[German Version] I. Terminology and Overview The term “Indian” goes back to the erroneous identification by C. Columbus of the pre-European population of the American continents as the inhabitants of India. The term itself (or the Spanish-Portuguese form indio) ¶ is felt more to be derogatory by Indians themselves. For this reason the term indígenas (“natives”) is used in the Latin American realm (Latin America) as a self-definition as well as an external definition. As a generic term within religious studies it encompasses diverse peoples whose re…