--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Animists thought that humans were just…" description: "\"“Animists thought that humans were just one of many creatures inhabiting the world. Polytheists, on the other hand, increasingly saw the world as a ref..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4eb/yuval-noah-harari-100_quote_animists-thought-that-humans-were-just-o_1523689.jpg" --- # Animists thought that humans were just one of many… ![“Animists thought that humans were just one of many creatures inhabiting the world. Polytheists, on the other hand, increasingly saw the world as a reflection of the relationship between gods and humans.” quote by Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4eb/yuval-noah-harari-100_quote_animists-thought-that-humans-were-just-o_1523689.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4eb/yuval-noah-harari-100_quote_animists-thought-that-humans-were-just-o_1523689.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4eb/yuval-noah-harari-100_quote_animists-thought-that-humans-were-just-o_1523689.jpg) > ““Animists thought that humans were just one of many creatures inhabiting the world. Polytheists, on the other hand, increasingly saw the world as a reflection of the relationship between gods and humans.”” [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Animists saw humans as one among many creatures; polytheists later viewed the world as reflecting divine‑human relationships. **In simple terms:** Worldviews shift from equal creatures to divine reflections. Key Takeaway Understand how belief systems shape our view of nature. Themes belief anthropology religion Mood analytical thoughtful inquisitive Type philosophical educational When to use this quote - cultural studies - religious education - environmental ethics Key Concepts history philosophy Questions to Reflect On - How do these perspectives affect environmental care? - What modern belief replaces these ancient views? A Different Perspective Modern secular views add complexity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animists-1495352/) [Animists Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animists-thought-5637548/) [Polytheists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/polytheists-1098579/) [Polytheists Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/polytheists-hand-5637550/) [World Polytheists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world-polytheists-5637549/) ## Related quotes > [“Monotheists have tended to be far more fanatical and missionary than polytheists. A religion that recognises the legitimacy of other faiths implies either that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/monotheists-have-tended-to-be-far-more-fanatical-and-missionary-than-2/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Monotheists have tended to be far more fanatical and missionary than polytheists.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/monotheists-have-tended-to-be-far-more-fanatical-and-missionary-than/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [Animists are not so much people with a religion as people with a fundamentally religious way of looking at things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-quinn/animists-are-not-so-much-people-with-a-religion-as-people-with-a/) [Daniel Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-quinn/) > [Animists are people who recognize that the world is full of persons, only some of whom are human, and that life is always loved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-harvey/animists-are-people-who-recognize-that-the-world-is-full-of-persons-2/) [Graham Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-harvey/) > [“Children arrive animists. They learn about life, themselves, and empathy by imagining the liveliness of everything they come into contact with.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-kelley-harrell/children-arrive-animists-they-learn-about-life-themselves-and-empathy/) [S. Kelley Harrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-kelley-harrell/) > [Animists are people who recognize that the world is full of persons, only some of whom are human.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-harvey/animists-are-people-who-recognize-that-the-world-is-full-of-persons/) [Graham Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-harvey/) > [“Christianity was found in places, notably in Yemen, and among the Arab tribes in the north under Byzantine rule; Judaism too was practised in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/christianity-was-found-in-places-notably-in-yemen-and-among-the-arab/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We are pantheists as natural scientists, polytheists as poets, and monotheists as moral beings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/we-are-pantheists-as-natural-scientists-polytheists-as-poets-and/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Say: I am only a mortal like you; it is revealed to me that your God is one God, therefore follow the right way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quran/say-i-am-only-a-mortal-like-you-it-is-revealed-to-me-that-your-god-is/) [Quran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quran/) > [We are pantheists when we study nature, polytheists when we write poetry, monotheists in our morality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/we-are-pantheists-when-we-study-nature-polytheists-when-we-write/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [“That the writers of the Bible recognized a plurality of gods -- were polytheists -- is proved by the following 'And the Lord God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-e-remsburg/that-the-writers-of-the-bible-recognized-a-plurality-of-gods-were/) [John E. Remsburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-e-remsburg/) > [It is not (fit) for the Prophet and those who believe that they should ask forgiveness for the polytheists, even though they should be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quran/it-is-not-fit-for-the-prophet-and-those-who-believe-that-they-should/) [Quran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quran/) > [“Furthermore, we exist in a psychologically fragmented state, a state of continuous inner conflicts among the parts of ourselves. We have lost the principle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kabir-helminski/furthermore-we-exist-in-a-psychologically-fragmented-state-a-state-of/) [Kabir Helminski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kabir-helminski/) > [It's very clear from Biblical history and Jewish history that Jewish monotheism wasn't developed in an instant, that it became gradually the accepted norm.