10 examples of religious syncretism (explained)

Several examples of religious syncretism, explained and described with their influences and references.

Throughout history there have been many religions and, in fact, many of them still exist today. As they have grown, these religions have not been able to avoid establishing contact with others and, far from imposing themselves, they have combined some of their rites creating a whole new faith or belief.

There are many examples of religious syncretism and, in fact, we could say that practically all current religions are the result of joining, combining and modifying their ancestral rituals. Let's see a few examples.

10 examples of religious syncretism, and their influences.

Before looking at examples of religious syncretism, we must first understand what it refers to. Syncretism comes from the Greek "synkretismos" ("syn", "with"; "kriti", "Cretan"; and "ismos", "doctrine") and is the phenomenon in which traits of two or more cultures, societies, ideologies or creeds are combined. This word has its origin in a story told by Plutarch who said that, in times of war, the inhabitants of the island of Crete put aside their differences in order to join forces and expel the invader.

Syncretism usually occurs in situations of conflict in which the union of two ways of understanding the world results in a new one that is respectful of the original beliefs, even if they may be contradictory.even though they may be contradictory in many ways. Instead of imposing one culture on the other, both contribute to creating a new one. In the field of religion, what happens is that two religious creeds change and create similarities, uniting their followers.

1. Saint Thomas of Chichicastenango

In Guatemala is the Church of Santo Tomas de Chichicastenango, one of the few Catholic temples in the world where both inside and outside rites of another religion are allowed: the ancient Mayan religion.. Legend has it that in the middle of the XVIII century, Father Francisco Ximénez found inside the temple a very valuable manuscript, very important in the history of the Quiché language: the Popol Vuh, the Mayan "Bible".

Father Ximénez read the manuscript inside the church and, from that moment on, the indigenous people of Mayan ancestry can practice a religion that combines aspects of the Catholic cult with those of the Mayan, being a clear example of religious syncretism. In their services, colorful candles, incense smoke, flower petals and aguardiente are a must.

2. God Serapis

The ancient Greeks established contact with Ancient Egypt and, since both cultures were polytheistic, they could not avoid comparing the Hellenic gods with those of North Africa. In the course of time, Ancient Greece conquered Egypt Ancient Greece conquered Egypt and the conquerors under the command of Ptolemy I made the decision to combine Greek religion with Egyptian religion..

Thus, the conquerors decided to link the Egyptian god Osiris with the Greek ox Apis knowing the Egyptian tradition of praying to gods with animal faces. From this combination emerged the Greek-Egyptian deity of Serapis, who became an official god in both cultures. The image created by the Greeks served both Greeks and Egyptians, since it was a deity with a double face: human and ox.

3. Protestant Reformation

Syncretism was not a very frequent phenomenon in Christianity until the Protestant Reformation. It is at that time that we can mention some attempts to combine Christian traits with those of other religions and classical cultures, as was the case of Erasmus of Rotterdam when he read about Plutarch. Syncretism was also a very important aspect on the part of the Neoplatonists, such as Marsilius Ficinussuch as Marsilio Ficino, who tried to reform the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church.

4. Afro-American Religions

Catholicism in the Caribbean and Central and South America has integrated many elements from both pre-Columbian Indians and slaves of African origin. Some of these religious currents are encompassed within the Catholic Church, which shows a certain tolerance towards the symbols and traditions of the ancient indigenous and African belief systems.

However, they also There are religions that, although Christian-based, have not been accepted by official Catholicism, such as voodoo and Santeria, openly condemned by the Roman Catholic Church.openly condemned by the Roman Catholic Church. Both rites are the product of combining Christian mysticism, African rites and Caribbean beliefs, giving as a product a kind of black magic that, however rejected by the most generic Christianity, has become the sign of identity of the Caribbean.

5. Hesuklistos

The Lacandon people is a Mayan culture that inhabits the Mexican state of Chiapas. Within this culture there is the word "Äkyantho'", a term that comes to mean "the god of the foreigners". This god is actually the Christian God, and in the Lacandon worldview also includes his son Jesus, whom they call Hesuklistos..

This culture recognizes Hesuklistos as a god, but he is not part of their main pantheon, nor can it be said that the Lacandones are Christians since Jesus is a minor deity for them. Even so, it is clear that the incorporation of Jesus into their ancestral religion is a sign of religious syncretism.

6. Asian Catholicism

In the same way that in the West more and more people follow Buddhism, Confucianism and Shintoism for the simple reason of being exotic and typical of a distant region, in Asia the same thing happens but with Western religions: more and more Asians are deciding to become Christians.

However, they have not simply acquired Christianity. Given the cultural differences between the West and countries like Korea and Japan, teaching lifelong Catholicism is doomed to failure. For this reason, especially in South Korea, a syncretized version of Catholicism with Buddhist and Confucian traditions has been adopted. Thus, Koreans do not renounce their traditional ceremonies, but adapt them, Koreans do not renounce their traditional ceremonies, but adapt them with the teachings of Jesus..

7. Benedicaria

In Southern Italy and Sicily we can find a popular Catholicism called Benedicaria. This religion combines the ancestral traditions of southern Italy with the official practices of Roman Catholicism. Its origins are said to go back to Magna Graecia times, since many Hellenic cultural traits can be identified in this peculiar local rite, as well as later Norman influences.

8. Bahá'í Faith

The Bahá'í follow Bahá'u'lláh, a prophet who they believe was the successor of Mohammed, Jesus, Moses, Buddha, Zarathustra, Krishna and Abraham.. The fact that they accept that their main prophet came after so many other founders of very popular religions has led to the idea that the Bahá'i religion is in reality a purely syncretic faith.

In spite of this, these people consider that Bahá'u'lláh' was revealed to them totally independently as a revelation from God, although it could be related to the doctrines of other religions. Even so, the similarity between this prophet and the Bahá'i god with that of Jesus and the Christian God has also raised the possibility that this religion is an alternative version of the earliest Christian creed.

9. Rastafari Movement

Syncretism is a common phenomenon in the Caribbean. Given the contact with the original indigenous cultures as well as with black slaves and settlers from Spain, France, England and Holland, it was practically inevitable that a creed would emerge in the region that tried to unite many elements to increase social cohesion, making everyone feel comfortable believing in the same thing.

In addition to voodoo and branches of Catholicism in the Caribbean, there is an important movement that has become very famous worldwide: the Rastafarian movement.. Originating in Jamaica, it syncretizes many elements from the Bible, Marcus Garvey's Pan-African movement, European traditions, the sixth and seventh books of Moses, Hinduism and Caribbean culture.

10. Moonism

The Unification Church or Moonism is considered a syncretic organization founded by the Korean Sun Myung Moon (1920-2012). This religion aims to transcend the great universal religions, to unite Korean messianism and to unite the philosophy of Christianity with that of the Far East..

This religious proposal is so syncretic that its members have had no qualms about participating in official rites and ceremonies of other religions, such as Christianity or Islam, despite theological differences.

Bibliographical references:

• Poupard, Paul (1998). Diccionario de las religiones (1st edition). Herder & Herder.
• Smith, Mark S. (2010) [2008]. God in Translation: Deities in Cross-Cultural Discourse in the Biblical World. Eerdmans. ISBN 978-0-8028-6433-8.
• Cotter, John (1990). The New Age and Syncretism, in the World and in the Church. Long Prairie, Minn.: Neumann Press. ISBN 0-911845-20 - 28.