Everything about Syncretism totally explained
Syncretism consists of the attempt to reconcile disparate or contradictory beliefs, often while melding practices of various schools of thought. The term may refer to attempts to merge and
analogize several originally
discrete traditions, especially in the
theology and
mythology of
religion, and thus assert an underlying unity allowing for an
inclusive approach to other faiths.
Syncretism also occurs commonly in
literature,
music, the
representational arts and other expressions of
culture. (Compare the concept of
eclecticism.) Syncretism may occur in architecture as well. There also exist
syncretic politics, although in political classification the term has a somewhat different meaning.
Origin of the word
The
Oxford English Dictionary first attests the word
syncretism in English in
1618. It derives from modern
Latin syncretismus, drawing on
Greek συνκρητισμός (
synkretismos), meaning "Synchronization with Crete."
The Greek word occurs in
Plutarch's (
1st century AD) essay on "Fraternal Love" in his
Moralia (2.490b). He cites the example of the
Cretans, who reconciled their differences and came together in alliance when faced with external dangers. "And that's their so-called
Syncretism."
Erasmus probably coined the modern usage of the Latin word (in his
Adagia ("Adages"), published in the winter of 1517–1518) to designate the coherence of
dissenters in spite of their differences in theological opinions. In a letter to
Melanchthon of April 22, 1519, Erasmus specifically adduced the Cretans of Plutarch as an example of his adage "Concord is a mighty rampart".
Social and political roles
Overt syncretism in folk belief may show cultural acceptance of an alien or previous tradition, but the "other" cult may survive or infiltrate without authorized
syncresis nevertheless.
For example, some
Conversos developed a sort of
cult for martyr-victims of the
Spanish Inquisition, thus incorporating elements of
Catholicism while resisting it.
Some religious movements have embraced overt syncretism, such as the case of the adoption of
Shintō elements into
Buddhism. Others have strongly rejected it as devaluing precious and genuine distinctions; examples of this include post-
Exile Judaism and
Islam.
Syncretism tends to facilitate coexistence and constructive interaction between different cultures (
intercultural competence), a factor that has recommended it to rulers of multi-ethnic
realms. Conversely the rejection of syncretism, usually in the name of "
piety" and "
orthodoxy," may help to generate, bolster or authorize a sense of cultural
unity in a well-defined minority or majority.
Religious syncretism
Religious syncretism exhibits blending of two or more religious belief 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 the culture, or when a culture is conquered, and the conquerors bring their religious beliefs with them, but don't 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 the
Abrahamic religions, or any system that exhibits an
exclusivist 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 specific syncretistic trend may sometimes use the word "syncretism" as a disparaging epithet, as a charge implying that those who seek to incorporate a new view, belief, or practice into a religious system actually distort the original faith. Non-exclusivist systems of belief, on the other hand, may feel quite free to incorporate other traditions into their own.
In modern
secular society, religious innovators sometimes create new religions syncretically as a mechanism to reduce inter-religious tension and enmity, often with the effect of offending the original religions in question. Such religions, however, do maintain some appeal to a less exclusivist audience. Discussions of some of these blended religions appear in the individual sections below.
In one paper, the authors believe that every religion, including Christiantity, is the historical result of syncretism.
Syncretism in Ancient Greece
Syncretism functioned as an essential feature of
Ancient Greek religion. Overall,
Hellenistic culture in the age that followed
Alexander the Great itself showed syncretist features, essentially blending of
Persian,
Anatolian,
Egyptian (and eventually
Etruscan-
Roman) elements within an Hellenic formula. The
Egyptian god
Amun developed as the Hellenized
Zeus Ammon after
Alexander the Great went into the desert to seek out Amun's
oracle at
Siwa.
Such identifications derive from
interpretatio graeca, the Hellenic habit of identifying gods of disparate
mythologies with their own. When the proto-Greeks (peoples whose language would evolve into Greek proper) first arrived in the
Aegean and on the mainland of modern-day Greece early in the
2nd millennium BCE, they found localized
nymphs and
divinities already connected with every important feature of the landscape:
mountain,
cave,
grove and
spring all had their own locally-venerated
deity. The countless
epithets of the
Olympian gods reflect their syncretic identification with these various figures. One defines "
Zeus Molossos" (worshipped only at
Dodona) as "the god identical to Zeus as worshipped by the
Molossians at Dodona". Much of the apparently arbitrary and trivial mythic
fabling results from later mythographers' attempts to explain these obscure epithets.
