the New World discovery in 1492 C.E. In order to explain how these pre-modern cross-cultural encounters came about Bentley focuses on the spread of world religions as cultural vehicles and introduces the key concepts of ‘social conversion’ and ‘syncretism’. The first concept relates to the process through which people either adopted or adapted foreign culture and traditions to their own. For this‚ Bentley distinguishes three different categories of conversion: (i) conversion through voluntary association
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Syncretism Syncretism can be described as combining two or more groups in society who has a goal to be accepted throughout society as a whole. Many different issues like religion‚ cultural politics and languages all would have been affected. According to Muraga‚ “Were it not for syncretism process‚ the United States government would be divided into section where the black Americans and have their own distinct governing body separate from that of the whites”. The world would still have some racial
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Introduction and Background Beowulf‚ a poem written by an anonymous Anglo-Saxon poet‚ is considered one of the most important works in all of English literature. However‚ it was almost a forgotten work. Written in the Anglo-Saxon era‚ only one Beowulf manuscript survived into modern times‚ and it was almost destroyed in a fire in the 1700s. While it survived the fire‚ it continued to languish. However‚ when interest in Old English documents surged in the 1900s‚ people became interested in Beowulf
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“Is Christianity‚ Islam‚ and Judaism guilty of the religious tradition called syncretism?” Christianity‚ Islam‚ and Judaism are guilty of the religious tradition called syncretism. It is my opinion that all religions are created from the same foundation then somehow changed to fit the needs of a particular culture or philosophy. I feel that religion has lost its integrity and validity. Judaism‚ Christianity‚ and Islam all stem from the same origin. Nonetheless these three religions vary claiming
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between the syncretism that occurred in Africa and in the Americas when different cultural groups met (i.e. Europeans‚ Africans‚ and Native Americans) WITH the resistance to cultural change Westerners encountered in China and India. Basically‚ you are assessing some specific consequences of the increasing global contact that began during the 1400s and 1500s. You must ultimately make an argument regarding why some regions of the world (i.e. Africa‚ the Americas) experienced cultural syncretism with Westerners
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defeated people were often forced to adopt the customs and even believes of their conquerors. This led to the formation of a new‚ blended culture in a process called syncretism. Through this process the costumes‚ religions and even languages of the most powerful groups were transferred throughout the world. Two of the best examples syncretism occurred in ancient Rome‚ when Christianity transformed the empire‚ and in the new world when the Americas were colonized by Europe. The Roman empire borrowed
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Cultural Syncretism Cultural Syncretism Christina Doty Alexis Garrett American InterContinental University Online HUMA215-1205B-07 Topics in Cultural Studies Erin Pappas January 27‚ 2013 Abstract The legacies of cultural syncretism in Africa‚ and the Americas have been compared and contrasted with the resistance to cultural change Westerners encounter in China and India. The cultural factors that caused these different outcomes are discussed. This discussion is followed by the legacies
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Cultural Syncretism Abstract The concept of cultural syncretism exists when two different cultures combine their ancient beliefs of the past to create new traditions and/or beliefs. There are several cultural factors that influenced both Africa and the Americas such as weaponry‚ technological advancements‚ medical and religious. China and India’s values were quite different when it came to cultural beliefs. They would isolate themselves from outside traditions‚ which made them more resistant to
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identity. Agnes’s identity‚ both as a female and as Father Damien‚ is an imperfect example of syncretism‚ as they appear at times as two distinct individuals‚ and at others‚ the individual identities are indiscernible. Syncretism is a term related to the concept of hybridity‚ and is defined as “…the fusion of two distinct traditions to produce a new and distinctive whole (Ashcroft).” In this case‚ syncretism is being examined in the context of the combination of Agnes’s gendered identities to form
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Religious syncretism exhibits blending of two or more religious belief systems into a new system‚ or the incorporation into a religious tradition of beliefs from unrelated traditions. In the case of Haitian Vodou‚ Vodou blends two or more religious beliefs into one system‚ therefore it can be characterized has syncretism. Vodou is a syncretic system derived from deeply rooted African beliefs and colonial French Catholicism. As a reaction to being torn violently from their roots‚ the slaves tried
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