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The belief in anito are sometimes referred to as the Anitism (Anitismo) religion in scholarly literature.

Anito, also spelled anitu, refers to ancestor spirits, nature spirits, and deities in the sacred indigenous Philippine folk religions (Anitism) from the ancient times to the present, although the term itself may have other meanings and associations depending on the Filipino ethnic group. It can also refer to carved humanoid figures, the taotao, made of wood, stone, or ivory, that represent these spirits. Anito (a term predominantly used in Luzon) is also sometimes known as diwata in certain ethnic groups (especially among Visayans).

Sacred indigenous Philippine folk religions (Anitism) are the distinct native religions of various ethnic groups in the Philippines. These historical indigenous folk religions include a set of local worship traditions that are devoted to the anito or diwata (and their variables), terms which translate to gods, spirits, and ancestors.

Early Philippine society was composed of diverse subgroups such as fishermen, farmers and hunter-gatherers, with some living in mountainside swiddens, some on houseboats and some in commercially developed coastal ports. Some subgroups were economically self-sufficient, and others had symbiotic relationships with neighboring subgroups.