Christianity One can contrast Christian syncretism with
contextualization or
inculturation, the practice of making Christianity relevant to a culture: Contextualisation does not address the doctrine but affects a change in the styles or expression of worship. Although Christians often took their European music and building styles into churches in other parts of the world, in a contextualization approach, they would build churches, sing songs, and pray in a local ethnic style. Some
Jesuit missionaries adapted local systems and images to teach Christianity, as did the Portuguese in China, the practice of which was opposed by the
Dominicans, leading to the
Chinese rites controversy.
Protestant Reformation Syncretism did not play a role when Christianity split into
eastern and
western rites during the
Great Schism. It became involved, however, with the rifts of the
Protestant Reformation, with
Desiderius Erasmus's readings of Plutarch. Even earlier, syncretism was a fundamental aspect of the efforts of Neoplatonists such as
Marsilio Ficino to reform the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. In 1615,
David Pareus of
Heidelberg urged Christians to a "pious syncretism" in opposing the
Antichrist, but few 17th-century Protestants discussed the compromises that might effect a reconciliation with the Catholic Church:
Johann Hülsemann, Johann Georg Dorsche, and
Abraham Calovius (1612–85) opposed the
Lutheran Georg Calisen "Calixtus" (1586–1656) of the
University of Helmstedt for his "syncretism". (See:
Syncretistic controversy.)
Modern usage Pope Paul VI included a warning against syncretism in his
encyclical letter of 1964,
Ecclesiam Suam:
New World statues alongside other items of Mexican veneration (
Jesus,
Mary) on sale at a shop on Broadway in downtown Los Angeles. Catholicism in Central and South America has been integrated with a number of elements derived from the cultures of the
Indigenous peoples of the Americas and enslaved Africans in those areas (see the
Caribbean and
modern sections). The Catholic Church allows some symbols and traditions to be carried over from older belief systems, so long as they are remade to conform (rather than conflict) with a Christian worldview; syncretism of other religions with the Catholic faith, such as
Voudun or
Santería, is expressly condemned. The image of
Our Lady of Guadalupe and the subsequent
devotion to her are seen as assimilating some elements of native
Mexican culture into Christianity.
Santa Muerte, a female deity of death, has also emerged as the combination of the indigenous goddess
Mictecacihuatl and the Lady of Guadalupe. As of 2012, Santa Muerte is worshipped by approximately 5% of the Mexican population, and also has a following in the United States and parts of Central America. Some Andean areas, such as in
Peru, have a strong influence of
Inca-originated
Quechua culture into Catholicism. This often results in Catholic holy days and festivities featuring Quechua dances or figures, such as the
Assumption of Mary celebration in
Chinchaypujio, or the fertility celebrations for
Pachamama in the mostly Catholic
Callalli. The
Lacandon people of Central America acknowledge Äkyantho', the god of foreigners. He has a son named Hesuklistos (Jesus Christ) who is supposed to be the god of the foreigners. They recognize that Hesuklistos is a god but do not feel he is worthy of worship as he is a minor god. The
Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod experienced controversy for disciplining pastors for
unionism and syncretism when they participated in multi-faith services in response to the
9/11 attacks and to the
shootings at Newtown, Connecticut, on the grounds that joint worship with other Christian denominations or other religious faiths implied that differences between religions are not important. In the
Latter Day Saint movement, doctrine from previous
dispensations as recorded in the
LDS canon are considered official, though it is accepted that ancient teachings can be warped, misunderstood, or lost as a result of
apostasy. While it does not officially recognize doctrine from other religions, it is believed that truth in other sources can be identified via
personal revelation.
East Asia Catholicism in South Korea has been syncretized with traditional
Mahayana Buddhist and
Confucian customs that form an integral part of traditional Korean culture. As a result, South Korean Catholics continue to practice a modified form of
ancestral rites and observe many Buddhist and Confucian customs and philosophies. In Asia the revolutionary movements of
Taiping (19th-century China) and
God's Army (
Karen in the 1990s) blended Christianity with traditional beliefs.
Chinese Independent Churches, with membership up to eighty million, incorporate elements of Protestantism and
Chinese folk religion.
Southeast Asia An Islamic and Hindu-Buddhist-Animist Syncretist movement in Indonesia known as
Abangan was politically and socially active for a while. In the Philippines
Folk Catholicism blends religious and magical elements from the precolonial Philippine nations which were practicing either
Buddhism,
Hinduism,
Animism,
Islam or other religions; together with Hispano-American Roman Catholicism. An example of this is the
Our Lady of Guidance of the Philippines, which was an icon of a Native
Hindu-
Buddhist Diwata but is treated as an image of the Virgin Mary.
