Once again, in Brazil, Yemanja is one of the seven orixas of the African Pantheon and is also known as the Queen of the Ocean. 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 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. Religion in Latin America is characterized by the historical predominance of Catholic Christianity, increasing Protestant influence, as well as by the presence of other world religions. SYNCRETISM IN LATIN AMERICA Paper instructions: • Discuss the role of syncretism and religious conversion in the film The Other Conquest. For instance, when Roman Catholicism came to the Americas, particularly Latin America, they forced the Native Americans to convert to Roman Catholicism. relocation diffusion. Americas, The Changing Face of Latin America and the Caribbean. 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 • Describe how the devotion to the Virgen de Guadalupe has maintained indigenous religious traditions in Latin America through religious syncretism. This is an example of independent innovation of cultural traits. You could not be signed in, please check and try again. 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). Or was it necessary for them to give up their own beliefs? Latin America faces environmental crises that directly affect the health and well-being of its people, especially the poor. In the 17th cent. One certainly cannot speak of "African religion" as if it was a single, coherent set of beliefs. 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. "Religious Syncretism." See all related overviews in Oxford Reference 1 The … 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. Psychologists, 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. Religion, View all related items in Oxford Reference », Search for: 'Christianity in Latin America' in Oxford Reference ». 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. The definition given syncretism by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary is: "1) the combination of different forms of belief or practice" and "2) the fusion of two or more originally different inflectional forms". 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. From:  A Study of Mexican Religious Syncretism. The vast majority of Latin Americans would identify themselves as Christians by religion. 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. What is it? Conservative Christians in Latin America. In Latin America and the Caribbean, this religious festivity, as with most of the Catholic rituals It is contrasted by the idea of multiple religious belonging and polytheism, respectively.. Clearly with this example as with others, the Spanish were only so successful in their quest to convert the Indigenous population. 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. 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. This chapter describes two tasks in "defining syncretism"; one task concerns the phenomenon of syncretism, the other task relates to the notion of syncretism. Syncretism in anthropology, sociology and religious studies reflects the meeting, mixing and blending of components of different religious traditions or systems (Smith, 1974). Pluralism with Syncretism: A Perspecti ve from Latin American Religious Div ersity 241 meet one another, that are capa ble of modifying each other ² . 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. Within areas with a sizable population of African descent, such as Brazil and the Caribbean, African religious beliefs and practices have merged with Catholicism to form diasporan religions that give the names of Catholic saints to African gods, and whose adherents engage in spirit possession and blood sacrifices which have no parallel in orthodox Catholicism. Christianity changed and created a new, unique religion through the mixing of cultures and religions (syncretism). All Rights Reserved. Syncretism has been a serious issue throughout Christian history. 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. 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. Cristo-Paganism. In essence what this boils down to is the clergy's decision to pick their battles. In Bahia, she is known as Our Lady of Conception. Contrasts with antecedent saint cults in 16th‐century Spain demonstrate the “Mayan‐ness” of this syncretism; comparison with saint cults in other Maya communities relates syncretism more closely to local contexts of community morality than to enduring “deep structures” of some primordial Maya culture or to a “false consciousness” born of persistent colonialist oppression. Answer: Syncretism, as defined by the American Heritage Dictionary, is “the reconciliation or fusion of differing systems of belief.” This is most evident in the areas of philosophy and religion, and usually results in a new teaching or belief system. Herbert Richardson phrases the need for such creative interpenetration very nicely: “Christianity has been a Western religion too long. Latin America, where evengelical Protestantism is increasingly challenging the historical Catholic hegemony. The Catholic monarchs, Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabel of Castile, supported by the staunch integralist Francisco Jiménez de Cisneros and succeeded by Charles I (as Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V) and Philip II, molded Spain into a unified nation that would be capable of what each believed to be a divine mission—the Christianization of the Americas. As the empire expanded, conquered cultures were permitted to keep their own beliefs and local gods provided they pay homage to the Inc… One was from the Caribbean area, primarily Cuba and Puerto Rico, into Florida. Black slaves tied their beliefs to Christian saints, creating a syncretism or religion equivalence. Because of this we see so many Christian deities with a dual identity in Latin America today. in  The Jesuits were expelled from Latin America in 1767. This was because the Indians were accustomed to accepting the gods of their conquerors into their pantheon, but they weren't so willing to cease the worship of the gods of their ancestors. 