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Answer:
a) Syncretism is the mixing of culture and religious practices, as well as cultures in general. One sees religion imported from the Asian mainland to Japan, and it's mixed with the already prevalent religion of Shinto in Japan, It's seen that Kami, Shinto spirits, are fused into the Buddhist belief. The Kami are enlightened spirits through the practice of Buddhism and are therefore given the title of bodhisattva.
b) A similar example to this would be the religious syncretism between Hinduism and Buddhism. One would see religious practices that are similar in fashion when comparing the two religions, and the similar shrines that are present in both religions. This represents how much Hinduism influenced Buddhism, and how much religious syncretism really happened between these two religions.
c) One global process was the increase of globalization in the late 20th century. As countries became more connected, so did their cultures and ideas. This is the same for religion and culture, where people brought their ideas with them across the world. Historians from across the world could now study foreign cultures in-depth due to the prevalence of better transportation like airplanes. Historians would now wonder how cross-cultural interactions happened long ago, without our transportation methods and without the global process of globalization taking place yet.
