Keywords: syncretism, religion, Vodu, Orisha, Africa Introduction This article examines current debates surrounding the concept of syncretism in Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean and grapples with more than forty years of literature surrounding the concept.1 The comparative, historical, and ethnographic data of my own and But within that uniformity, there are in fact many strands of beliefs and practices, some of which are oppositional to each other. • Make reference to the course readings (ATTACHED), the film The Other Conquest, … Those similarities were downplayed in the effort to cast natives as inferior or sub-human. One of the easily recognized forms of syncretism in the American societies is the partial integration of religious practices amongst themselves. A) Christian saints replaced pre-Christian gods. The vast majority of Latin Americans would identify themselves as Christians by religion. Even when pagan idols where removed and former temples and shrines destroyed, the sites still remained. The Jesuits were expelled from Latin America in 1767. While on the surface, Christian gods and deities such as saints and virgins were accepted by the Indians, they continued to worship their own gods in secrecy. Religious history is full of syncretism. D) Christian saints replacing pre-Christian gods, and celebration of Carnival in Brazil E) All of the choices are examples of syncretic religion in Latin America PRINTED FROM OXFORD REFERENCE (www.oxfordreference.com). Syncretism has been a serious issue throughout Christian history. After years of using force the Catholic monks and friars had to come to the realization that Christianity as a monotheistic religion was just not something that the Indigenous population embraced. Jesus, especially as Christianity continues to grow in Africa, Latin America, and Asia. AbstractThe aim of this paper is to defend a type of pluralistic philosophical theory that addresses the specific characteristics of Latin American religious diversity. Although many people view Christianity changing Latin America to be positive because of how powerful the religion is, some, myself included, may view it … New Orleans, LA: The Department of Middle American Research, The Tulane University of Louisiana, 1960. Under the terms of the licence agreement, an individual user may print out a PDF of a single entry from a reference work in OR for personal use (for details see Privacy Policy and Legal Notice). Influenced by the Deism of the French and American revolutions, new national governments enacted anti-clerical policies that much reduced the Church's institutional presence in many Latin American countries in the course of the 19th and early 20th cents. Because of this we see so many Christian deities with a dual identity in Latin America today. One definition from www.britannica.com states: Religious syncretism, the fusion of diverse religious beliefs and practices. I think this is the best example of Christianity in Latin America as understood by not only the Indigenous population, but even among modern Latinos. Religious syncretism, the fusion of diverse religious beliefs and practices. In Santeria/Christian syncretism in Cuba and Haiti she is known as Our Lady of Regla. A live chicken with its feet bound was removed from a burlap sack and laid down upon the church’s floor. their missions among the Guaraní Indians of Paraguay (based partly on Thomas More's Utopia) were among the best known RC missions. Religious practices during the Ancient Period in Latin America were spread orally within tribes and between civilizations through conquest. Christian , spiritist , and other beliefs and practices derived frem European sources. Syncretism in anthropology, sociology and religious studies reflects the meeting, mixing and blending of components of different religious traditions or systems (Smith, 1974). The continent of Africa has been home to hundreds of indigenous tribes speaking a wide variety of languages and believing a wide variety of different spiritual ideas. The versions of these religions as they developed in the New World became known as African Diaspora religions. Cristo-Paganism. Americas, The Changing Face of Latin America and the Caribbean. In their gatherings it is common to see all sorts of sacrifices happening. You can get a more in depth look at this deity's background here, but for a quick overview, this deity was created by Miguel Sanchez, a Catholic priest, in 1648, but was embraced by the Christian clergy in Mexico as a way to convert the Indigenous population because of her Indian appearance. ». Farris, Nancy M. Maya Society Under Colonial Rule. Franciscan, Dominican, and Augustinian friars, and later the Jesuits, preached among the indigenous groups of the Americas, with varying degrees of success. This pagan god has several identities depending on what country you are in, so in Bahia, he is more synonymous with St. Sebastian or St. Anthony. 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. Through its combination of Yoruba and Hispanic cultural and religious traditions, Santería B) the celebration of Carnival in Brazil C) The Mayan practice of paying tribute to underworld spirits is replicated through building shrines to favorite Catholic saints. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church », Subjects: Latin America's Christian Democratic Parties-Edward A. Lynch 1993 A comprehensive examination of Latin America's Christian Democratic parties from their nineteenth-century origins to the 1990s. In Bahia, she is known as Our Lady of Conception. The syncretism between Christian and Umbanda religion gives us Our Lady of the Seafaring. Christianity was brought to Latin America by the Spanish and Portuguese conquerors of North, Central, and South America in the 16th cent. Syncretism in anthropology, sociology and religious studies reflects the meeting, mixing and blending of components of different religious traditions or systems (Smith, 1974). A computer-based bibliographical search carried out even in 1982 (then still a relative novelty in the human ities), using "syncretism" as a key-word, produced an emphasis on subjects relating to Latin America or the Caribbean (especially among anthropologists in the Herskowits tradition). The conquistadors were fired by a medieval devotion to the extension of Christendom. The article is pretty good because it causally mentions how silly religious relativism is by pointing out that people often accept multiple religious systems which contradict each other. All religions (as well as philosophies, systems of ethics, cultural norms, etc.) Much of the research that has been done on syncretism focuses heavily on the religious aspect, but this paper will combine religion with art. The religious landscape of the United States continues to change at a rapid clip. All Rights Reserved. Brazil possesses a richly spiritual society formed from the meeting of the Catholic Church with the religious traditions of African slaves and indigenous people. African and African-inspired religions in Latin America and the Caribbean are as diverse as the region itself. 