Syncretism (/ˈsɪŋkrətɪzəm,ˈsɪn-/)[1] is the practice of combining different beliefs and variousschools of thought. Syncretism involves the merging orassimilation of several originally discretetraditions, especially in thetheology andmythology ofreligion, thus asserting an underlying unity and allowing for aninclusive approach to other faiths. While syncretism inart andculture is sometimes likened toeclecticism, in the realm of religion, it specifically denotes a more integrated merging of beliefs into a unified system, distinct from eclecticism, which implies a selective adoption of elements from different traditions without necessarily blending them into a new, cohesive belief system.
The English word is first attested in the early 17th century.[2] It is fromModern Latinsyncretismus, drawing on theσυγκρητισμός (synkretismos), supposedly meaning "Cretan federation." However, this is a spurious etymology derived from the naive idea inPlutarch's 1st-century AD essay on "Fraternal Love (Peri Philadelphias)" in his collectionMoralia. He cites the example of theCretans, who compromised and reconciled their differences and came together in alliance when faced with external dangers. "And that is their so-calledSyncretism [Union of Cretans]." A more likely etymology is fromsun- ("with") pluskerannumi ("mix") and its related noun,krasis ("mixture").
Overt syncretism in folk belief may show cultural acceptance of an alien or previous tradition, but the "other" cult may survive or infiltrate without authorizedsyncresis. For example, someconversos developed a sort ofcult for martyr-victims of theSpanish Inquisition, thus incorporating elements ofCatholicism while resisting it.
TheKushite kings who ruled Upper Egypt for approximately a century and the whole of Egypt for approximately 57 years, from 721 to 664 BCE, constituting theTwenty-fifth Dynasty inManetho'sAegyptiaca, developed a syncretic worship identifying their own godDedun with the EgyptianOsiris. They maintained that worship even after they had been driven out of Egypt. A temple dedicated to this syncretic god, built by theKushite rulerAtlanersa, was unearthed atJebel Barkal.[3][4]
Syncretism was common during theHellenistic period, with rulers regularly identifying local deities in various parts of their domains with the relevant god or goddess of theGreek Pantheon as a means of increasing the cohesion of their kingdom. This practice was accepted in most locations but vehemently rejected by theJews, who considered the identification ofYahweh with the GreekZeus as the worst of blasphemy.
TheRoman Empire continued the practice, first by the identification of traditional Roman deities with Greek ones, producing a singleGreco-Roman pantheon, and then identifying members of that pantheon with the local deities of various Roman provinces.
Some religious movements have embraced overt syncretism, such as the case ofmelding Shintō beliefs into Buddhism or the amalgamation of Germanic and Celticpagan views intoChristianity during its spread into Gaul, Ireland, Britain, Germany and Scandinavia. In later times, Christian missionaries inNorth America identifiedManitou, the spiritual and fundamental life force in the traditional beliefs of theAlgonquian groups, with theGod of Christianity. Similar identifications were made by missionaries at other locations in the Americas and Africa who encountered a local belief in a Supreme God or Supreme Spirit of some kind.
Syncretism tends to facilitate coexistence and unity between otherwise different cultures and world views (intercultural competence), a factor that has recommended it to rulers of multiethnicrealms. Conversely, the rejection of syncretism, usually in the name of "piety" and "orthodoxy", may help to generate, bolster or authenticate a sense of uncompromisedcultural unity in a well-defined minority or majority.
All major religious conversions of populations have had elements from prior religious traditions incorporated into legends or doctrine that endure with the newly convertedlaity.[5]
Religious syncretism is the blending of two or more religiousbelief systems into a new system, or the incorporation into a religious tradition of beliefs from unrelated traditions. This can occur for many reasons, and the latter scenario happens quite commonly in areas where multiple religious traditions exist in proximity and function actively in a culture, or when a culture is conquered, and the conquerors bring their religious beliefs with them, but do not succeed in entirely eradicating the old beliefs or (especially) practices.
Religions may have syncretic elements to their beliefs or history, but adherents of so-labeled systems often frown on applying the label, especially adherents who belong to "revealed" religious systems, such as theAbrahamic religions, or any system that exhibits anexclusivist approach. Such adherents sometimes see syncretism as a betrayal of their pure truth. By this reasoning, adding an incompatible belief corrupts the original religion, rendering it no longer true. Indeed, critics of a syncretistic trend may use the word or its variants as a disparaging epithet, as a charge implying that those who seek to incorporate a new view, belief, or practice into a religious system pervert the original faith. Non-exclusivist systems of belief, on the other hand, may feel quite free to incorporate other traditions into their own. Keith Ferdinando notes that the term "syncretism" is an elusive one,[6] and can refer to substitution or modification of the central elements of a religion by beliefs or practices introduced from elsewhere. The consequence under such a definition, according to Ferdinando, can lead to a fatal "compromise" of the original religion's "integrity".[7]
In modernsecular society, religious innovators sometimes construct new faiths or key tenets syncretically, with the added benefit or aim of reducing inter-religious discord. Such chapters often have a side-effect of arousing jealousy and suspicion among authorities and ardent adherents of the pre-existing religion. Such religions tend to inherently appeal to an inclusive, diverse audience. Sometimes the state itself sponsored such new movements, such as theLiving Church founded inSoviet Russia and theGerman Evangelical Church inNazi Germany, chiefly to stem all outside influences.