Syncretism and Judaism
Judaism fought lengthy battles against syncretist tendencies: note the case of the
golden calf and the railing of prophets against
temple prostitution,
witchcraft and local
fertility cults, as told in the
Torah. On the other hand, some scholars hold that Judaism refined its concept of
monotheism and adopted features such as its
eschatology,
angelology and
demonology through contacts with
Zoroastrianism.
In spite of the Jewish
halakhic prohibitions on
polytheism,
idolatry, and associated practices (
avodah zarah), several combinations of Judaism with other religions have sprung up:
Jewish Buddhism,
Nazarenism,
Judeo-Paganism,
Messianic Judaism,
Jewish Mormonism,
Crypto-Judaism (in which Jews publicly profess another faith and privately celebrate Judaism), and others. Until relatively
recently, China had a Jewish community which had adopted some
Confucian practices.
Several of the
Jewish Messiah claimants (such as
Jacob Frank) and the
Sabbateans came to mix
Cabalistic Judaism with Christianity and Islam.
Syncretism in the Roman world
The
Romans, identifying themselves as common heirs to a very similar civilization, identified
Greek deities with similar figures in the
Etruscan-Roman tradition, though without usually copying
cult practices. (For details, see
Similarities between Roman, Greek, and Etruscan mythologies.) Syncretic
gods of the Hellenistic period found also wide favor in Rome:
Serapis,
Isis and
Mithras, for example.
Cybele as worshipped in Rome essentially represented a syncretic East Mediterranean
goddess. The Romans imported the Greek god
Dionysus into Rome as Bacchus, and converted the Anatolian
Sabazios into the Roman
Sabazius.
The degree of correspondence varied:
Jupiter makes perhaps a better match for
Zeus than the rural huntress
Diana does for the feared
Artemis.
Ares doesn't quite match
Mars. The Romans physically imported the Anatolian goddess
Cybele into Rome from her Anatolian cult-center
Pessinos in the form of her original aniconic archaic stone
idol; they identified her as
Magna Mater and gave her a matronly, iconic image developed in Hellenistic
Pergamum.
Likewise, when the Romans encountered
Celts and
Teutons, they mingled these peoples' Northern gods with their own, creating
Apollo Sucellos (Apollo the Good Smiter) and
Mars Thingsus (Mars of the war-assembly), among many others. In the
Germania, the Roman historian
Tacitus speaks of Teutonic worshippers of
Hercules and
Mercury; most modern scholars tentatively identify Hercules as
Thor and Mercury as
Odin.
Syncretism in Christianity
Nascent
Christianity appears to have incorporated many Jewish and pagan cultural elements, through a process of "
Christianization" or "baptizing" them to conform with Christian belief and principles, at least partially, whilst discarding theologically or morally incompatible elements. Note for example the strong connection between the thought of
St. Augustine and
Neoplatonic thought; and
St. Thomas Aquinas' many citations of "The Philosopher" (
Aristotle). Most scholars agree with this syncretism in principle. Medieval
scholasticism engaged in prolonged and bitter debate over the place of pre-Christian classicism within the official Church teachings.
Open Theists (a subset of Protestant Evangelicals) assert that
Christianity by the 3rd and 4th centuries had incorporated
Greek Philosophy into its understanding of God.
Syncretism didn't 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. 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 affect a reconciliation with the Catholic Church:
Johann Hülsemann,
Johann Georg Dorsche and
Abraham Calovius (1612-1685) opposed the
Lutheran Georg Calisen "Calixtus" (1586-1656) of the
University of Helmstedt for his
"syncretism"
. (See:
Syncretistic Strife.)
The modern celebrations of
Christmas (as celebrated in the northern European tradition, originating from pagan
Yule holidays),
Easter (as celebrated in the eastern European tradition, with the incorporation of spring
fertility rites) and
Halloween exemplify details of Christian/pagan syncretism. Earlier, the elevation of Christmas as an important holiday largely grew out of a need to replace the
Saturnalia, a popular December festival of the Roman Empire.