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. Also from the Yoruba religion, this is another deity that has several identities. Together they directed the political-ecclesiastical enterpr… Among the many tools used in the Spanish Conquest, Christianity was perhaps the surest way to ensure compliance from the Indigenous population in the New World. took place across Latin America with the introduction of a new faith as well as the ancient syncretism between the indigenous cultures. AbstractThe aim of this paper is to defend a type of pluralistic philosophical theory that addresses the specific characteristics of Latin American religious diversity. However, this manifestation of Christian faith was acceptable to the Catholic clergy because the image that this portrayed was that of Christian converts. A live chicken with its feet bound was removed from a burlap sack and laid down upon the church’s floor. Much of the research that has been done on syncretism focuses heavily on the religious aspect, but this paper will combine religion with art. For example, Christianity has highly dominated a significant fraction of American societies. 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. • Make reference to the course readings (ATTACHED), the film The Other Conquest, … There is no denying that superstition is taken seriously among Latinos. cultural lag. SYNCRETISM IN LATIN AMERICA Paper instructions: • Discuss the role of syncretism and religious conversion in the film The Other Conquest. 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. African and African-inspired religions in Latin America and the Caribbean are as diverse as the region itself. 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. Christianity was brought to Latin America by the Spanish and Portuguese conquerors of North, Central, and South America in the 16th cent. 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. PRINTED FROM OXFORD REFERENCE (www.oxfordreference.com). This week, from April 10th th to April 17, is the celebration of the Holy Week in the Christian world. This week, from April 10th th to April 17, is the celebration of the Holy Week in the Christian world. One of the easily recognized forms of syncretism in the American societies is the partial integration of religious practices amongst themselves. Nevertheless, Christianity has incorporated some religious practices whose origins are from ancient Greeks and native Indian Americans. Syncretism; Madsden, William. Such cultural practices would create cracks among the American societies due to conflict of interest (Rheenen, 2006). Herbert Richardson phrases the need for such creative interpenetration very nicely: “Christianity has been a Western religion too long. 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 … The religious practices of many cultural groups combine elements of Christianity with the traditional religions of their ancestors. In Brazil the black Portuguese worship the warrior god Ogum under the guise of the Christian saint St. George. The syncretism between Christian and Umbanda religion gives us Our Lady of the Seafaring. Religious history is full of syncretism. 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. their missions among the Guaraní Indians of Paraguay (based partly on Thomas More's Utopia) were among the best known RC missions. In Santeria/Christian syncretism in Cuba and Haiti she is known as Our Lady of Regla. The versions of these religions as they developed in the New World became known as African Diaspora religions. In their gatherings it is common to see all sorts of sacrifices happening. Was it really important that the Indigenous population understand that the Christian gods they were told to worship were strictly Christian? Syncretism, the foundation of santeria. The Jesuits in the second half of the 16th cent. All religions (as well as philosophies, systems of ethics, cultural norms, etc.) Christianity And Democracy In Global Context-R. Syncretism: Amalgamation of different religions, cultures, or schools of thought Research Question: What exactly allowed for the Santería's creation, popularity, and widespread following? 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 … Syncretism is a process where the fusion of cultures, religions, and philosophies produce both new faiths and cultures or the destruction of older faiths. 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." became the empire builders of New World Catholicism, founding churches, schools, universities, and missions along the distant frontiers of Mexico and Brazil. 300 ce). Religious relativism & syncretism in America I just read a good article on religious relativism in America from USA today by Kathy Lynn Grossman. With the introduction of another culture, the Africans, into this New World, the pantheon just grew bigger.The Christians had not only the Indigenous idolatry to contend with, but they also had the deities of this other culture, the Africans, and their syncretism with the Indigenous culture to compete with. Much of the research that has been done on syncretism focuses heavily on the religious aspect, but this paper will combine religion with art. 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