300 ce). Information is also presented about the process of syncretism as evidenced in the growth and development of the cult of Maria Lionza in Venezuela , and about the remarkable case recently reported of religious syncretism among the Cora Indians One certainly cannot speak of "African religion" as if it was a single, coherent set of beliefs. Religious syncretism at its best is not old truths in new guise or just old or new truths confused; rather, through a creative dialectic, new religious insights have been born. In essence what this boils down to is the clergy's decision to pick their battles. One was from the Caribbean area, primarily Cuba and Puerto Rico, into Florida. The fact that superstitions have been accepted within the Christian religion is a telltale reminder of the unspoken compromise that was made between the Spanish Catholics and the Indigenous population five hundred years ago. MESTIZAJE AND RELIGIOUS CELEBRATIONS IN LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN Posted on April 10, 2017 by Catalina Hernandez-Cabal Young and Wickstrom, 2014. Conservative Christians in Latin America. possess some level of syncretism because ideas do not exist in a vacuum. Ogum originated in Yoruba and Haitian religions. • Describe how the devotion to the Virgen de Guadalupe has maintained indigenous religious traditions in Latin America through religious syncretism. Syncretism. In modern America, religion not only plays a central role in harmonising people but also acts as a platform over which human beings in the society relate to each other as members of a given religion (Christians or Islam) they are expected to act in a manner considered reasonable in the society as a whole. A Study of Mexican Religious Syncretism. In there specific kind of living, religion in Africa and America has been in one way or another integrated to come up with a solemn mode of religion. DBQ Christianity Evaluate the extent to which Christianity changed societies in Latin America in the period 1500-1800 Thesis: (responds to the prompt with a clear historically defensible thesis/claim that establishes a line of reasoning)  Throughout the period 1500 to 1800, Christianity played an immense role in Latin American society. For instance, when Roman Catholicism came to the Americas, particularly Latin America, they forced the Native Americans to convert to Roman Catholicism. Most American Native groups in both North and South America have the concept of a Great Creator and a number of them have beliefs that are in harmony with basic Christianity. By the time that most Latin American countries gained their independence in the early 19th cent. The other side of this argument, however, is that common Christian understandings of syncretism—or lack of understanding, more often—block Christians’ ability to appreciatively interpret other Christians. While Latin America inherited a Catholic religious legacy from its colonial past, the region today is home to a number of faiths and spiritual practices. In Brazil the black Portuguese worship the warrior god Ogum under the guise of the Christian saint St. George. In other words, one thing had nothing to do with the other and praying for rain to the rain gods in order to ensure a good crop had no effect on his Christianity. Viewing the RC Church as a conservative and atavistic competitor for power, the new liberal national governments sought to replace their citizens' loyalty to the Church with nationalism. 1 The … Christianity is the largest religion in Brazil, with Catholics having the most adherents. 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 –c. • Describe how the devotion to the Virgen de Guadalupe has maintained indigenous religious traditions in Latin America through religious syncretism. Syncretism is not a new phenomenon. This week, from April 10 th to April 17 th, is the celebration of the Holy Week in the Christian world.In Latin America and the Caribbean, this religious festivity, as with most of the Catholic rituals celebrated in the region, must be read under the light of the historical process of colonization. When native Americans were confronted with Christianity, some incorporated elements of Christianity into their own beliefs, creating a new, syncretistic system. As the empire expanded, conquered cultures were permitted to keep their own beliefs and local gods provided they pay homage to the Inc… Even the corresponding pagan religion that synchronized with Christianity can make a difference in the dual identity of this god, so in Voudou he is known as St. Jacques Majeur (St. James the Greater), or Santiago Matamoros (St. James the Moorslayer), but in Santeria he is syncretized with St. Peter. the RC Church was the single most pervasive and influential colonial institution. With absence of religious syncretism American societies would be dominated by diverse conflicting religious practices. One certainly cannot speak of "African religion" as if it was a single, coherent set of beliefs. There is no denying that superstition is taken seriously among Latinos. It is contrasted by the idea of multiple religious belonging and polytheism, respectively.. In Pew Research Center telephone surveys conducted in 2018 and 2019, 65% of American adults describe themselves as Christians when asked about their religion, down 12 … You could not be signed in, please check and try again. The conquest was in reality incomplete, as evidenced by the enduring presence of indigenous religion mixed with Catholic beliefs and rituals, a practice known variously as ‘folk Catholicism’, ‘religious syncretism’ or ‘creolized religion’ that is still common in regions that have large indigenous populations, such as southern Mexico, Guatemala, Ecuador, and Peru. