The word syncretism, which comes from the Greek word synkretismos and which originally alluded to the unity of the Cretans, expresses the fusion between two religions or two cultural manifestations. In both cases, a syncretism occurs when there is a synthesis of dogmas, ideas and symbols and as a result of this synthesis a new religious or cultural expression is created.
Examples of religious syncretism
Most new religions are the result of syncretism. In general terms, the causes that explain a symbiosis between different religions are related to colonization, imperialism and the migratory movements that have occurred throughout history. It should be emphasized that religious syncretism should not be confused with dialogue between different religions, nor should it be confused with ecumenism.
Examples that illustrate the idea of religious syncretism are the following:
- At Christianity that is practiced in Cuba and other Caribbean islands, elements and symbols of the Yoruba religion can be appreciated, a belief that comes from the black slaves who arrived from Africa.
- The Catholicism In some Latin American countries it is a mixture of rites, since elements and traditions of the Mayan religion are combined with the doctrine of the Catholic Church.
- The Bahá'í religion it is probably the spiritual movement that best highlights the fusion of different beliefs. In fact, according to the Bahá'í faith the different religions have to be united in a single doctrine, since they all express the word of a single true God.
Cultural syncretism
The term syncretism in cultural matters is not widely used, as concepts such as cultural miscegenation, fusion and others are used more frequently. Regardless of the convenience of one term or another, it is clear that in culture there is a mixture of tendencies that end up forming new manifestations.
One of the earliest historical examples of cultural syncretism took place during the Hellenistic period. After the conquests of Alexander the Great in the lV century BC. C, the subject peoples fused the Greek culture and language with their own beliefs and traditions.
Syncretism in cultural manifestations is very common in architecture, music, fashion or gastronomy. On the other hand, it also occurs in relation to languages, as is the case with Spanglish, a very widespread hybrid "language" in some territories of the United States in which Hispanic culture has merged with Anglo-Saxon.
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