The meaning of points and convergence and departure between religions can be held as resulting from the distinct spiritual and psychological needs of their respective practitioners. People may thus be said to have unique needs that are met by different particularities of each religion. This is unacceptable to those who hold to the integrity of the absolute truth revealed by a particular religion and held to be of universal relevance, especially in the light of the danger of splitting what people think they believe from what they actually feel and believe.
Religious relativism may take various forms, such as the mixing of beliefs and practices, slow absorption into other religious systems, loss of conviction as to a core belief (such as the finality of Christ), and various forms of sophistication that seeks to feel at home in every variety of belief. Behind all these forms lies the presumption that it is the wisdom of man that establishes the truth.
Syncretism is the conscious or unconscious pasting together of pieces of different religions to produce an ersatz religion that is recognizable from none of the original religious perspectives. Such a combined faith is not only a poor alternative to religious search for truth and an impoverishment of the human race, but it is strongly resisted by any religion defending its own spiritual integrity.
Many interreligious dialogues have amply proved that humanity is not on its way to produce a syncretistic world religion, a new normative faith for all members of the world community.
There are religious schools of thought, notably within Buddhism, that allow of the simultaneous co-existence of different absolute truths, as with the many universes theory in physics.