What Is Religious Syncretism
Submitted by Rashersvh on 06/30/2008 05:21 PM
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What Is Religious Syncretism
WHAT IS RELIGIOUS SYNCRETISM?
In very simple terms religious syncretism can be described as the fusing or mixing of different religious faiths. However the process of religious syncretism is a complex and vast subject which can involve various influences in a process of action and reaction, a process in which certain elements react with others and visa versa. It is an ongoing process and one of evolution which is present in varying degrees and that is always in the midst of change. The religions of Middle America have clearly have clearly gone through this process of syncretism and the resulting Catholicism which is practiced there needs to be understood within the context of history specifically the Spanish conquest of Latin America and the enforced evangelization of its indigenous population.
The arrival of the Spanish in the new world led to a policy of conversion to Catholicism as it was considered that Christianity was the only path to spiritual enlightenment and the practiced religions of the indigenous population was primitive, pagan and barbaric. The indoctrinisation was initially led by Franciscan friars who were compassionate, dedicated and above all intellectually capable of converting the native population. They invested time in gaining knowledge of prehispanic life and beliefs and soon realized that there where similarities between the structure of both religions. The friars were shrewd enough to capitalize on these similitudes as tools for conversion.
This is what Hugo G Nutini described as the first stage (of a total of three) of guided syncretism. The structural similarities between the catholic cult of the saints and the Tlaxcalan religious structure based on polytheism was put to good use and the friars consciously adopted these similarities in the process of conversion. The catholic saints were introduced to the natives who, Nutini claims, were unable to to absorb them into their own pantheon. They were unable to...
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