals who practice one of the "world religions".

There is much scholarly discourse surrounding the topic of "indigenous religion", as this broad category does not account for the vast variety of traditions of all indigenous people. Researchers also find difficulty in identifying groups as indigenous and non-indigenous. For instance, the Japanese religion of Shinto is often referred to as an "indigenous religion". However, the Japanese are not a colonized society, but have colonized neighboring societies like that of the Ainu, leading to debates on whether they meet the definition of "indigenous".