I'm just throwing the question out there hoping a few people may have an opinion on it.

We know that ATR are not imperialist or proselytizing religions and spiritual traditions. They are more initiatic. Passed down from parents to children, from the community to its new members. For ATR practitioners, it's normal for every people, every tribes, to have their own name for God and deities they communicate with. Their own culture and traditions. They often see parallel between their own deities. For example, Ancient Greeks could have considered Olodumare as being similar to their Zeus and Amun-Ra.

I think we can also recognize that syncretism only works when the two spiritual traditions are syncretic themselves. So it is not about becoming some kind of stepping stones to toward conversion.

Said that, do you consider ATR religions, between one another, syncretic in nature? For example, people pray, communicate, honor both family ancestors, important village and community/nature deities and at the same time more national deities. For example, people conquered by a neighboring tribes could continue to honor their own deities and ancestors while incorporating "empire" deities into their spiritual realm. Honoring them too and offering libation to them too.

Have I got it right? What is your opinion on it.

Anybody got any ideas or opinion on this?

Yeah, in the past there was some incorporation of nearby deities and practices into the host community's religious activity. For instance the Aro priests of Igboland left their abodes and spread their faith across large tracts of Igbo country, even establishing shrines to God in their new settlements, overseen by their powerful oracle Ibinukpabi.

Another way of religious diffusion in the past was when a small band of settlers would arrive at a community, and request for land on it's outskirts to build their homes, and farmland etc. Often, the new settlers would inquire as to the name of the main deity worshiped. They would then request, often as a sign of courtesy to their hosts, to be allowed to adopt the local god as theirs. The host community would in some cases agree, often creating a sculptural representation of the 'son' of their deity, and handing it to the new settlers to adopt as their main deity. Such that today we have huge communities whose main deity is named as ''the son of'' a neighbouring region's god.

But these days I'm not so sure we see such transitional activity in the traditional realm. It's all a bit static now. Christianity and Islam have taken over much of the religious space here.

While abrahamic religions have taken a lot of space. ATRs are far from being static. Our ancestors and deities are still being honored and celebrated (sometimes even by people who also practice abrahamic religions). They are still watching over us. When foreign gods fail them (illness, etc), many Africans always come back to their own spiritial traditions. The real foundation of our spiritial belief.

They are. Hence similarities between them. Even monotheist religions are syncretic as we see in the history of Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

Uyi Iredia: They are. Hence similarities between them. Even monotheist religions are syncretic as we see in the history of Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

We certainly don't see that in their history. All the contrary.

For one, I don't refer to Abrahamic religion as monotheistic because most religions in the world are monotheistic, religions which existed much before Christianity or Islam were created for that matter. Abrahamic religions are far from being syncretic. If you don't practice their religion (from the right denomination) they consider you pagans, heretic or infidels. Far from being syncretic they often started wars between one another or even between themselves (catholic vs protestant, sunni vs shia, etc). Nowadays, Christianity is less forceful and intolerant, but its just because the christian church lost a lot of power and political pull in the world (Europe, USA), see the middle ages.

^^^That's one way of looking at it. But the same applies to paganism eg Akhenaten's worship of Ra. And there is another side you don't consider: that pagan elements_Roman paganism_were infused in Christianity to make the Catholic church. The same happened to the Catholic church in Brazil but this time various elements of African traditional worship were in infused especially Ifa religions. Islam acknowledges certain aspects of Christianity especially its monotheistic nature and the acknowledgment of prophets in the Bible. Need I elaborate how Judaism became Christianity. Even further back I strongly suspect based on hints from different sources that Judaism and Christianity sttongly draw from pagan religion especially ancient Egyptian worship eg the word Amen is said to be derived from the Egyptian word Amun which denotes the hidden creative force responsible for the origin of the Egyptian gods and reality by extension.

Uyi Iredia: ^^^That's one way of looking at it. But the same applies to paganism eg Akhenaten's worship of Ra. And there is another side you don't consider: that pagan elements_Roman paganism_were infused in Christianity to make the Catholic church. The same happened to the Catholic church in Brazil but this time various elements of African traditional worship were in infused especially Ifa religions. Islam acknowledges certain aspects of Christianity especially its monotheistic nature and the acknowledgment of prophets in the Bible. Need I elaborate how Judaism became Christianity. Even further back I strongly suspect based on hints from different sources that Judaism and Christianity sttongly draw from pagan religion especially ancient Egyptian worship eg the word Amen is said to be derived from the Egyptian word Amun which denotes the hidden creative force responsible for the origin of the Egyptian gods and reality by extension.

I guess we can look at it in different ways. But what is for sure, is that when Abrahamic religions refer to African, Hindu, Shinto or whatever religions as 'pagans'. They don't do it out of respect, tolerance or with a syncretic mindset. For them, pagan is a pejorative word. Even practicing other abrahamic religions like Islam, and Judaism, or other demomination like catholic or protestant is causing them problems. Ultimately, their goals is always to convert someone to their religions which happens to be the best one.

Traditional religions don't have that same kind of intolerance, or some kind of competition, there is between Abrahamic religions as if one was better than the other (islam vs christianity vs hindu, vs protestant, vs...). I don't know if you can understand but it goes at a deep level. It's a completely different mindset.

I won't lie to you. I think it's a mindset that is more respectful of the cultural, religious, ethnic, and linguistic diversity of our world.

Rossikk: For instance the Aro priests of Igboland left their abodes and spread their faith across large tracts of Igbo country, even establishing shrines to God in their new settlements, overseen by their powerful oracle Ibinukpabi.

THat doesnt count.

The Aro are still Igbo and follow Igbo Religion.

They just popularized the worship of the God they were devoted to in other areas.


Thats not syncretism.



Its like in India, how today some places are more devoted to one particular God and it spreads to other cities, etc.

Perhaps.