Answer to Question #159105 in History for Ren

Question

Explain ONE similar example of religious syncretism in a region other than Japan

Answer 1

Korea is a region practicing religious syncretism, where Korean Buddhism has syncretized with Korean Shamanism. Shamanism, also known as Korean folk religion, is an indigenous ethnic religion practiced in Korea since prehistoric times and characterized by polytheism. Buddhism was introduced to Korea in the third century. Adherents of Shamanism viewed it as compatible and not conflicting with the rites of nature worship and thus blended it into their religion. Ancestral shaman shrines that were perceived as residence of spirits before infiltration of Buddhism became sites of Buddhist temples. Some core beliefs and practices derived from Korean folk religion now appear in a syncretic guise as Buddhist customs and philosophies in Korea.