According to some authors, "Syncretism is often used to describe the product of the large-scale imposition of one alien culture, religion, or body of practices over another that is already present."[8] Others such asJerry H. Bentley, however, have argued that syncretism has also helped to create cultural compromise. It provides an opportunity to bring beliefs, values, and customs from one cultural tradition into contact with, and to engage different cultural traditions. Such a migration of ideas is generally successful only when there is a resonance between both traditions. While, as Bentley has argued, there are numerous cases where expansive traditions have won popular support in foreign lands, this is not always so.[9]
Akbar the Great holding a court discussing theology
In the 16th century, theMughal emperorAkbar proposed a new religion called theDin-i Ilahi ("Divine Faith"). Sources disagree with respect to whether it was one of many Sufi orders or merged some of the elements of the various religions of his empire.[10][11] Din-i Ilahi drew elements primarily fromIslam andHinduism but also fromChristianity,Jainism, andZoroastrianism. More resembling apersonality cult than a religion, it had no sacred scriptures, no priestly hierarchy, and fewer than 20 disciples, all hand-picked by Akbar himself. It is also accepted that the policy ofsulh-i-kul, which formed the essence of the Dīn-i Ilāhī, was adopted by Akbar as a part of general imperial administrative policy.Sulh-i-kul means "universal peace".[12][13]
The syncreticdeism ofMatthew Tindal undermined Christianity's claim to uniqueness.[14] The modern, rational, non-pejorative connotations of syncretism arguably date fromDenis Diderot'sEncyclopédie articlesEclecticisme andSyncrétistes, Hénotiques, ou Conciliateurs. Diderot portrayed syncretism as the concordance of eclectic sources. Scientific or legalistic approaches of subjecting all claims tocritical thinking prompted at this time much literature in Europe and the Americas studying non-European religions such as Edward Moor'sThe Hindu Pantheon of 1810, much of which was almost evangelistically appreciative by embracing spirituality and creating the space and tolerance in particulardisestablishment of religion (or its stronger form, official secularisation as in France) whereby believers ofspiritualism,agnosticism,atheists and in many cases more innovative or pre-Abrahimic based religions could promote and spread their belief system, whether in the family or beyond.[citation needed]
^Kendall, Timothy; Ahmed Mohamed, El-Hassan (2016)."A Visitor's Guide to The Jebel Barkal Temples"(PDF).The NCAM Jebel Barkal Mission. Khartoum: Sudan. Nubian Archeological Development Organization (Qatar-Sudan): 34 & 94.
^Török, László (2002).The Image of the Ordered World in Ancient Nubian Art: The Construction of the Kushite Mind, 800 BC–300 AD. Probleme der Ägyptologie. Vol. 18. Leiden: Brill. p. 158.ISBN9789004123069.
^Ferdinando, Keith (1995). "Sickness and Syncretism in the African Context". In Billington, Antony;Turner, Max (eds.).Mission and Meaning: Essays Presented to Peter Cotterell(PDF). Paternoster Press. p. 272.ISBN978-0853646761. Retrieved2018-06-30.The Christian faith is inevitably assimilated in terms of the existing structures of thought of its adherents, whatever their culture. Nevertheless, there are points at which the worldview of any people will be found to be incompatible with central elements of the gospel; if conversion to Christianity is to be more than purely nominal, it will necessarily entail the substantial modification of the traditional worldview at such points. Where this does not occur it is the Christian faith which is modified and thus relativised by the worldview, and the consequence is syncretism. [...] The term 'syncretism' [...] is employed here of the substitution or modification of central elements of Christianity by beliefs of practices introduced from elsewhere. The consequence of such a process is fatally to compromise its integrity.
^Peter J. Claus and Margaret A. Mills,South Asian Folklore: An Encyclopedia: (Garland Publishing, Inc., 2003).
^Jerry Bentley,Old World Encounters: Cross-Cultural Contacts and Exchanges in Pre-Modern Times (New York: Oxford University Press, 1993), viii.
^Roychoudhury, Makhanlal (1941).The Din-i-Ilahi, or, The Religion of Akbar. University of Calcutta. p. 306.OCLC3312929.Din-i-Ilahi ... was not a new religion; it was a Sufi order ... in which all the principles enunciated are to be found in the Quran and in the practices in the contemporary Sufi orders.
Assmann, Jan (2008). "Translating Gods: Religion as a Factor of Cultural (Un)Translatability". In de Vries, Hent (ed.).Religion: Beyond a Concept. Fordham University Press.ISBN978-0823227242.
Cotter, John (1990).The New Age and Syncretism, in the World and in the Church. Long Prairie, Minn.: Neumann Press. 38 p.N.B.: The approach to the issue is from a conservative Roman Catholic position.ISBN0-911845-20-8
Pakkanen, Petra (1996).Interpreting Early Hellenistic Religion: A Study Based on the Mystery Cult of Demeter and the Cult of Isis. Foundation of the Finnish Institute at Athens.ISBN978-951-95295-4-7.