Roman Catholicism in
Central and
South America has integrated a number of elements derived from
indigenous and slave cultures in those areas (see
the Caribbean and
modern sections); while many
African Initiated Churches demonstrate an integration of Christian and traditional African beliefs. In Asia the revolutionary movements of
Taiping (19th-century China) and
God's Army (
Karen in the 1990s) have blended Christianity and traditional beliefs. Traditional Catholics nonetheless often argue against "cafeteria Catholicism", or the act of "picking and choosing" what one wants to believe or practice.
One can contrast Christian syncretism with
contextualization or
inculturation, the practice of making Christianity relevant to a culture.
The Syncretistic Strife of the 17th century
The phrase "Syncretistic Strife" may refer to the theological quarrel provoked by the efforts of
Georg Calixt and his supporters to secure a basis on which the
Lutherans could make overtures to the
Roman Catholic and the
Reformed Churches. It lasted from
1640 to
1686. Calixt, a professor at
Helmstedt, had through his travels in
England, the
Netherlands,
Italy, and
France, through his acquaintance with the different Churches and their representatives, and through his extensive study, developed a more friendly attitude towards the different religious bodies than the majority of his contemporary Lutheran theologians. While the latter firmly adhered to the "pure doctrine," Calixt tended not to regard doctrine as the one thing necessary for a Christian, while in doctrine itself he didn't regard everything as equally certain and important. Consequently, he advocated unity between those who agreed on the fundamental minimum, with liberty as to all less fundamental points. In regard to Catholicism, he'd have (as
Melanchthon once would have) conceded to the
pope a primacy human in origin, and he also admitted that one might call the
Mass a sacrifice.
On the side of Calixt stood the theological faculties of
Helmstedt,
Rinteln, and
Königsberg; opposed to him stood those of
Leipzig,
Jena,
Strasburg,
Giessen,
Marburg, and
Greifswald.
Abraham Calov in especial opposed Calixt. The
Elector of Saxony, for political reasons, opposed the
Reformed Church, because the other two
secular
electors (Palatine and Brandenburg) were "
reformed," and were getting more and more the advantage of him. In 1649 he sent to the three dukes of Brunswick, who maintained Helmstedt as their common university, a communication in which he voiced all the objections of his Lutheran professors, and complained that Calixt wished to extract the elements of truth from all religions, fuse all into an entirely new religion, and so provoke a violent schism. In 1650 Calov became a professor at Wittenberg, and he signalized his entrance into office with a vehement attack on the Syncretists in Helmstedt. An outburst of polemical writings followed. In 1650 the dukes of Brunswick answered the Elector of Saxony that the discord shouldn't be allowed to increase, and proposed a meeting of the political councillors. Saxony, however, didn't favour this suggestion. An attempt to convene a meeting of theologians wasn't more successful. The theologians of Wittenberg and Leipzig now elaborated a new formula, condemning ninety-eight heresies of the Helmstedt theologians. This formula (consensus) was to be signed by everyone who wished to remain in the Lutheran Church. Outside Wittenberg and Leipzig, however, it wasn't accepted, and Calixt's death in
1656 ushered in five years of almost undisturbed peace.
The strife broke out afresh in
Hesse-Cassel, where
Landgrave William VI sought to effect a union between his
Lutheran and
Reformed subjects, or at least to lessen their mutual hatred. In 1661 he'd a
colloquy held in Cassel between the Lutheran theologians of the
University of Rinteln and the Reformed theologians of the
University of Marburg. Enraged at this revival of the syncretism of Calixt, the Wittenberg theologians in vehement terms called on the Rinteln professors to make their submission, whereupon the latter answered with a detailed defence. Another long series of polemical treatises followed. In Brandenburg-Prussia the Great Elector (Frederick William I) forbade (1663) preachers to speak of the disputes between the Evangelical bodies. A long colloquy in Berlin (September 1662 to May 1663) led only to fresh discord. In 1664 the elector repeated his command that preachers of both parties should abstain from mutual abuse, and should attribute to the other party no doctrine which wasn't actually held by such party. Whoever refused to sign the form declaring his intention to observe this regulation, was deprived of his position (e. g.
