CULTURAL SYNCRETISM: ORIGIN, TYPES AND EXAMPLES - HISTORY - 2025

The cultural sincretismo is a phenomenon that occurs as a result of the mixture between two or more cultures, producing a new from this event. It usually involves various schools of thought. There are various ways in which this phenomenon can manifest itself.

For example, when the conquerors arrived in America there was a forced syncretism between cultures. The natives who did not adapt to European customs were excluded from societies and harmed by the Conquest. In fact, Latin America is the main exponent of cultural syncretism in the world.

Origin

The term syncretism was properly coined in the seventeenth century, used to define a cultural movement that occurred in ancient Greece.

By the beginning of the 1st century the inhabitants of Cretas had to put aside their cultural differences to face the external danger of neighboring invasions.

From this movement the term originated, which since then has been used to refer to cultural clashes such as miscegenation.

Cultural syncretism can manifest itself in various ways, but all are related to the development of a society and the cultural traditions that define it.

In this case, the term also refers to the cultural mix of religious aspects, since these directly influence the culture of the peoples.

In short, it is a positivist way of explaining the mixture between cultures and the manifestations that are generated from it.

Types

Social and political syncretism

Social syncretism refers to the combination of two different population types. It is a phenomenon that today usually occurs with emigration, and is the cause of cultural syncretism in general today.

In turn, syncretism can facilitate the coexistence of different cultural beliefs within a society. In societies where there are people of different ethnicities, it is common for rulers to take an accepting approach. This has been the case throughout history in diverse and united societies.

On the other hand, refusing syncretism usually generates a strong presence of cultural unity among those who reject this practice.

In societies where the rejection of this phenomenon is common, the difference of cultures is often despised and a strong attachment to traditionalism is generated.

Artistic syncretism

Artistic syncretism is one of the most common forms of syncretism out there. It is still present today and, in fact, it is almost as common as migratory transculturation.

The creative methods used by different artists from various parts of the world can easily be found as a product of globalization.

This leads to the creation of new techniques, combining one or more elements of other existing methods. In turn, this generates new artistic movements and new ways of thinking within the creative realm of art.

Religious syncretism

Religious syncretism consists of unifying two or more religions to give rise to a new one. When two different cultures with different beliefs collide for the first time, it is likely that the dominant culture begins to take on aspects of the other to give rise to new beliefs. In religion this is very common.

However, the cultural syncretism of religion is a concept that usually differs from the rest due to the globalization of religious systems.

It is no longer as simple as before to create new religious aspects, because the beliefs of each religion are unique and clearly distinguishable from the rest.

As people already know the religious systems of each country, a mixture of two or more religions is an aspect that has not occurred on Earth on a large scale for centuries. For example, the creation of Orthodox Catholicism is a representation of religious cultural syncretism.

Architectural syncretism

Architectural syncretism reflects the union of cultures through the buildings that are designed in countries exposed to cultural mixing.

This phenomenon was seen mainly in the Spanish colonization of Latin America, when cultural clashes generated marked changes in the European architectural designs built in New Spain.

Examples

In Europe

One of the main exponents of syncretism in Europe was the ancient Roman Empire. The religion that its inhabitants practiced was a mixture of beliefs of several ancient European peoples. This can be noticed not only in the behavior of their gods, but in their own characteristics.

Jupiter, the Roman god, was physically similar to the Greek god Zeus, according to the descriptions in the sacred texts.

Furthermore, the language of the Empire (Latin) was a combination of several languages ​​of the time. This cultural syncretism gave rise to the language that is studied today and which is the root of the Romance languages, such as Spanish, French and Italian.

In Asia

Japan presents one of the best examples of cultural syncretism in the history of the Asian continent. When Japan first came into contact with China, the cultural influence was so great that they adapted various religious aspects of this civilization.

Also, Japanese writing has Chinese influences. The same is true of the Korean language and the characters that make up its writing.

In America

The colonization of America is possibly the most extensive syncretism process that has occurred on a continent. The Spanish, English, French and Dutch invasion altered the way of seeing the world and the religion that was had on the continent when only the indigenous tribes lived there.

Although this process was partly forced, the colonists themselves adapted to the beliefs and customs of the locals, albeit in a reduced way.

The cultural shock and miscegenation gave rise to the current Latin American nations and even served as a pretext to justify their independence.

References

1. What Is Cultural Syncretism? - Definition & Examples, C. Muscato for Study Website, (nd). Taken from study.com
2. Cultural Syncretism, N. Goodman for the Wall Street Journal, 2017. Taken from wsimag.com
3. Syncretism in Anthropology, Research Network, (nd). Taken from ireasearchnet.com
4. Syncretism, Khan Academy Website, (nd). Taken from khanacademy.org
5. Syncretism, Wikipedia in English, 2018. Taken from wikipedia.org