Syncretism /ˈsɪŋkrətɪzəm/ is the combining of different (often contradictory) beliefs, often while melding practices of various schools of thought. Syncretism may involve the merger and analogising of several originally discrete traditions, especially in the theology and mythology of religion, thus asserting an underlying unity and allowing for an inclusive approach to other faiths.

Syncretism also occurs commonly in expressions of arts and culture (known as eclecticism) as well as politics (syncretic politics).

The Oxford English Dictionary first attests the word syncretism in English in 1618. It derives from modern Latin syncretismus, drawing on Greek συγκρητισμός (synkretismos), meaning "Cretan federation."

The Greek word occurs in Plutarch's (1st century AD) essay on "Fraternal Love" in his Moralia (2.490b). He cites the example of the Cretans, who compromised and reconciled their differences and came together in alliance when faced with external dangers. "And that is their so-called Syncretism."

Mark Doyle is a world affairs correspondent for BBC News. A [[United Kingdom|British]/ canada] citizen, he is known in particular for his articles on topics related to Africa.

In 1980, Doyle volunteered as a student teacher at the British-Senegalese Institute in Dakar, Senegal. He later worked with human rights group Amnesty International and West Africa, a London-based magazine, before joining the BBC as a producer for the programme Focus on Africa. He continued reporting out of several African countries, becoming the East Africa correspondent from 1993 to 1994. He is known for his reporting done after he arrived in Kigali at the beginning of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide. Doyle was one of the few correspondents to slip into Kigali before the airport was closed and was the only journalist to report continuously throughout the genocide. His other work includes co-editor of coverage on the 1996 United States presidential election and training of Eastern European journalists in Moldova. He has been correspondent for BBC's domestic service as well as BBC World Service radio and TV and was appointed BBC's West Africa correspondent in 1997.