RELIGION AND FOLKLORE OR ABOUT THE SYNCRETISM OF FAITH AND BELIEFS

Abstract: The rituals practiced by the initiated and learned by the “chosen ones ” so that they can be perpetuated, have generated the existence of two worlds. The first is that of immediate impact, on the first level of perception, amendable in its circumstantial data. The second world is the treasurer of recognizable factors in many similar situations, in stages different from manifestation (circumscribing generations) and elements of the unique, the unusual. The second level has established itself as a human need to periodically immerse in the sacred time. The initiation into the mysteries held by the world of the sacred is made by those who know how to practice it. They are the perfomers of narrative sequences, which are intended to reinstate the practices, rituals, customs, traditions and beliefs in today’s world. To support our claim, we are going to refer to four surveys, conducted on different, but conjunct topics which have confirmed the hypothesis formulated by us in the early 1990s: folk beliefs, ignored during the communist period and banned within the audiovisual, have merged with religious beliefs and have survived as a second level of perceiving the ritual sequence. The study highlights the syncretism of the two fields, religious faith and folk beliefs, and the role of mass media in promoting them in order to revitalize the collective memory (what was known) and to contribute to the literacy of the younger generation. The principles of the Orthodox Christian catechesis explain the presence of the priest in the existential ceremonies. Key Words: rites of passage, the “threshold ” moment, the principles of the Orthodox Christian catechesis, cultural consumption, public radio and promoting traditions and religious beliefs