History Main / AnimalReligion

** ''Literature/SmallGods'', about the practice of religion on the Discworld, tells us the Omnians once had Bishop Bobby, an ordained donkey.[[note]]A ShoutOut to the Biblical tale of Balaam's Ass[[/note]]. Bishop Bobby is cited again in ''Literature/MakingMoney'' by zombie lawyer Mr Slant, who says being a bishop in an authoritarian church doesn't call for a great intellect, and is therefore ideally suited for a donkey.

* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'':
** Princess Luna and and Princess Celestia are deemed gods by {{fanon}} (or, at minimum, ponies ''think'' they're gods, even if [[AGodIAmNot they don't consider themselves so]]). The cartoon itself doesn't imply it besides characters sometimes [[OhMyGods using their names in vain]], such as "As Celestia is my witness..." and "Thank Celestia". For two seasons they were the only alicorns (and according to Creator/LaurenFaust were meant to be the only ones), and even compared to Twilight and Cadance they're unusual. They're over [[Really700YearsOld 1000 years old]] (though some ExpandedUniverse material implies they're long-lived and slow-aging, rather than immortal), are taller than other alicorns, and have flowing, ethereal manes; however, it was eventually shown that explicitly ascended alicorn can become tall and gain ethereal manes. {{Fanon}} has assumed they're naturally born alicorns and thus are functionally immortal gods, while "ascended alicorns" usually age normally and die of old age. Cadance (who is canonically ascended) is occasionally dubbed a "goddess of love", though, and many fanworks portray her as similarly immortal. Twilight Sparkle and Flurry Heart are also often depicted as goddesses.
** If Celestia and Luna aren't gods to ponies, often the ponified incarnations of Creator/LaurenFaust (the creator of ''Friendship Is Magic'') and Bonnie Zacherle (the creator of ''Franchise/MyLittlePony'' as a whole) will be instead.

* ''WebOriginal/{{Serina}}'': A sapient species of jay-like birds believe that the world was only barren desert until all life was born from an intense rainstorm. Some of them believe that the "Sky Sea", the planet that their home moon orbits, is the source of all rain.

** Princess Luna and and Princess Celestia are deemed gods by {{fanon}} (or, at minimum, ponies ''think'' they're gods, even if [[AGodIAmNot they don't consider themselves so]]). The cartoon itself doesn't imply it besides characters sometimes using their names in vain, such as "As Celestia is my witness..." and "Thank Celestia". For two seasons they were the only alicorns (and according to Creator/LaurenFaust were meant to be the only ones), and even compared to Twilight and Cadance they're unusual. They're over [[Really700YearsOld 1000 years old]] (though some ExpandedUniverse material implies they're long-lived and slow-aging, rather than immortal), are taller than other alicorns, and have flowing, ethereal manes; however, it was eventually shown that explicitly ascended alicorn can become tall and gain ethereal manes. {{Fanon}} has assumed they're naturally born alicorns and thus are functionally immortal gods, while "ascended alicorns" usually age normally and die of old age. Cadance (who is canonically ascended) is occasionally dubbed a "goddess of love", though, and many fanworks portray her as similarly immortal. Twilight Sparkle and Flurry Heart are also often depicted as goddesses.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheGoodDinosaur'': The film's antagonists are a flock of [[PteroSoarer pterosaurs]] who profess to a strange pseudo-religion that deifies the weather, their credo being "the storm provides". What the storm provides to them is ''food'' -- namely cute little critters (some of whom are sentient) that get injured during the storms. Their devotion to this weird CargoCult only makes them more disturbing.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Madagascar}}'': In ''WesternAnimation/ThePenguinsOfMadagascar'', the lemurs believe in "sky spirits". ''WesternAnimation/AllHailKingJulien'' expands on the lemurs' Sky Gods with a whole pantheon of gods responsible for individual things, their chief god being named Frank, and all their other gods having similarly normal-sounding names like Kevin and Gladys. Similarly, aye-aye are said to worship a pantheon of bells that live deep underground.

* ''Literature/GuardiansOfGahoole'': The owls seem to follow a being known as Glaux. Other species have similar beliefs, with one of the bears mentioning the great Ursa and Lupus for the wolves.

* ''Literature/{{Redwall}}'': Subverted. Despite the titular Redwall being an abbey and having an abbot/abbess, and various characters being referred to as Brother and Sister, there is no real religion to speak of (no one is referred to as a monk/nun, prayer is a generic grace at mealtimes). The only form of supernatural is the spirit of Martin the Warrior, who appears once a book to aid the protagonists, the Dark Forest, which some characters see when near death, and the ghosts of their ancestors. [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness Even the first book]], which featured a church of Saint Ninian, had no one to pray to (although the villain does have a nightmare of the Devil). There are often references to the afterlife though, such as "Dark Forest" (a neutral land of eternal slumber) and "Hellgates". Both good and bad guys are referred to as going to either when they die. Sunflash even briefly witnesses the Dark Forest in ''Outcast of Redwall'', though he is barred from entering until his quest is complete. In ''The Taggerung'' Vulpuz is mentioned, who's said to be the lord of Hellgates and the foxes' supposed creator (his name is close to Latin "vulpus" for "fox"). He seems to be a deity, though there's no sign of foxes or anyone having an organized religion based on him.

* ''Literature/SeekerBears'':

Not to be confused with animals which believe in a human religion (some examples of this may go to FantasticReligiousWeirdness) or humans worshiping animals (see GiantAnimalWorship for unusually large animals treated as dogs).

Not to be confused with animals which believe in a human religion (some examples of this may go to FantasticReligiousWeirdness).

** ''Literature/SmallGods'', about the practice of religion on the Discworld, tells us the Omnians once had Bishop Bobby, an ordained donkey.[[note]]A ShoutOut to the Biblical tale of Balaam's Ass[[/note]]. bishop Bobby is cited again in ''literature/Makingmoney'' by zombie lawyer Mr Slant, who says being a bishop in an authoritarian church doesn't call for a great intellect and is therefore ideally suited for a donkey.

* Louise Searl's novels ''Literature/KonasSong'' and ''Literature/TheWayOfKings'', about wolves and lions respectively, both feature religious elements. The wolves believe in a Great Spirit who created the first two wolves (known as the First Alphas), whilst the lions deify the sun and moon, whom they believe created their original ancestor (they use the Swahili words for all three).

* ''Literature/TheKaturranOdyssey'': Religion and spirituality are rather thematically important, as it's a fantasy novel/script depicting various primate cultures.
* Louise Searl's novels ''Literature/KonasSong'' and ''Literature/TheWayOfKings(2021)'', about wolves and lions respectively, both feature religious elements. The wolves believe in a Great Spirit who created the first two wolves (known as the First Alphas), whilst the lions deify the sun and moon, whom they believe crested their original ancestor (they use the Swahili words for all three).

** ''Literature/TheAmazingMauriceAndHisEducatedRodents'': The rats have developed the idea that if a rat is a good rat, then when they die the [[TheGrimReaper Bone Rat]] will take them to the Big Rat Underground, whose tunnels are filled with food. It's not an idea they're all that sure about, though, since the ones who get philosophical about things are constantly questioning it and the more practical ones think it's not worth worrying about one way or the other.