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-winston/it-s-very-clear-from-biblical-history-and-jewish-history-that-jewish/) [Robert Winston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-winston/) > [“Abraham was neither a Jew nor a Christian, but he was one inclining toward truth, a Muslim submitting to God; he was not of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quran/abraham-was-neither-a-jew-nor-a-christian-but-he-was-one-inclining/) [Quran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quran/) ## More by Yuval Noah Harari > [“For similar reasons, archaic humans did not initiate any revolutions. As far as we can tell, changes in social patterns, the invention of new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/for-similar-reasons-archaic-humans-did-not-initiate-any-revolutions/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Today the main source of wealth is knowledge. And whereas you can conquer oil fields through war, you cannot acquire knowledge that way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/today-the-main-source-of-wealth-is-knowledge-and-whereas-you-can/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“How do you cause people to believe in an imagined order such as Christianity, democracy or capitalism? 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We invented them to serve us; why do we find ourselves sacrificing our lives in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/corporations-money-and-nations-exist-only-in-our-imagination-we/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Small children in affluent societies often dislike showering, and it takes them years of education and parental discipline to adopt this supposedly attractive custom.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/small-children-in-affluent-societies-often-dislike-showering-and-it/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Ever more scholars see cultures as a kind of mental infection or parasite, with humans as its unwitting host. Organic parasites, such as viruses,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/ever-more-scholars-see-cultures-as-a-kind-of-mental-infection-or/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Soviet Communism was a fanatical and missionary religion. A devout Communist could not be a Christian or a Buddhist, and was expected to spread…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/soviet-communism-was-a-fanatical-and-missionary-religion-a-devout/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Whereas religion asks us to believe in something, money asks us to believe that other people believe in something”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/whereas-religion-asks-us-to-believe-in-something-money-asks-us-to/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Terrorists are like a fly that tries to destroy a china shop. 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There is no chance that gravity will cease to function tomorrow, even if people stop believing in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/a-natural-order-is-a-stable-order-there-is-no-chance-that-gravity/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) [Explore all 1,200 Yuval Noah Harari quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) ## More Polytheists quotes > [“Christianity was found in places, notably in Yemen, and among the Arab tribes in the north under Byzantine rule; Judaism too was practised in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/christianity-was-found-in-places-notably-in-yemen-and-among-the-arab/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It's very clear from Biblical history and Jewish history that Jewish monotheism wasn't developed in an instant, that it became gradually the accepted norm.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-winston/it-s-very-clear-from-biblical-history-and-jewish-history-that-jewish/) [Robert Winston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-winston/) > [“Furthermore, we exist in a psychologically fragmented state, a state of continuous inner conflicts among the parts of ourselves. We have lost the principle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kabir-helminski/furthermore-we-exist-in-a-psychologically-fragmented-state-a-state-of/) [Kabir Helminski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kabir-helminski/) > [It is not (fit) for the Prophet and those who believe that they should ask forgiveness for the polytheists, even though they should be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quran/it-is-not-fit-for-the-prophet-and-those-who-believe-that-they-should/) [Quran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quran/) > [“Monotheists have tended to be far more fanatical and missionary than polytheists.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/monotheists-have-tended-to-be-far-more-fanatical-and-missionary-than/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“That the writers of the Bible recognized a plurality of gods -- were polytheists -- is proved by the following 'And the Lord God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-e-remsburg/that-the-writers-of-the-bible-recognized-a-plurality-of-gods-were/) [John E. Remsburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-e-remsburg/) > [We are pantheists when we study nature, polytheists when we write poetry, monotheists in our morality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/we-are-pantheists-when-we-study-nature-polytheists-when-we-write/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Say: I am only a mortal like you; it is revealed to me that your God is one God, therefore follow the right way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quran/say-i-am-only-a-mortal-like-you-it-is-revealed-to-me-that-your-god-is/) [Quran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quran/) > [“Monotheists have tended to be far more fanatical and missionary than polytheists. A religion that recognises the legitimacy of other faiths implies either that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/monotheists-have-tended-to-be-far-more-fanatical-and-missionary-than-2/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [We are pantheists as natural scientists, polytheists as poets, and monotheists as moral beings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/we-are-pantheists-as-natural-scientists-polytheists-as-poets-and/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [“Abraham was neither a Jew nor a Christian, but he was one inclining toward truth, a Muslim submitting to God; he was not of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quran/abraham-was-neither-a-jew-nor-a-christian-but-he-was-one-inclining/) [Quran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quran/) [Browse all 12 Polytheists quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/polytheists-1098579/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Animists thought that humans were just one of many creatures inhabiting the world. 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