Syncretism refers to practicing more than one religion at a time, often mutually exclusive religions. Much like the Israelites hedged their bets by worshipping Yhwh and Baal. This a Christianity Today article (CT tends to have a very conservative bent) which begins with a fairly dramatic example from Nigeria -
"Nigerian pastor Benjamin Ojobu and his wife, Patience, were arrested in May for allegedly using a human head in rituals for church members. The practice of using severed body parts to ensure prosperity—whether material, emotional, or spiritual—is not uncommon in West Africa."
""One out of 10 self-named Christians in this region practices only Christianity," says Benjamin-Lee Hegeman, a former missionary in West Africa who now teaches at Houghton College. "Some people call it syncretism, but it may be more like dual religious allegiance, where Christianity is practiced in the daytime and occult [practice] is done at night. Many of the pastors will preach from the pulpit that this type of thing is wrong, but secretly take part in it at night. "
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2008/august/8.16.html
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