African Diaspora Religions: Candomblé, Vodou and Santería

The transatlantic slave trade forcibly carried millions of Africans to the Americas, and with them came their religious traditions. Under slavery, Africans were often forced to adopt Christianity and their own practices were banned, yet many preserved them by blending them with Catholicism.

In Brazil, Candomblé honors the orixás of Yoruba origin; in Cuba, Santería (also called Regla de Ocha or Lucumí) links orishas with Catholic saints, so that Shango, for example, is associated with Saint Barbara; and in Haiti, Vodou combines West and Central African spirits (lwa) with Catholic elements. Scholars describe this blending as syncretism, though practitioners debate whether it was disguise, genuine fusion or both. Haitian Vodou played a role in the Haitian Revolution, which tradition traces to the Bois Caïman ceremony of 1791.

These religions were long stigmatized, and Hollywood stereotypes about 'voodoo' distorted them, but they are now recognized as legitimate living traditions.