12943: stanley honorat re:12904 is <voodoo> a religion (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: stanley honorat honorat <shonorat@hotmail.com>


in reference to post #12904, i would like to begin by stating that i am not
a believer (and therefore not a practioner) of any religion, including
vodou.  i am simply answering an academic question that has been posed.
now in the second paragraph of the post, the writer renumerates his personal
list of qualifications for a religion (giving free food, building schools,
providing healthcare, etc.) when, in order to get to the core of the issue,
we must look at established definitions and qualifications.
religion is: recognition on the part of man of a controlling superhuman
power entitled to obediance, reverance and worship; the feeling or the
spiritual attitude of those recognizing such a controlling power, with the
manifestation of such feeling in conduct or life; the practice of sacred
rites or observances; a particular system of faith in and worship of a
supreme being or a god or gods; the state of life of the members of a
religious order; a practice of devotion or conscientiousness... (webster's
dictionary)furthermore, religion as a sacred engagement with what is taken
to be a spiritual reality, it is possible to consider the importance of
religion in human life without making claims about what it really is or
ought to be. Religion is not an object with a single, fixed meaning, or even
a zone with clear boundaries. (microsoft encarta encyclopedia)  i did not
wish to go ad nauseum with a definition, but it is necessary to answer the
question.
now vodou (a more correct spelling of the word, due to its origins) means
"religion of Haiti, also practiced in Cuba, Trinidad, Brazil, and the
southern United States, especially Louisiana. Vodou is commonly spelled
voodoo, a spelling that, according to many scholars today, carries
derogatory and inaccurate associations. Vodou combines elements of Roman
Catholicism and tribal religions of western Africa, particularly Benin.
Vodou cults worship a high god, Bon Dieu;" (microsoft encarta encyclopedia).
  the word originated from africa (possibly dahomey) and means spirit.  due
to the fact that there is 1-belief in a supreme being (gran met or bon
dieu), 2-a hierarchy (starting with the hougan/ mambo, then several steps
including the houssi canzo or apprentice), 3- sacred locations (hounfort,
peristil), and 4-obediance, reverance, and even worship of the
aforementioned loas, vodou does fit the definition of a religion.
furthermore, notice that past and present scholars, including the likes of
jean price mars, alfred metraux, emmanuel c. paul, among others have deemed
it proper to classify vodou as a religion after their studies...
now, as for the number of practitioners, i will not venture to guess at a
number or percentage.  all i will say is that it is significant enough that
many of our cultural attitudes have their roots in vodou.  notice, though,
that there is a difference between pratice and belief.  practice entails
belief but belief is possible without practice.  many haitians may believe
in vodou and choose not to practice it for personal reasons.
finally, i would like to say that what is written above is merely an
introduction or informal outline to answer the vodou question.  more to come
soon.










_________________________________________________________________
Send and receive Hotmail on your mobile device: http://mobile.msn.com