The Syncretic Religious Landscape of Contemporary Greece and Portugal: A Comparative Approach on Creativity Through Spiritual Synthesis

In recent decades new forms of spirituality have made an appearance in the contemporary Greek and Portuguese religious landscape, challenging the authority of the Orthodox and Catholic Church, and claiming a central position in practices of everyday religiosity. The majority of spiritual practitioners in Greece and Portugal seem to be producing a novel ritual, performative and material affinity between Christian religion and “New Age” spirituality, amalgamating the two during everyday practice in creative and syncretic ways. Such a synthesis, which I ethnographically observed during my fieldwork in Athens and in Lisbon, is part of a response to global trends and influences, as well as to the difficult socio-economic situation that the two countries have faced in the last few years.