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church ». (c) Copyright Oxford University Press, 2021. Latin America faces environmental crises that directly affect the health and well-being of its people, especially the poor. When a typical farmer and descendant of the Maya in the Yucatan Peninsula was asked why, if he was a Christian, did he make offerings to the chaac, the rain spirits, he answered, "Because I make milpa." But as you will see in these pages, many of them share rituals, beliefs, language and even veneration of the same gods—revealing common origins in … Herbert Richardson phrases the need for such creative interpenetration very nicely: “Christianity has been a Western religion too long. In the 1494 Treaty of Tordesillas between Spain and Portugal, Pope Alexander VI confirmed their claims to the New World on the basis of their ability to baptize its inhabitants and instruct them in the faith. took place across Latin America with the introduction of a new faith as well as the ancient syncretism between the indigenous cultures. In a series of films to be shown during three consecutive weeks of IAP, we will learn about Christianity, Judaism, and religious practices such as Umbanda and Candomble that synthesize African and indigenous faiths with Christianity. Indians made pilgrimages to this site for centuries and even well into the 18th century, Indians that made this pilgrimage were going to pay homage to Tonantzin, not Guadalupe. The syncretism between Christian and Umbanda religion gives us Our Lady of the Seafaring. The Indian Face of God in Latin America. This week, from April 10th th to April 17, is the celebration of the Holy Week in the Christian world. Using the Brazilian case as a reference we demonstrate that since the country’s first republican constitution “religious diversity” was legally constructed as a form of allocating in the field of religion popular practices perceived as dangerous and or superstitious. Sponsored by Ferdinand V and Isabella (the ‘Catholic Kings’), they came to the Americas just after the reconquest of Spain and Portugal from the Muslim Moors of North Africa (completed in 1492, a few months before Columbus's ‘discovery’ of America) and so brought with them a sense of religious citizenship which conflated the RC faith with fealty to the Crown. Psychologists, See all related overviews in Oxford Reference Syncretism is a process where the fusion of cultures, religions, and philosophies produce both new faiths and cultures or the destruction of older faiths. Syncretism: Amalgamation of different religions, cultures, or schools of thought Research Question: What exactly allowed for the Santería's creation, popularity, and widespread following? in  Catholic Syncretism Forms The Basis For The Teachings Of The World Christian Gathering on Indigenous People Movement (WCGIP) by Sandy Simpson, 8/1/13. Religious syncretism at its best is not old truths in new guise or just old or new truths confused; rather, through a creative dialectic, new religious insights have been born. The continent of Africa has been home to hundreds of indigenous tribes speaking a wide variety of languages and believing a wide variety of different spiritual ideas. Syncretism is the formation of new religious ideas from multiple distinct sources, often contradictory sources. The Impact of African Traditional Religious Beliefs and Cultural Values on Christian- Muslim Relations in Ghana from 1920 through the Present: A Case Study of Nkusukum-Ekumfi-Enyan area of the Central Region. Starting with perhaps the most popular of dual identity Christian deities, the Virgen de Guadalupe is an example of this phenomenon. MESTIZAJE AND RELIGIOUS CELEBRATIONS IN LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN Posted on April 10, 2017 by Catalina Hernandez-Cabal Young and Wickstrom, 2014. 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. What is it? The early missionary orders who worked to convert America's great native peoples—the Aztecs of Mexico, the Incas of Peru, the Maya of Guatemala and Yucatán—met with initial resistance, but eventually proved successful, both through coercion and what Bartolomé de Las Casas called ‘peaceful persuasion’, in converting the indigenous people from their pre-hispanic polytheistic religions to Christianity. Black slaves tied their beliefs to Christian saints, creating a syncretism or religion equivalence. Winn, Peter. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1984. Such cultural practices would create cracks among the American societies due to conflict of interest (Rheenen, 2006). Clearly with this example as with others, the Spanish were only so successful in their quest to convert the Indigenous population. Berkley: University of California Press, 2006. In Santeria/Christian syncretism in Cuba and Haiti she is known as Our Lady of Regla. Latin America. The religious practices of many cultural groups combine elements of Christianity with the traditional religions of their ancestors. any attention to Latin American questions. B) the celebration of Carnival in Brazil C) The Mayan practice of paying tribute to underworld spirits is replicated through building shrines to favorite Catholic saints. Many historical Native American religious movements have incorporated Christian European influence, like the Native American Church, the Ghost Dance, and the religion of Handsome Lake. Central America; South America; Middle East; North America; Oceania; Tutorials; About ; Home » Culture and Society • Mexico • Religion » Maya and Catholic Religious Syncretism at Chamula, Mexico. Through its combination of Yoruba and Hispanic cultural and religious traditions, Santería exemplifies Latin America's unique syncretic religious landscape, and the process of cultural fusion that allowed it … North, Central, and South America in 1767 countries gained their independence in the world. In Santeria/Christian syncretism in Latin America demonstrated religious syncretism American societies struggles in. With others, the fusion of diverse religious beliefs and practices because the that. All religions ( as well as the region itself of the Christian Church » removed a., Nancy M. Maya Society under Colonial Rule cultural practices would create cracks among American. 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