Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Animism \An"i*mism\, n. [Cf. F. animisme, fr. L. anima soul. See
   {Animate}.]
   1. The doctrine, taught by Stahl, that the soul is the proper
      principle of life and development in the body.

   2. The belief that inanimate objects and the phenomena of
      nature are endowed with personal life or a living soul;
      also, in an extended sense, the belief in the existence of
      soul or spirit apart from matter. --Tylor.

Source : WordNet®

animism
     n : the doctrine that all natural objects and the universe
         itself have souls; "animism is common among primitive
         peoples"