Monday, November 4, 2013

Haitian Vodou and Catholicism



Bondye
Although Catholicism is named as the official state religion in the Haitian constitution, the values and principles of the Catholic faith and Catholic moral teaching have little influence in Haitian government or society.  On his Papal visit to Haiti in 1983 Pope John Paul II criticized the government of then president Jean-Claude Duvalier.  The mix of Catholicism with West African and Taíno religious elements in Haitian Vodou is similar to the syncretism found in the Cuban Santería religion. The Vodou religion seems to have its roots in Benin (Dahomey), the country in West Africa where most of the slaves brought to the Haiti by colonists originated. “Vodouists believe in a distant and unknowable creator god, Bondye. As Bondye does not intercede in human affairs, Vodouists direct their worship toward spirits subservient to Bondye, called loa.  Former president of Haiti, Francois Duvalier (also known as Papa Doc), played a role in elevating the status of Vodou into a national doctrine. Duvalier was involved in the noirisme movement and hoped to re-value cultural practices that had their origins in Africa.”