Syncretism

Syncretism is a means of creating a spiritual or religious experience by drawing on a wide variety of religious forms, sometimes without importing the details of religious dogmas. In essence, syncretism is the mixing of two seemingly disparate religious systems into a new, distinct religion. Examples include Vodun ( practiced in Louisianne) and Santeria (practiced in Florida), mixtures of Catholicism and West African religions, as well as Vera, a mixture of North European traditions and Christianity. The so called New Age religions are also syncretic, relying upon the intermixture of practice and symbolism rather than dogma and doctrine for their foundations.

In general, while many of the practices of a syncretistic religion may be familiar to the devotees of the parent religions, the new religion is not usually of the same category. Thus, due to differences in belief, Vodun is not considered a Christian religion.

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