Syncretism vs. Creolization

Although syncretism and creolization describe similar concepts, they are different in connotation. Syncretism has a negative connotation, and refers to religions as if they were historical objects, removed from our Western experiences of religion. It implies that foreign, “ethnic” religions are impure, having become a crossbreed of several religions and practices. The fact is that all religions undergo a process of blending.

Take Christianity, for instance; Jesus' original teachings were formed into a religion instead of a philosophy; later, pagan holidays were transformed to have Christian applications, and sometimes they were practiced under the guise of compliance with Christian celebrations but retained their original meaning. And with the hundreds of denominations of Christianity, it cannot be said that the religion is as pure, uncorrupted, and pristinely preserved as is implied when the word “syncretism” is applied to non-Western religions.

To say that a religion, such as the practices of the Kakure Kirishitan in Japan, is syncretic is to treat it coldly and without respect to the processes under which it was formed. The use of the word “syncretism” is redundant since all religions are in fact hybrids of beliefs regional and worldwide, old and new. We may see the practices of the Kakure Kirishitan as an impure and unenlightened interpretation of Christianity, but the fact is that what we consider genuine Christianity is no purer and no more immune to outside influence.

Creolization, on the other hand, is a word which implies the process of blending, rather than the blended object. It is now filling in the deficit in perception caused by the use of “syncretism”, as it is a more functional, accurate, and respectful word. While we could say, however wrongly, that Hinduism is a “syncretic” religion, since it incorporates deities from conquered territories, it would not make sense to say that it was “creolized”, because creolization refers to the ongoing, continuing process of blending, starting from the beginning and continuing indefinitely. It is not a snapshot of an object at a certain point in time.

A major factor in the process of creolization is the interaction of the acrolect and basilect within two cultures or religions. The acrolect is the dominant colonizing or conquering religion, and the basilect is the colonized, conquered religion. Colonization does not always refer to a military action, rather it is frequently the migration of ideas and practices. What usually occurs is the incorporation of the acrolect's symbols and ideas, the dogma and doctrine, and the basilect's practices and rituals. We can see this in Theravada Buddhism, where Buddhists follow the doctrine and philosophy of Buddhism while practicing aspects of Hinduism on the pragmatic level.

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Syncretism vs. Creolization

This article was written by Justin Infanger

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