animism is an idea described by anthropologists, not animists. as anthropologists have studied animism, they have changed their minds on how to describe it. this means that the first definition of animism is now known as "old animism." the first definition was offered by ernst stahl in the 1800s. stahl was a chemist and physician. he was not describing a religious belief. however, edward tylor borrowed his word to use for religious beliefs in other parts of the world. these beliefs were different and older from what tylor believed. because they were different and older, tylor argued that his beliefs must have developed from animist beliefs. he argued that all people groups develop in this way. the main change he proposed was that people move from religious explanations for the world to scientific explanations for the world. this was called the social evolutionary approach to anthropology. it is not popular with anthropologists since the 1920s.