Mongolia Khotons follow a syncretic form of
Islam that incorporates Buddhist and traditional elements (like
Tengrism).
Spain , centers of
Xueta religious ritual life.
Xueta Christianity is a
syncretic religion on the island of
Mallorca,
Spain, followed by the
Xueta people, who are descendants of persecuted
Jews who were
converts to Christianity. Traditionally, The church of Saint Eulalia and the church of Montesión (
Mount Zion) in
Palma de Mallorca have been used by the families of Jewish converts (
Xuetas), and both are the centers of Xueta religious ritual life. The Palma's Mont Zion Church was once the main
synagogue of
Palma de Mallorca. Is estimated that there are roughly 20,000
Chuetas living on the island of
Mallorca today, and they practiced strict
endogamy by marrying only within their own group.
"Besides actual conversion, Islam has had a considerable influence on the Hindu religion. The sects of reformers based on a revolt from the orthodoxy of Varnashrama Dharma were obviously the outcome of the knowledge that a different religion could produce equally pious and right thinking men. Laxity in social restrictions also appeared simultaneously in various degrees and certain customs were assimilated to those of the Muhammadans. On the other hand the miraculous powers of Muhammadan saints were enough to attract the saint worshiping Hindus, to allegiance, if not to a total change of faith... The Shamsis are believers in Shah Shamas Tabrez of Multan, and follow the Imam, for the time being, of the Ismailia sect of Shias... they belong mostly to the Sunar caste and their connection with the sect is kept a secret, like Freemasonry. They pass as ordinary Hindus, but their devotion to the Imam is very strong." In the
Sundarbans (spread across Indian state of
West Bengal and
Bangladesh), it is noted that
Bonbibi, a guardian spirit of the forests is venerated by Hindus and Muslim residents alike. In most of the shrines of Banbibi in the Sundarbans, Banbibi is most commonly worshipped along with her brother Shah Jangali and Dakkhin Rai.
Bauls are a group of mynstric minstrels who put emphasis on their mystical elements with the tradition of music. Baul tradition is essentially an amalgamation of
Vaishnavism and
Sufism. Baul has had a considerable effect on
Bengali culture. Baul traditions are included in the list of
Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.
Balochistan Being a religious minority in the region for centuries, colonial officials found that indigenous Baloch Hindus developed a form of religious syncretism that incorporated many aspects of Islam into their cultures and traditions, greatly differing from the forms of orthodox
Hinduism practiced in other parts of the subcontinent. Furthermore, caste and family ancestry was often difficult to ascertain, as Hindus indigenous to the
Balochistan region mainly solely identified as a member of their respective
Baloch tribe, typically unknowing of their caste background. {{blockquote|
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa In a similar manner to the
Baloch Hindus to the south, Hindus belonging to the various castes and tribes who were indigenous to the frontier regions had considerable Islamic influence, owing to their status as a religious minority in the region for centuries, and thus formed religious syncretism that incorporated aspects from both faiths into their cultures and traditions. Furthermore, caste differentiation amongst the Hindus of the region was often greatly diminished, in contrast with the Hindus of regions further to the east in the
Gangetic plain such as
eastern Punjab or the
United Provinces. Nevertheless, the Bahá'í Faith's explicit emphasis on nurturing or synthesising the general development of
unity in diversity across the world is intended to have a generative influence on the syncretic and synthetic emergence of
intercultural,
pluricultural, and
multicultural paradigms in religion and society.
Caribbean and Afro-American altar celebrating
Papa Guédé in
Boston,
Massachusetts, featuring offerings to
Rada spirits, the
Petwo family, and the
Gede. In the center is a golden
monstrance. The process of syncretism in the Caribbean region often forms a part of cultural creolization. (The technical term "
Creole" may apply to anyone born and raised in the region, regardless of race.) The shared histories of the Caribbean islands include long periods of European
Imperialism (mainly by Spain, France, and Great Britain) and the importation of African
slaves (primarily from Central and Western Africa). The influences of each of the above interacted in varying degrees on the islands, producing the fabric of society that exists today in the Caribbean. The
Rastafari movement, founded in
Jamaica, syncretizes vigorously, mixing elements from the
Bible (specifically
Protestantism),
Marcus Garvey's
Pan-Africanism movement, a text from the European grimoire tradition, the
Sixth and Seventh Books of Moses,
Hinduism, and
Caribbean culture. Another highly syncretic religion of the area,
vodou, combines elements of Western African, native Caribbean, and
Christian (especially
Roman Catholic) beliefs. Recently developed religious systems that exhibit marked syncretism include the
African diasporic religions Candomblé,
Vodou and
Santería, which analogize various
Yorùbá and other
African deities to the
Roman Catholic saints. Some sects of Candomblé have also incorporated
Native American deities, and
Umbanda combined African deities with
Kardecist spiritualism.
