syncretism
Merging different faiths
Syncretism is the merging of different religions, cultures, or schools of thought into a combined system.
The term often describes how belief systems blend when cultures meet: Santería represents a syncretism of Catholic saints and West African deities.
The word can be neutral or pejorative—some see syncretism as natural cultural evolution, others as dilution of authentic tradition.
Uniting into one
- assimilationAbsorbing into a whole
- acculturationAdopting another group's customs
- hybridizationMixing distinct genetic lines
- creolizationPidgin maturing into mother tongue
multiculturalism · pluralism · blending · intermingling · cross-pollination · diaspora · cosmopolitanism · globalization
Combining from multiple sources
- pluralismCoexistence of differing views
- universalismDoctrine of total reconciliation
- holismWholes trump components
- relativismContext-dependent truth doctrine
constructivism · contextualism · inclusivity · reconciliation · monism · dualism · integration · synthesis
Combining into uniformity
- mergerCorporate combination
- convergenceProcess of approaching sameness
- coalescenceUniting into one mass
- synthesisCombining parts into whole
amalgam · composite · unification · consolidation · melding · intermixture · conflation · harmonization
Movement toward religious unity
- pantheonAll gods of a religion
- polytheismBelief in multiple deities
- paganismNon-monotheistic religious practice
- theologyStudy of the divine
rituals · deities · worship · doctrine · rites · sacred · priesthood · divinity
Improvised contact language
- creoleNativized pidgin tongue
- code-switchingAlternating between linguistic varieties
- borrowingTemporary taking of another's
- loanwordImported vocabulary item
calque · diglossia · relexification · bilingualism · multilingualism · neologism · etymology
amalgamation
Uniting into one
- assimilationAbsorbing into a whole
- acculturationAdopting another group's customs
- hybridizationMixing distinct genetic lines
creolization · multiculturalism · pluralism · blending · intermingling · cross-pollination · diaspora · cosmopolitanism · globalization · indigenization
eclecticism
Combining from multiple sources
- pluralismCoexistence of differing views
- universalismDoctrine of total reconciliation
- holismWholes trump components
relativism · constructivism · contextualism · inclusivity · reconciliation · monism · dualism · integration · synthesis · dialectic
blending
Combining into uniformity
- mergerCorporate combination
- convergenceProcess of approaching sameness
- coalescenceUniting into one mass
synthesis · amalgam · composite · unification · consolidation · melding · intermixture · conflation · harmonization · incorporation
ecumenism
Movement toward religious unity
- pantheonAll gods of a religion
- polytheismBelief in multiple deities
- paganismNon-monotheistic religious practice
theology · rituals · deities · worship · doctrine · rites · sacred · priesthood · divinity · faiths
pidgin
Improvised contact language
- creoleNativized pidgin tongue
- code-switchingAlternating between linguistic varieties
- borrowingTemporary taking of another's
loanword · calque · diglossia · relexification · bilingualism · multilingualism · neologism · etymology
- BrazilRio, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Brasilia, Amazon River
- religionChristianity, Islam, beliefs, Judaism, Hinduism
- cultural diversitycultural diversity, ethnic enclave, ethnic neighborhoods, Chinatown, Little Italy
- Cultural Fusionfusion cuisine, fusion jazz, fusion dance, hybridity, creole
- mixturesmix, mixture, blend, blending, amalgam
- anthropologyanthropology, fieldwork, ethnography, social anthropology, cultural anthropology
syncretismdoctrinal purity
Adherence to established beliefs
orthodoxy · purism · fundamentalism · exclusivism · dogmatism
syncretismexclusivism
Doctrine claiming sole truth
separatism · particularism · nativism · isolationism · cultural authenticity
syncretismcompartmentalization
Division into distinct sections
eclecticism · differentiation · segregation · purism · systematization
syncretic, syncretize, syncretist, syncretistic, syncretizing