One definition from www.britannica.com states: Religious syncretism, the fusion of diverse religious beliefs and practices. Religious relativism & syncretism in America I just read a good article on religious relativism in America from USA today by Kathy Lynn Grossman. Clearly with this example as with others, the Spanish were only so successful in their quest to convert the Indigenous population. Syncretism is the formation of new religious ideas from multiple distinct sources, often contradictory sources. Such cultural practices would create cracks among the American societies due to conflict of interest (Rheenen, 2006). SYNCRETISM IN LATIN AMERICA Paper instructions: • Discuss the role of syncretism and religious conversion in the film The Other Conquest. It was the largest landholder in Ibero–America and managed wealth through various Church-owned financial assets; it ran every institution of higher learning; it controlled the political and intellectual life of the colonies through the Inquisition; and it had an active or passive presence through parish life in virtually every community. 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. 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. SYNCRETISM IN LATIN AMERICA Paper instructions: • Discuss the role of syncretism and religious conversion in the film The Other Conquest. Obviously, this cannot be reconciled to biblical Christianity. 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. All religions (as well as philosophies, systems of ethics, cultural norms, etc.) 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. Psychologists, 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. 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 … Syncretism is a process where the fusion of cultures, religions, and philosophies produce both new faiths and cultures or the destruction of older faiths. The ancient Romans adopted pagan Yule traditions that eventually made it into Christmas celebrations (Christmas trees, Yule logs, and the like), and Roman Catholics in Central and South America integrated elements from indigenous Latin American and North American religious traditions. Conservative Christians in Latin America. Americas, The Changing Face of Latin America and the Caribbean. Was it really important that the Indigenous population understand that the Christian gods they were told to worship were strictly Christian? 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