Transcript Unit VIII Assessment

Running head: UNIT VIII ASSESSMENT
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Unit VIII Assessment
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Institution
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Discussion Question 1
As defined in the text, religious syncretism refers to a combination of normally differing beliefs.
It refers to a combination of religious beliefs or a combination of both religious and cultural
beliefs. For instance, the Barghawata follows a syncretic religion that is mainly inspired by Islam
with a combination of various elements such as the Sunni and the Shi’ite Islam that is mixed
with astrological traditions. As such, it is viewed as the fusion of various religious beliefs as well
as practices and holds that when any two cultures meet and interact, there is an exchange of
religious ideas with the dominant culture (Fisher, 2014). The other example of religious
syncretism led to the two key compromises with the original theological the Hebrews. In
essence, the early Hebrews discovered the transcendence of God; hence they separated the sacred
from the natural. This is known as the Hebraic principle, which is a belief in human immortality.
Discussion Question 2
Due to globalization, ecumenism is a concept that has traversed beyond the intra-Christian
concern about unity to embody some sense of mutual understanding, as well as reconciliation
among major world religions. There are many benefits of the interfaith dialogue (Fisher, 2014).
For instance, there is the dialogue of hospitality and life that requires that individuals who live as
neighbours share joy, sorrow, as well as society concerns. Next, ecumenism fosters collaboration
of different faiths for integral development of all people concerned (Brown, 2014). Further,
ecumenism of religious experience where people are firmly grounded on their cultures and
religious traditions share their spiritual views and wealth, prayer life, as well as different ways of
searching for the absolute. Finally, ecumenism of doctrinal exchange enable people to seek for a
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deeper understanding of the religious doctrines and practices and to establish a communion of
horizons that are achieved through critical analysis, as well as through openness by all to engage
in a shared quest, truth as well as identity.
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References
Brown, S. (2014). The evolution of creationism. Church and State, 67(3),9-12. Retrieved from
Academic Search Complete database.
Fisher, M. P. (2014). Living religions (9th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson