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In this corner........."The Arctic is Fighting Back" - (Rocky 2)

Animism - The doctrine that supernatural beings (or souls) endowed with reason, intelligence and volition inhabit ordinary objects, tools, animals and natural phenomena. The human being is often regarded as on a roughly equal footing with animals, plants and natural forces.

(.....more worship of nature's pagan gods by the junk environmentalists of the Left).

Leni

I vote for anthromorphism AS in -- Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human characteristics and qualities to non-human beings, objects, natural, or supernatural phenomena. A form of personification (applying human or animal qualities to inanimate objects), anthropomorphism is similar to prosopopoeia (adopting the persona of another person). Animals, the forces of nature, and unseen or unknown authors of chance are frequent subjects of anthropomorphosis. The term comes from two Greek words, άνθρωπος (anthrōpos), meaning "human", and μορφή (morphē), meaning "shape" or "form." The suffix '-ism' originates from the morpheme '-isma' in the Greek language. All that college 'education' and this is what we get, RAH is spinning in his grave.

Prior to the advent of Buddhism, Burmese were animists who worshipped a series of nature spirits called Nats. As is true with the spirit deities in neighboring Laos and Thailand, the Nats were not neglected but were incorporated into Buddhism and often Nat statues will be found in Buddhist temples.
These spirits became converted to Buddhism and thus became helpers of the monks. This was a deliberate policy on the part of King Anawratha and the rulers of Burma in the 11th century.
At the same time, these spirits often have their own ceremonies and festivals and are worshipped in addition to the Buddha. There are 37 officially recognized Nats, each with its own history and image.
The Nats, as spirits of natural forces, such as water, wind, stones and trees, take many guises. The Nats are all ghosts or spirits of heroes except for one, the chief Nat, Thagyamin Nat (the Indian god Indra, protector of royalty) who was elevated to this position in the 11th century by the great unifier, King Anawratha, who integrated Nat worship into Buddhism.
Thus the Nats became the guardians of the state and royal family and guarantors of dynastic continuity. Each Nat has its own history or legend which places the Nat in an important or heroic role in Burmese history.

While some Burmese regard Nat worship as mere superstition, most people do pay some attention to them and regard the Nat worship as a method of dealing with or solving the problems of this life, whereas Buddhism is concerned with future lives.

What's new is old - pagan goddess of the earth worship is old hat in south east asia.