ABSTRACT
Angkor’s religion is traditionally viewed as being a syncretic fusion of Hindu, Buddhist, and animist belief systems. This chapter evaluates the relevance of syncretism, an idea based on 19th-century Western religious philosophy, and argues instead that faith in Angkor is more clearly understood through a lens of pluralism. An evaluation of Sanskrit and Khmer epigraphy provides clear discrepancies between Hindu and Buddhist deities within the invocative and recording parts of inscriptions, in the resource-sharing between gods of different denominations, and foundations of statues and holy places. These Indic religious ideals were ultimately incorporated within the pantheon of thousands of animist spirits worshipped across the Khmer territories. The ultimate dominance of Saivism over all other faiths during the Angkor Period is linked to its ability to control local magic and provide power and political structure for its kings. This chapter will show that to fully understand Angkor’s religion, it is necessary to discard a Western perception of religion, to factor in the sociological and political spheres of power, and to revisit the source of local sacrality.