Paul Gerhardt, writer of religious songs). This arrangement was later modified, in that the forms were withdrawn, and action took place only against those who disturbed the peace. The attempts of the Wittenberg theologians to declare Calixt and his school un-Lutheran and
heretical were now met by Calixt's son, Friedrich Ulrich Calixt, The latter defended the theology of his father, but also tried to show that his doctrine didn't so very much differ from that of his opponents. Wittenberg found its new champion in
Ægidius Strauch, who attacked Calixt with all the resources of learning, polemics, sophistry, wit, cynicism, and abuse. The Helmstedt side was defended by the celebrated scholar and statesman,
Hermann Conring. The Saxon princes now recognized the danger that the attempt to carry through the "Consensus" as a formula of belief might lead to a fresh schism in the
Lutheran Church, and might thus render its position difficult in the face of the Catholics. The proposals of Calov and his party to continue the refutation and to compel the Brunswick theologians to bind themselves under obligation to the old Lutheran confession therefore remained unimplemented. On the contrary, the Saxon theologians were forbidden to continue the strife in writing. Negotiations for peace then resulted, with Duke
Ernst the Pious of
Saxe-Gotha especially active towards this end, and the project of establishing a permanent college of theologians to decide theological disputes was entertained. However, the negotiations with the courts of Brunswick, Mecklenburg, Denmark, and Sweden remained as fruitless as those with the theological faculties, except that peace was maintained until 1675.
Calov then renewed hostilities. He now attacked not only Calixt, but also and particularly the moderate
John Musæus of Jena. Calov succeeded in having the whole
University of Jena (and after a long resistance Musæus himself) compelled to renounce syncretism. But this was his last victory. The elector renewed his prohibition against polemical writings. Calov seemed to give way, since in
1683 he asked whether, in the view of the danger which France then constituted for Germany, a Calixtinic Syncretism with "
Papists" and the
Reformed were still condemnable, and whether in deference to the
Elector of Brandenburg and the dukes of Brunswick, the strife shouldn't be buried by an amnesty, or whether, on the contrary, the war against syncretism should be continued. He later returned to his attack on the syncretists, but died in
1686, and with his death the strife ended.
The Syncretist Strife had the result of lessening religious hatred and of promoting mutual forbearance.
Catholicism thus benefited, as
Protestants came to better understand and appreciate it. In Protestant theology it prepared the way for the sentimental theology of
Pietism as the successor of fossilized
orthodoxy.
Syncretism in Islam
Some scholars regard Islam as incorporating syncretically from other religions, particularly
Judaism,
Christianity, and
Zoroastrianism. Muslims don't regard this as syncretism, as they see Islam as a completion of divine revelations from Jewish and Christian prophets. It is a fundamental tenet of Islamic faith to believe in the consistency of message in the revelations from one God through many messengers to their people (Quran 2:285) and claims to be the revitalization of the original pure teaching of
Allah. In traditional Islamic belief, the Bible and Torah, over time, however, these revelations eventually became corrupted because of the lack of written manuscripts, serial translations from one language to another, or simply forgotten.
Syncretism in the Druze religion
The
Druzes integrated elements of
Ismaili Islam with
Gnosticism and
Platonism. Their practice of disguising themselves as followers of the dominant religion around them makes it difficult to distinguish belief from simulated belief.
Syncretism in the Bahá'í Faith
The
Bahá'ís follow
Bahá'u'lláh, a prophet whom they consider a successor to
Muhammad,
Jesus,
Moses,
Buddha,
Zoroaster and others. This acceptance of other religious founders has encouraged some to regard the Bahá'í religion as a syncretic faith. However, Bahá'ís and the Bahá'í writings explicitly reject this view. Bahá'ís consider Bahá'u'lláh's revelation an independent, though related, revelation from God. Its relationship to previous
dispensations is seen as analogous to the relationship of Christianity to Judaism. They regard beliefs held in common as evidence of truth,
progressively revealed by God throughout human history, and culminating in (at present) the Bahá'í revelation. Bahá'ís have their own
sacred scripture, interpretations, laws and practices that, for Bahá'ís, supersede those of other faiths.
