I've written elsewhere about eclecticism and syncretism in general and the issues that many folks in the pagan community have with them; I will probably do so again.

The one that seems to cause some of the most issues, though, is Christopaganism. The impression I have is that a lot of people don't understand why this corner of the community exists, and a lot of people are actively hostile to its existence.

Now, I have a lot to say about syncretic practices, much of which is entirely tangential to this topic. However, it is worth noting that some forms of syncretism with Christianity is an old way of going about things. Much of what we know about ancient Irish paganism we know because of the recordings made by monks and the mark its attitudes left on the local form of Christianity. Many cultures adopted Jesus as an additional divinity when introduced to the fellow; the Norse referred to Him as the White Christ ('white' being associated with cowardice and pacifism, if I'm remembering correctly). Many Slavic cultures adapted their myths (of gods like Bielobog and Czernobog) by renaming the main characters 'God' and 'Satanail'; pagan and Christian beliefs lived alongside each other for quite some time, and there were even words for this. ("Dwojwierny", meaning two-faith, is the Polish word. I also know of a Russian word for it, but not the word itself; it is, however, clearly cognate.) The syncretisms of the African Diaspora religions were facilitated strongly by the association of the distant and incomprehensible prime Creator with Hashem, and the latter's involvement and interest in the world increased His appeal.

Thus, the idea that some form of Christian belief and some form of pagan belief are by definition incompatible fails a simple historical test. People have been taking bits of their old paths that matter to them and incorporating them into new ones for a very long time; it's just that now the 'old path' is often Christianity and the new a form of paganism instead of the other way around.

A lot of pagans had traumatic and damaging experiences with their religions of origin (often Christianity), which led to their eventual conversion to a new faith. Anti-Christian feelings hardly need to be pointed out in the broader pagan community, as they are not exactly uncommon; I suspect that this carries over into some but not all of the objections to Christopaganism.

I think it is important to remember that not every former Christian had a bad time with Christianity; some just had a bad fit, or only a partial one, and their partings with that religion were amicable. (I saw someone comment once that they had seen a number of ex-Christian pagans report having conversations with Jesus along the lines of, "Hey, man, you're great and all, but I've got some Issues with your Dad." "No problem, have a look around, I'm sure you'll find something that works for you. Plenty of gods in the unseen.") Christopagans are not drawn exclusively from this group, nor are all these people going to be going syncretic, but I think remembering that people have left former religions without animosity is important to grasping why Christopagans exist.

Nor is everyone who is Christopagan doing so out of an urge to cling to some vestiges of what they were raised to believe in, which is another objection I've seen raised. People who are doing that sort of thing do exist -- I think the majority of people who I have seen wanting to combine Christianity and some form of paganism say they are doing so out of a fear of Hell -- but they aren't everyone. If one chooses to see Jesus as a god, whether of His own capabilities or as notable ancestor raised by veneration and blessing, then whether or not one worships the fellow is much the same as whether or not one worships any other god. Some people will do so; others won't. And the reasons for doing so or not will vary depending on the people.

There are, of course, some spectacularly awful ways of trying to blend these religions. (A Wiccish picture of Jesus as God and tripartite Goddess represented by the three Marys doesn't work well either as Christianity or as Wicca. . .) This is a failure of functional eclecticism, not a failure of Christopaganism as itself; they need to be considered separately. Eclectic, syncretic, and blended practices are difficult to do well; that a number of people fail to do so in various ways is not terribly surprising.

Various pagans report being "called" by gods in wildly different pantheons or structures, and needing to come to terms with that; it is not terribly surprising that sometimes, one of those callings will be to a mainstream divinity. Various pagan religions place high value on respect for the ancestors and their ways; that some people will include Christian aspects in their practice as a result is unsurprising. Further, in a community that is full of converts from other religions, that people have taken what they valued from those religions and kept it fails to surprise me.