95-101. Religious Movements," in William C. Sturtevant, ed., Handbook of Peel, Aladura: A Religious Movement See Article History. For further references in these areas, see C. Scott Littleton, "Syncretism," We'll look at a few examples of this phenomenon that happened during the classical period. the Fulani Jihad, the Iranian Revolution, as well as the Taiping and family resemblances between the Ghost Dance and the other Native American University of Chicago Press, 1986), 185-88. (New York: Macmillan, 1987), 14: 218-27 . It is therefore considered a syncretisation of right and left politics. For a review of this literature, see Carl Starkloff, A Theology of Mesopotamia, the earliest Western civilization (the modern-day Middle East) fostered syncretism for most of its long history. Easter was named after an ancient Germanic pagan fertility goddess. ed. among the Yoruba (London: Oxford University Press, 1968), and "Syncretism But they are very different. 6, 313. See Walter E.A. We have already discussed religious syncretism quite a bit. been teaching modern world history since 1998 at the freshman level and Shaw and Stewart, "Problematizing Syncretism," 21-22. And most modern versions of Christianity have been syncretized with the old pagan cultures of northern Europe, giving you Christmas trees and Easter eggs. Alternative Title: syncretism. though they often quarreled and warred against each other, made up their Charles E. Dibble, "The Nahuatlization of Christianity," in Munro S. The ideal of the ‘melting pot’ is syncretic because the things that go into a melting pot lose their original identity and become something new. The bibliography refers mostly Young, "Intertribal Religious syncretism, the fusion of diverse religious beliefs and practices. 2 (January 1968), 121-41. Communism. Essays on While some might welcome syncretism as preferable to religious and cultural conflict, others may rightfully fear that it could mean the loss of their unique cultural heritage or religion. 19The And it is easy to see the fear of syncretism among minority religions and cultures in many nations today. William Powers, (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Syncretism is not only the opposite of cultural purity and religious orthodoxy, it is also actively opposed and feared by many people concerned for the survival of their cultural identity. For example, many Jewish people believe that it is important for their children to marry other Jews—not because of prejudice, but because they fear the eventual disappearance of Judaism. 2 You may use these HTML tags and attributes:
. Movements (Berlin: Mouton De Gruyter, 1988). (Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1974), 227; Louise M. participation, see William K. Powers, Beyond the Vision. Heinemann, 1939), vol. The term “new age” comes from the idea, made famous by the 60s musical Hair, that Earth is entering the astrological “Age of Aquarius,” corresponding to a new current of cosmic energy which will bring enlightenment to humanity. However, it is not very helpful as an analytical tool, since it stands to reason that any two groups that encounter each other will experience some kind of combination of old and new customs. The process… has not been the deletion and replacement of religious ideas but rather the assimilation and reinterpretation of religious ideas.”. 1890 (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1965), 15, 40. studies of Calvin's Geneva, the New England Puritans, the Wahhabi movement, "The Native American Church of Jesus Christ", in DeMallie and Parks, 10, no. 13, pt. According to this quote, pressure has been increasing for people all over the world to denitfy themselves as members purely of one group, and Sen objects to this as a limitation on personal freedom. Maryanne Cline Religious syncretism is probably the most talked about kind of syncretism, but you can also talk about cultural, political, musical, linguistic, culinary, or other sorts of syncretism. a.Syncretism mainly belongs to the modern age, b.Syncretism has been common throughout human history, c.Syncretism developed out of the protestant reformation, d.Syncretism typically destroys religions, a.Sharing between different cultural groups, b.The creation of new creative traditions and ideas, c.The adaptation of old religions to new environments. James Mooney, The Ghost-Dance Religion and the Sioux Outbreak of brothers: we must be careful especially . Marla N. Powers, Oglala Women. On the Taiping see Jonathan Spence, God's Chinese Son (New York: American food is a great example of cultural syncretism. So, although few people doubt the value of adopting Chinese food or yoga into our lives, fears of syncretism cannot be easily dismissed; it is true that minority cultures can lose their traditions forever under syncretism; already, most young Chinese people in America don’t practice Tai Chi. in Beyond the Vision, 99, disputes the term "syncretism" as applied 24 Instances of religious syncretism—as, for example, Gnosticism (a religious dualistic system that incorporated elements from the Oriental mystery religions), Judaism, Christianity, and Greek religious philosophical concepts—were particularly prevalent during the Hellenistic period ( c. 300 bce … Mary E. Cochran, Dakota Cross-Bearer. He is engaged in It shows the way to ensure a stable government and an orderly society in the present world and stresses a moral code of conduct. 11 here; he sees it rather as a strategy by the Catholic Church to gain And people have often disagreed about which is preferable—syncretism or diversity; we will look more at these arguments in sections three and four. 10 In fact, the area was ruled by many different religions and ethnic groups during its 3,000-plus years of existence, some of them Semitic (such as Arabs and Hebrews) and others not, such as the Hittites, the Persians, and the earliest group—the Sumerians. But even before that, few places on Earth, if any, were owned by the tribes who first lived there! seventeen pages to Christianity and 107 pages to the Chinese classics! 1978—), vol. a comparative study of varying indigenous encounters and responses to to works in German or French. Any time aspects of two different cultural traditions blend and become something new, it’s syncretism. The entry by Carsten Colpe in the Encyclopedia of Religion, 9 26 (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1968), 15. Mircea Eliade, 14 vols. However, syncretism is potentially quite different from diversity, or multi-culturalism. new converts. American Bishop (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2000), 19. The collection includes So, people today who are upset and anxious about syncretism, should probably consider that their religion or culture has already been partially syncretic for over a thousand years! Looking at the long view of human history, syncretism has certainly been the norm, rather than the exception. Christine Renata Although almost all cultures probably have some syncretism, we can pick out some landmarks in world history. However, others welcome this kind of syncretism; for example, many non-Christian families in America already celebrate the major Christian holidays. American Indian Culture (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1987), Which of the following are benefits of syncretism? Crossroad Publishing, 1993), 207-09. Where did the Easter Bunny come from? The Quest for Purity. in New Dictionary of the History of Ideas, ed. Indian culture is a product of much syncretism—a nation in which 100s of different ethnicities, religions, cultures, languages, and political systems have been blending already for 1000s of years, at least ever since the Indo-Europeans invaded over 4,000 years ago, blending with the several other cultures who were already there. Gordon Macgregor, Warriors without Weapons (Chicago: University Burkhart, "The Cult of the Virgin of Guadalupe in Mexico," in Gary H.