Syncretism in Caribbean religions and cultures
The process of syncretism in the
Caribbean region often forms a part of cultural creolization. (The technical term
"Creole" may apply to anyone (regardless of race or ethnicity) born and raised in the region.) The shared histories of the Caribbean islands include long periods of European
Imperialism (mainly by
Spain,
France, and the
United Kingdom) 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,
Marcus Garvey's
Pan Africanism movement, and Caribbean culture.
Another highly syncretic religion of the area,
voodoo, combines elements of Western African, native Caribbean, and
Christian (especially
Roman Catholic) beliefs.
See
the modern section for other Caribbean syncretisms.
Syncretism in Indian traditions
Hinduism,
Buddhism and
Jainism in ancient India have made many adaptations over the millennia, assimilating elements of various diverse religious traditions.
The
Mughal emperor
Akbar, who wanted to consolidate the diverse religious communities in his empire, propounded
Din-i-Ilahi, a syncretic religion intended to merge the best elements of the religions of his empire.
Sikhism blends elements of Islam and Hinduism.
The
Hindu teaching of
Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar as embodied in the socio-spiritual organization
Ananda Marga brings together the disparate branches of yoga for inner development, an
ancient theory of social motivity and change, a
theory of human and non-human welfare and
intuitive insights into science with the aim to increase welfare on the planet.
Other modern syncretic religions
Recently-developed religious systems that exhibit marked syncretism include the
New World religions
Candomblé,
Vodou, and
Santería, which analogize various
Yorùbá and other
African gods to the
Roman Catholic saints. Some sects of
Candomblé have incorporated also
Native American gods, and
Umbanda combined African deities with
Kardecist spiritualism.
Unitarian Universalism also provides an example of a modern syncretic religion; it traces its roots to
Universalist and
Unitarian Christian congregations while at the same time freely incorporating elements from other religious and non-religious traditions.
Universal Sufism seeks the
unity of all people and
religions, as well as the ability to find
beauty in all things. 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."
In Vietnam,
Caodaism blends elements of
Buddhism, Catholicism and Kardecism. Japanese syncretists founded several
new Japanese religions (such as
Konkokyo and
Seicho-No-Ie) from the latter half of the 19th century onwards.
The
Nigerian religion
Chrislam combines Christian and Islamic doctrines.
Thelema is a mixture of many different schools of belief and practice, including
Hermeticism, Eastern
Mysticism,
Yoga, 19th century
libertarian philosophies (for example
Nietzsche),
occultism, and the
Kaballah, as well as ancient
Egyptian and
Greek religion.
Examples of strongly syncretist Romantic and modern movements with some religious elements include
mysticism,
occultism,
theosophy, modern
astrology,
Neopaganism, and the
New Age movement.
Syncretism in linguistics
morphosyntactic functions. Some inflected words or word forms in some
natural languages indicate (morphologically) a distinction in
syntax, while some other words in the same language do not. For example in
Russian, some nouns have different word forms (inflections) in
nominative and
accusative (
kniga and
knigu respectively) while some other
nouns (
pismo,
pismo) inflect without a distinction. The former indicate a distinction in the Russian syntax while the latter hide that distinction.
Syncretism in cultures and societies
Syncretism in the Enlightenment
The modern, rational non-pejorative connotations of syncretism date from
Denis Diderot's
Encyclopédie articles:
Eclecticisme and
Syncrétistes, Hénotiques, ou Conciliateurs. Diderot portrayed syncretism as the concordance of eclectic sources.
Modern syncretic social and cultural movements
Other forms of syncretism not directly related to religion appear in the modern world as well: thus one can sometimes speak of cultural and/or social syncretism.
Japanese culture after
World War II and the moderate tendencies within
Neo-Tribalism may serve as examples. The eclectic aspects of
postmodernism represent an important contemporary example of cultural syncretism observable in much of the
Western world. The socio-spiritual movement
Ananda Marga, which originated in
India in
1955, stems from a syncretic approach to the different strands of
yoga, as propounded by its founder
P.R. Sarkar. It has as its stated purpose "to help
individuals achieve complete
self-realization and to build a
social structure in which the
physical,
mental and
spiritual needs of all people can be
fulfilled."
Syncretism in fiction
Syncretism in new media art
Roy Ascott
The Syncretic Imperative
Syncretic Reality: art, process, and potentialityFurther Information
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