Religion

The Haitian population is 80% Roman Catholic; Protestants of various denominations account for the other 20%. Yet voodoo may be considered the national religion of Haiti, since most Haitians practice at least some aspect of voodoo or are affected by the religion in some way.

Popular misconceptions about voodoo have created a negative stereotype about both its practices and its adherents. Depicted in books and movies as a cult of sorcerers who practice "black magic," voodoo is in fact a religion based on family spirits who generally help and protect. Although lacking a fixed theology and an organized hierarchy, voodoo is a religion with its own rituals, ceremonies, and altars that practitioners do not find to be at odds with Roman Catholicism. In fact, many Roman Catholic symbols and prayers have blended with voodoo rituals and traditions to make for a unique and typically Haitian religion. For example, pictures of Catholic saints are painted on the walls of temples to represent the voodoo spirits; at funerals, it is not uncommon that voodoo ceremonies and rituals be performed for family members first, followed by a more public traditional Roman Catholic ceremony presided over by a priest.

Voodoo is derived from a synthesis of African religious beliefs. The word voodoo comes from the Fon language of Benin (formerly Dahomey) in West Africa and means "spirit." When Africans of various tribes were brought to Haiti as slaves, they brought with them their beliefs in spirits who acted as intermediaries with a single God Almighty; some of these spirits were ancestors of the living, while others represented human emotions and forces of nature. In time, a system of beliefs and spirits unique to the slaves in Haiti was formed. These spirits, or loas, are inherited or bought by families and can be called upon for help; they can be paid to bring good fortune and protect, or to attack enemies. Payment is usually in the form of food, drink, or other gifts offered during rituals.

During colonial times, and even after, there was a great effort to Christianize the Africans. While it was often to the advantage of the slaves and mulattos to succumb to this pressure, they could not face spiritual enslavement as well. Voodoo helped them survive slavery; it became a religion of tolerance that kept alive old African beliefs while borrowing freely from Christianity. Thus the curious mix of Roman Catholicism and voodooism as practiced by Haitians represents a triumph of the people.

It should be noted that the Roman Catholic clergy, although opposed to voodoo, have had a more benign view of it than Protestants, who see the religion as diabolical, possibly because voodoo beliefs do not foster individual responsibility for actions. Voodooists attribute the good as well as the bad to the spirits.

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