Syncretism – is a buffet so bad?

Editor’s note: This is one viewpoint of many in the spiritual world. If you prefer purist practices rather than synchretic ones, we recognize that as a valid opinion. ALL spiritual beliefs are philosophical constructs, unlike science or mathematics, and as such are subject to the whims of their users. Please read this article with that in mind and respect one another’s opinions on this forum. Thank you.

By Foxnose Huling

We are an amalgam of our experiences – intentional and incidental. Moving through the world, we pick up bits of this, bits of that, and integrate them into our whole. Most of this is done unconsciously.

Religious or spiritual syncretism, according to Britannica, is a “fusion of diverse religious beliefs and practices.” This has frequently been done consciously; sometimes as an effort to reconcile conquered people to the new religion by the new rulers, and sometimes as a natural effect of cultures coming into contact with each other. Other times, it is done consciously as part of a deliberate search for Truth-with-a-capital-T. This last one applies to most of us.

Living in Western society, we are in contact with religions and traditions from all over. Our individual searches for Truth can take us down many roads, and we can pick up bits of this and that like packs of gum from gas stations along the freeway. But gum is not a meal, no matter how much of it you swallow.

What we need is spiritual nourishment.

For some people, eating one nutritious thing is enough. For others of us, this is not the case. We become spiritually anemic if we are so confined. We need to fill our plates with enough variety to create a balanced ethos from which to build a solid set of practices for both rituals and daily life.  Some call this the “buffet approach” to spirituality, often disparagingly. However, if you look at the ingredients of what’s on offer, a buffet can feed you well.

Beware: You cannot choose all desserts and not expect a stomachache, but you can build a healthy meal that will keep you strong by choosing dishes that fit together, and some of it will be pretty sweet. Approach the buffet. There are immediate hungers, and there are longer-term hungers. What calls to you? Spirit, like body, has cravings when there is a specific deficit. You might need something now. What is that? Most importantly: What is healthy in the long-term that will satisfy that? What do you need in a more general sense? What is the main course you seek? Here, your natural passions should guide you.

We are lucky to live when we do. Information is at our fingertips, and much of it is useful. Read those labels – know where your information comes from – and you can find the healthiest options available. Dive deeply, read it all. Talk with people who practice various beliefs. You will see many spiritual ingredients at play. You might notice a lot of the world’s traditions hold similar and compatible ideas. Many can safely become part of your path.

Be very aware, though: What the components do in their “original setting” makes a difference both as a matter of whether they work outside of those settings and whether they can work well in tandem with something else. Not everything can be safely taken out of its original home. This can be disappointing but must be respected.

Foxnose is a general witch with The Sight, and used to write vampire poetry in Esperanto.