What does syncretic mean? How were these syncretic traditions followed by Vietnamese?

  • Syncretic aimed to bring together different beliefs and practices, seeing their essential unity rather than their differences. The elites in Vietnam were educated in Chinese and Confucianism.
  • But religious beliefs among the peasantry were shaped by a variety of syncretic traditions that combined Buddhism and local beliefs.
  • There were many popular religions in Vietnam that were spread by people who claimed to have seen a vision of God.