Within Cambodian Buddhism, present discussions about folk-Buddhist syncretism often revolve around the tension between doctrinal purity and lived religious practice. Reform-minded monks and laypeople call for a more text-based Theravāda grounded in Pāli scriptures, meditation, and ethical discipline, and they tend to regard spirit mediumship, astrology, and magical rites as superstition or deviation from the Dhamma. Others, however, see these same practices as integral to Khmer identity and as practical means for nurturing faith and supporting ordinary people in their daily struggles. This contrast is frequently sharpened by generational and educational differences, with urban, educated Buddhists more inclined toward rationalized, “orthodox” forms, and rural communities more inclined to preserve the older, blended religious world.

A central focus of debate concerns the place of neak ta and other local spirits, whose shrines at trees, fields, and village boundaries remain woven into communal life. Some voices urge that such practices be minimized or reinterpreted as mere cultural custom, while defenders insist that honoring these beings protects land and community and can be understood within Buddhist cosmology rather than as competition with the Buddha. Similar questions arise around the role of monks as ritual specialists: critics worry that exorcisms, amulet blessings, and horoscopes turn monks into magicians and distract from the Four Noble Truths, whereas supporters argue that these services meet people where they are and help sustain monasteries, especially in the countryside.

Debates also touch on the use of magic, amulets, protective chants, and Brahmanical elements in royal and temple rituals. Some younger Buddhists and reformers view these practices as exploitative, feudal, or incompatible with a more rational, ethically focused religion, while others regard them as historically rooted expressions of Khmer culture that provide psychological support and social cohesion. Underlying these disagreements is a broader question about cultural authenticity versus standardization: whether syncretic practices represent a precious Khmer heritage to be preserved, or a dilution of Buddhism that should be gently but firmly reformed.

The legacy of religious destruction and disruption has intensified these concerns, as many Cambodians now see the entire fabric of monks, pagodas, neak ta shrines, and ancestral rites as something fragile that must be rebuilt and protected. Preservationists fear that aggressive purification or secular critique will erode this hard-won heritage, while reformists fear that uncritical acceptance of all inherited customs keeps people bound to fear-based rituals and magical solutions rather than ethical transformation. In practice, most people continue to inhabit a blended religious universe, honoring the Buddha and the Three Jewels while also venerating ancestors and local spirits, and the ongoing conversation turns less on whether syncretism exists than on how it should be understood, guided, and integrated into a coherent Buddhist life.