Shamanism (薩滿宗教、薩滿主義) is a practice that involves a practitioner reaching altered states of consciousness in order to perceive and interact with what they believe to be a spirit world and channel these transcendental energies into this world.
Beliefs and practices that have been categorized as "shamanic" have attracted the interest of scholars from a wide variety of disciplines, including anthropologists, archaeologists, historians, religious studies scholars, philosophers and psychologists. Hundreds of books and academic papers on the subject have been produced, with a peer-reviewed academic journal being devoted to the study of shamanism. In the 20th century, many Westerners involved in counter-cultural movements have created modern magico-religious practices influenced by their ideas of Indigenous religions from across the world, creating what has been termed neoshamanism or the neoshamanic movement. It has affected the development of many neopagan practices, as well as faced a backlash and accusations of cultural appropriation, exploitation and misrepresentation when outside observers have tried to represent cultures to which they do not belong. Although the term has been used to describe indigenous spiritual practices, some have critiqued the term shamanism as a generalizing descriptor of complex and diverse spiritual practices that are specific to different indigenous nations and tribes. Use of the term may impose simplicity on diverse and complex indigenous cultures, reinforce racist ideas, and perpetuate notions of “other” from a colonial perspective.
Beliefs and practices that have been categorized as "shamanic" have attracted the interest of scholars from a wide variety of disciplines, including anthropologists, archaeologists, historians, religious studies scholars, philosophers and psychologists. Hundreds of books and academic papers on the subject have been produced, with a peer-reviewed academic journal being devoted to the study of shamanism. In the 20th century, many Westerners involved in counter-cultural movements have created modern magico-religious practices influenced by their ideas of Indigenous religions from across the world, creating what has been termed neoshamanism or the neoshamanic movement. It has affected the development of many neopagan practices, as well as faced a backlash and accusations of cultural appropriation, exploitation and misrepresentation when outside observers have tried to represent cultures to which they do not belong. Although the term has been used to describe indigenous spiritual practices, some have critiqued the term shamanism as a generalizing descriptor of complex and diverse spiritual practices that are specific to different indigenous nations and tribes. Use of the term may impose simplicity on diverse and complex indigenous cultures, reinforce racist ideas, and perpetuate notions of “other” from a colonial perspective.