12931: RE: 12917: response to : Is voodoo a Religion: Prove it (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Edy Sanon <esanon@gate.net>

If Vodou is not religion or a cultural belief or a cultural aspect of the
Haitian society, according to seemingly the Haitian general culture, what
then is it?

Vodou is a religion for those who have faith in it and those practitioners
who believe that their demands can be responded to through vodou.

Vodou is not a religion for those who simply believe that it is part of
their culture, their heritage, and their ancestors' core beliefs.

It seems through the whole political history of Haiti, most if not all
presidents have contacted or consulted Vodou for some reason. According to
not-scientific surveys however, Haitians of any other faith have core hidden
faith in Vodou, no matter what socio-economic status is.

It is therefore safe to state that Vodou is a Haitian hidden religion.
Probably the state of reaction of the western civilization on Haitians
dictates them not to practice Vodou openly... they however practice or
consult Vodou for all aspects of their lives, especially when the open faith
is not coherent with the preaching or when the expected results to a current
problem is not evident.

Edy