4.5 Religious Syncretism Reading finished
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Poinciana High School**We aren't endorsed by this school
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HISTORY AP
Subject
Religion
Date
Dec 19, 2024
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2
Uploaded by ConstableLionPerson1152
Topic 4.5 Religious Syncretism Religious Syncretismis when two or more different religious beliefs, practices, or traditions blend together to create a new, combined belief system. This often happens when cultures interact or come into close contact through trade, conquest, or migration, and elements of each culture’s beliefs influence one another. Example: In Haiti, enslaved Africans mixed their traditional African beliefs with Catholicism, forming a religion known as Vodou(or Voodoo). Vodou includes Catholic saints alongside African deities, known as lwa, who represent different aspects of life and nature. Rituals in Vodou often use Catholic symbols, prayers, and even saints' names, but the beliefs and practices are rooted in African spirituality. This syncretism allowed enslaved people to maintain a connection to their heritage while also adapting to their new environment. Read the Article “Religious Syncretism in Colonial Mexico City”by Bennet Sherry and answer the following questions. 1.What is the difference between Spanish conquistadors and missionaries? The difference between Spanish conquistadors and missionaries is, Spanish conquistadors’motivations were often expressed as ‘Gold, God, and Glory”because that’swhat they wanted. They wanted to spread Christianity, win treasure, and bring glory to themselves and the Spanish Empire. Missionaries are people who travel to foreign places to promote their religion and try to convert people to it. 2.What were some reasons the Spanish were so eager to get people to convert? The Spanish were so eager to get people to convert because they were able to achieve things like the pope’s support for colonial expansion, and through converting indigenous people to Catholicism they launched a process of conquest, resistance, and negotiation that lasted for centuries. 3.What were some strategies used by the Spanish to try to convert the indigenous population? The Spanish tried to convert the indigenous population by forcing their religion onto them with forcing people into slavery, killing those who resisted, and tearing families apart. They feared revolts, and to avoid them, ended up burning temples, symbols, and books of the Aztec and other indigenous people and replaced it with a Catholic Church over where a temple was. 4.What were some things that motivated some Aztecs to convert? Motivation for the Aztecs to convert included distrust and questioning of the protection provided by their gods, some sought the protection of priests against the cruelty of conquistadors, and sometimes just becoming Christian gave indigenous people a better position in colonial society. 5.How is the Lady of Guadalupe an example of religious syncretism, according to the author? The Lady of Guadalupe is an example of religious syncretism according to the author because some historians have claimed that because of the worship of the indigenous Tonantzin and the black Virgin of Guadalupe of Extremadura, eventually the piety for the 2 religious images blended into one. 6.In the “Blending Religions” section, how did Catholic missionaries incorporate indigenous beliefs and practices into Catholicism, and what might have been their reasons for doing so? Catholic missionaries appropriated indigenous symbols and converts brought old practices to new religion. The Catholic practice of confession aligned with similar indigenous rituals. Indigenous symbols
were incorporated into Christian crosses. Sacrificial basins once used to collect blood during human sacrifices were repurposed for baptisms. They might have done this because it created new Catholic culture in Mexico.