Animism & Buddhism
I've posted a number of blog entries about Animism and Buddhism, comparing certain principles of the two systems to the historic faith of Christianity. Some of these posts address these subjects directly, while others deal with issues influenced by them. I've posted the links here for easy reference.
Mongolia is a nation with a unique religious background that mixes Animism (shamanism), and Buddhism, with a strong flavor of Atheism left over from its days of 20th century communism. Understanding the differences between these religious ideologies and the nature of historic Christianity is important. No culture develops in a vacuum. No culture that embraces Christianity does so without adding elements of its pre-existing culture or beliefs to its expression of the Christian faith—often to the harm of legitimate Christian expression. These posts are provided to help Christians understand the differences between the non-historic faiths of Animism and Buddhism (see note, below), and the foundations of exclusive faith in Jesus Christ.
Passing references to Animism and Buddhism relative to the Mongolian worldview:
Note: "Historic faith" is a religious system where the foundational principles of belief are predicated upon factual, historical events, with verifiable historic evidence(s) to corroborate the belief claim. "Non-historic" faiths have a basis in history in that though they are present as religious systems in history, the philosophies and claims of the belief system do not have verifiable, corroborating evidence(s) to substantiate them as factual in the real world. Faiths such as Judaism and Christianity are therefore defined as "Historic Faiths," while Animism and Buddhism are classed as "Non-Historic Faiths."
ThomasTerry.com
http://thomasterry.com/blog/staticpages/index.php/20080218150441283