Hoodoo is a similarly derived form of folk magic practiced by some
African American communities in the
Southern United States. Other traditions of syncretic folk religion in North America include
Louisiana Voodoo as well as
Pennsylvania Dutch Pow-wow, in which practitioners invoke power through the
Christian God. A
Hindu tradition can be found in the Caribbean, particularly among the
Indo-Caribbean Tamil diaspora, that is known as
Caribbean Shaktism. It has its origins in the
Mariamman cults of
Tamil Nadu, and was brought to the Caribbean via the
Girmityas. Later in the Caribbean, it started to be syncretized with
Vedic Hinduism due to the contact between North Indian Girmityas and Tamil Girmityas. Later on in their arrival, the practice was syncretized/influenced by
Roman Catholicism to varying degrees. In
Guyana, the syncretic Hindu-Dravidian practice was maintained with minimal Catholic syncretism, while in
Trinidad and Tobago, some
mandirs house statues of
Saints and Catholic figures such as
Jesus and the
Virgin Mary. In
Martinique, a unique practice known as Maldevidan Spiritism developed among the Tamil community in the North coast which was fully syncretic, where Hindu and Tamil deities were syncretized with saints.
Other Omnism is the belief in all
religions with their gods. Many historical
Native American religious movements have incorporated Christian European influence, like the
Native American Church, that teaches a combination of traditional
Native American beliefs and Christianity, with sacramental use of the
entheogen peyote. Further examples in North America are the
Ghost Dance, and the religion of
Handsome Lake.
Santo Daime is a syncretic religion founded in Brazil that incorporates elements of several religious or spiritual traditions including
Folk Catholicism,
Kardecist Spiritism, African
animism, and
indigenous South American
shamanism, including
vegetalismo.
Unitarian Universalism also provides an example of a modern syncretic religion. It traces its roots to
Universalist and
Unitarian Christian congregations. However, modern Unitarian Universalism freely incorporates elements from other religious and non-religious traditions, so that it no longer identifies as "Christian". The
Theosophical Society professes to go beyond being a syncretic movement that combines deities into an elaborate
Spiritual Hierarchy, and assembles evidence that points to an underlying (or occult) reality of Being that is universal and interconnected, common to all spirit-matter dualities. It is maintained that this is the source of religious belief, each religion simply casting that one reality through the prism of that particular time and in a way that is meaningful to their circumstances.
Universal Sufism seeks the
unity of all people and
religions. Universal Sufis strive to "realize and spread the knowledge of Unity, the religion of Love, and Wisdom, so that the biases and prejudices of faiths and beliefs may, of themselves, fall away, the human heart overflow with love, and all hatred caused by distinctions and differences be rooted out." , on his right
Lao Tzu, on his left
Confucius. Under Buddha is
Li Bai. On Li Bai's right is the female
Boddhisattva Guanyin, on his left is the red-faced warrior Guan Gong. Below Li Bai is
Jesus, and below Jesus is
Jiang Ziya. In Vietnam,
Caodaism blends elements of
Buddhism,
Catholicism, and
Taoism. Several
Japanese new religions, such as
Konkokyo and
Seicho-No-Ie, are syncretistic. The
Nigerian religion
Chrislam combines Pentecostal Christianity and Islamic doctrines. Nigerian
Yoruba people, which amount to almost fifty million, combine mainly Protestant Christianity and Islamic practices.
African Initiated Churches demonstrate an integration of
Protestant and
traditional African religion. Upper estimates of membership in African Initiated Churches reach up to a few hundred million. In West-Central Africa, modern
Bwiti incorporates animism,
ancestor worship, ritual use of
iboga, and Christianity into a syncretistic belief system.
Thelema is a mixture of many different schools of belief and practice, including
Hermeticism, Eastern
Mysticism,
Yoga, 19th century
libertarian philosophies (i.e.
Nietzsche),
occultism, and the
Kabbalah, as well as ancient
Egyptian and
Greek religion. Examples of strongly syncretistic
Romantic and modern movements with some religious elements include
mysticism,
occultism,
Theosophical Society, modern
astrology,
Neopaganism, and the
New Age movement. Many of India's estimated fifty million Pentecostals have syncretic blends with
Indian religions. In
Réunion, some
Malbars practice at same time Hinduism and Christianity. but separately, not mixed (this is called "dual religious practice" in French "double pratique religieuse") but it's not considered as syncretism The
Unification Church, founded by religious leader
Sun Myung Moon in
South Korea in 1954, has teachings based on the
Bible, but includes new interpretations not found in mainstream Judaism and Christianity and incorporates East Asian traditions. ==See also==