So caveat that I'm not an expert on this topic, but I do have access to scholarly journals and can give some suggested readings and highlight a few relevant passages from these readings.

Political Tengrism makes reference to the ancient religion and philosophy of the Turkish–Mongol peoples, but does not bear a real connection to it. Many people who see themselves as ‘Tengrists’ are not politically committed and do not find their bearings in this political doctrine. Political Tengrism claims, however, a desire to rehabilitate the ancient cult of the god Tengri and, in regions of Muslim tradition, presents Islam as a faith foreign to local populations. According to its theoreticians, Tengrism represents a key element in the identity renewal of Turkic–Mongol peoples and should be adopted as the official religion by the new states of the region...The word tengr or tergir (ta¨nri in old Turkic) means ‘sky’ in the Turkic–Mongol languages. The cult of the sky or of deities linked to it is confirmed by many written and archaeological sources dating from the time of the Turkic kingdoms of Siberia in the 6th–8th centuries. These sources also confirm that Tengrism was one of the syncretic religions practised in the Turkic khaganate before the peoples of the region converted to Buddhism, to Manichaeism, or to Islam...The ‘return’ of Tengrism is cultivated by certain post-Soviet intellectual circles in some autonomous republics of the Russian Federation, for instance in Buryatia, Tatarstan and Bashkortostan. In the community of the Krymtchaks, close to the Karaites—the only Jews who do not recognize the Talmud but only the Torah—some intellectuals also insist on their Turkic identity rather than on their Jewishness: because they are Turkic-speaking, their ‘true’ religion could not be Judaism but Tengrism...The rhetorical elements put forward in favour of Tengrism make it partly similar to some new religious movements, especially the ‘New Age’ one...Tengrism combines eclectic references inspired by different religious traditions: the questioning of rational knowledge, theosophical allusions, an affinity for certain Buddhist and Hindu premises, the sentiment that mankind has entered a new era, the anticipation of world peace, etc...The movement presents itself as eminently modern, as being in the forefront of individualism and ecological sentiment, full of anti-globalization stereotypes and of an awareness of having entered ‘post-modernity’. At the same time, however, its followers demand a ‘return’ to a tradition that would have been marginalized by Russian–Soviet modernity, and they display their quest for a cultural and religious ‘authenticity’ that could be rediscovered by purely and simply erasing the last 150 years, if not the last millennium.

Laruelle, Marlène. "Religious revival, nationalism and the ‘invention of tradition’: political Tengrism in Central Asia and Tatarstan." Central Asian Survey 26.2 (2007): 203-216.

Also relevant might be:

• Laruelle, Marlene. "Tengrism: in Search for Central Asia’s Spiritual Roots." Central Asia and Caucasus Analyst 22 (2006).

From looking at these articles it seems that modern Tengrism is an attempt to codify the various belief systems that have developed in Turkic regions into a coherent bounded practice and which has been highly politicized as a way to perform ethnicity and nationalism. All religions must adapt to stay relevant so no faith "survives" unchanged (for ex. no one is literally living the life of the disciples because that world no longer exists therefore we must interpret it for our contemporary lives.) But in addition to the normal practice of adaptation and syncretism which has gone on for a long time, there is the modern attempt to mobilize this as a way of distinguishing certain groups. Though there are similarities to the New Age movements in the states, it is unique to this context and is not necessarily linked to larger global Neopagan movements (at least not as it is practiced locally.)

Yes, it did survive, but barely. The impact of Tibetan Buddhism and repression of religion during the communist era nearly whipped the faith out. Shamanism/Tengrism's high point was during the 16th century, but Tibetan Buddhism was then introduced during a time of political upheaval and came to dominate religious life in Mongolia and the surrounding areas. However, shamans of various "sects" (for lack of a better term) continued to play an active role in Mongol folk religion and culture. Surrounding ethnic groups like the Buryats also kept up belief in shamans and animistic spirits til the present.

Souces: "On the History of Mongolian Shamanism in Anthropological Perspective." by Klaus Hesse. Anthropos 82, 1987. p403-413

"The Nomadic Alternative." by Thomas J. Barfield. 1993. Chapter Five, The Horse Riders: Nomads of the Eurasian Steppe

Hello everyone,

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I have a follow-on question: I've heard it called Tengri, and Tengrism pronounced both "ten-gri-ism" and "ten-grism." Pretty sure that last one is wrong, but what's the most correct thing to say?

Followup question: I'm not very familiar with Tengrism, but wikipedia mentions that it's animistic and totemistic and was practiced primarily in central asia.

Is there evidence of a common ancestor religion or spirituality between Tengrism and the animistic religions of the Americas (prior to crossing through Alaska, for example) or are the similarities just part of some normal spiritual evolution that religions tend to take (e.g. animism > polytheism > monothesim)?