Responding Biblically and Missiologically to the Threat of Religious Syncretism

Religious syncretism is frequently referenced in the Bible. In many ways the Ten Commandments are God’s instructions against religious syncretism because the first three commands (Exod 20:1-7) charge the Israelites “to distinctively stand before God without reliance on any other gods” (Van Rheenen 1997:173). Just as the Israelites were warned against rejecting Yahweh and serving other gods (Deut 11:16; 2 Kgs 10:23), so too were New Testament Christians warned against dual allegiance and syncretism (Matt 6:24; 1 Cor 10:14; Rev 22:15). Syncretism is a worldwide religious challenge. According to Michael Pocock, “all peoples and religions exhibit syncretism” (1996:10, emphasis mine). Unfortunately, when the influence of syncretism on the church is discussed, many tend to see it happening outside Western Christianity as if the Western form of Christianity is immune from syncretism. But Andrew Walls and Scott Moreau argue respectively that “syncretism is a greater peril for Western than African or Indian Christians, and less often recognizable for what it is” (Walls 2002:69), and that “syncretism of some form has been seen everywhere the church has existed” (Moreau 2000:924). In other words, syncretism is a threat found among Christians universally as they express their faith either within their own cultures or cross-culturally. One might debate whether or not Western Christianity is inherently in greater peril of syncretism. However, for centuries Western Christianity’s historic role as the dominant form of Christianity has bestowed on it a seal of orthodoxy that is too often unchallenged. The purpose of this article is to discuss three major factors contributing to religious syncretism and then to offer a biblical and missiological response to this worldwide religious phenomenon.