How Eclectic/Syncretic are you?

[Sha'irullah]

I am indeed very syncretic considering that I have tried out so many religions and become knowledgeable about them(some more than others of course).

• I am very fond of Sufi metaphysics, Islamic rituals and any Arabic in general.
• I employ Miamamsa, Buddhist, Taoist and Islamic(mostly Shia) philosophy.
• While also enjoying the quest for knowledge proposed by Deist, Gnostics and Luciferians.

Just how much of a Pick em Mix em persona are you?

 

[The Sum of Awe]

I know many of my beliefs have been inspired and can be traced back to different religions, however I don't actually view it as syncretising different religions, that view is sort of useless because if I only adhere to some beliefs of X and only some beliefs of Y, it's pointless to think of it as "XY" only as a wholly new set of beliefs.

My theology has been inspired heavily by the Brahman concept of Hinduism, as well as Brahma the Creator, Vishnu the Preserver, and Shiva the destroyer, and I view them three to be perceived as three separate entities, and they can also be narrowed down to a group of smaller entities themselves, but they trace back to being One and the Same (Brahman). Sort of like God has fractions: God is the Entire, the All. But can be divided into Two (Yin and Yang), then divided into Three (Creative aspect, Present aspect, and Destroying aspect), and Four, etc. ad infinitum. I also hold theological views inspired by Christian Gnostic philosophy as well as Canaanite legend deep down.

My ontological philosophy might be found in some religions, none that I know of, but I view reality as we experience it/perceive it is 99% subjective and constructed by the mind, but there is an objective reality we all live in and interpret, one that can't be perceived (for consciousness is biased from the mind). I'd be interested to know of religions who hold similar or same view. I also share some concepts with zen buddhist belief.

My existential philosophy is heavy influenced by nihilistic view of existence but at the same time existentialism in practice.

My ethical philosophy stands deep in moral subjectivism, but I am heavily inspired by Stoic practice as well as some proponents of Buddhism.

Anyways, I don't see a reason to call it syncretic if I don't blend all beliefs of one religion with all beliefs of another, only share some beliefs of one, some with others.

 

[Sundance]

Hmmmmm.....my spirituality is an endless spectrum which tends to fluctuate, but can be pin-pointed somewhere in the mix of a heavily devotional, pluriform monotheism, Unitarian Christianity, Dharmic ideas, and Animism.

 

[beenherebeforeagain]

Just how much of a Pick em Mix em persona are you?

Pretty much entirely: I as not raised as an animist, so most everything I do has been picked up from other belief and practice and philosophical systems. It's not like it's really coherent or anything like a real theology or philosophical system; mostly, I just end up with "I don't know."

 

[Jainarayan]

I'd say my syncretism is extremely minimal. Though I'm still universalist in that "your gods are your gods, my gods are my gods, and it's all good". My syncretism has waned incredibly, almost to nothing. Even when I first moved towards Asatru and then openly declared it as my path, I tried to maintain two pantheons: Norse as primary and Hindu. At first I tried to co-habitate them in the same shrine. Not possible - it's perfectly acceptable, and even preferred to offer meat and alcohol to the Norse deities, but that is an affront to the Hindu deities. Then I realized I am head blind to most of the Hindu and Buddhist deities anyway - that was the reason for abandoning those practices.

I still have something of an affinity for Saraswati, Lakshmi and Hanuman. I still have their statues elsewhere, away from my Asatru altar. I have Nataraja as a cosmic driving force - something had to kickstart the universe and has to maintain it (the Norse gods do not do that), so Shiva is as likely a candidate as any. I don't perform any puja or worship ritual for them, however. I am almost completely head blind to Ganesha, Krishna, Rama and other deities.

 

[BSM1]

My religion tag says it all.

 

[The Hammer]

Lets see... I'll start off with the fact that I am poly-pan-animist, so that's 3 philosophies or so right there. Then there is the blend of Norse and Druidry. So that puts me at 5. Hmmm, guess I voted wrong, whatever.

 

[Riverwolf]

I do have a degree of syncreticism, though it's largely in terms of which Gods I'll reference when talking about certain concepts. Though that's largely because 1. we know precious little about the vast majority of the attested Gods in pre-Christian Germanic polytheism (and sometimes nothing whatsoever about them besides a name with indeterminate etymology), and 2. Western culture at large is, I think, more familiar on the whole with Greek Lore than Germanic Lore.

Well, that and the customized Lore I'm crafting does take a lot of inspiration from other sources(which I'm totally okay with doing because, hey, if Christianity could take our stuff, I can take theirs ^_^). For example, I'm crafting a whole thing with "Tiu", another English variant name of Tiwaz/Tiw/Tyr, with the starting point for my inspiration being, of all things, Dante's Divine Comedy. The reason for that is because modern vernacular tends to use "God" in vague reference to the Sky, and in any case, it's highly likely that the word "God" came to replace "Tiw" as the English word for the same concept. Tiwaz/Tiw/Tyr wasn't just the name of the Sky King God Himself, but like the Greco-Latin cognates Theo(Zeus?)/Deus, also was the word for "God" as a reference to the type of being involved. (The Website "Norse Mythology For Smart People" cites Hangatyr, which means "Hanged God", one of Odin's names). All that said, the Divine Comedy is just a starting point; the actual concepts represented in the various cosmic "levels" I'm crafting have nothing to do with general good behavior, but rather deals with the journey from cowardice, to courage, and finally victory, which is what this God is all about. (Well, that, and I'm using the more standard "seven" levels per layer rather than nine).

I'll probably adapt other concepts from general European Christian and pan-Indo-European Lore when crafting aspects for other Gods that have been lost, as well. We don't really have perfect analogues for Aphrodite, Athena, or Artemis, for one thing. (Though Freya is kind of what would happen if Aphrodite and Athena had a love-child ^_^).

And with ALL of that said... I have no idea how to answer this poll. LOL

 

[Bobbyh]

I believe in infinity so, I kinda have to accept that anything possible... has happened.

 

[vaguelyhumanoid]

I put "3 or more", with the 3 I had in mind being:

- Norse paganism/heathenry (this is the biggest)
- Taoist philosophy
- an interest in some Hellenic deities (mostly Dionysos)

I have other "paths" as well but they're not as specifically religious.

 

[SpentaMaynu]

I actively mix at least three religions - Christianity, Buddhism and Hinduism, though I mostly identify with the last. But it's not the only ones I study and learn from. I'm reading and use eight different Holy Scriptures during my worship time - Bible, Analects of Confucius, Book of Mormon, Tao te Ching, Bhagavad Gita, Koran, Mahasattipathana Suta and Avadhuta Gita.... How much influence all these have on me I'm not completely sure yet.

 

[SomeRandom]

A bit of lite Hinduism, some Catholic sympathies, some Buddhist aspects and really I do not reject any religious teachings. So maybe some more in the future.

 

[Miles]

I pray to and perform devotional acts for several different Hellenic deities, but also believe in the Gaelic pantheon and am interested in exploring ancestor veneration and try to celebrate Irish religious festivals. I also occasionally pray to Catholic saints and various Biblical figures. And my philosophy is Luciferian. There's also been some interest in Bast lately.