Religious Traditions

Santeria- (AKA Regla de Ocha)

Role: Santeria is a syncretic religion of the Caribbean which developed in the Spanish Empire.
They were influenced by the Roman Catholics. Santeria is a religion that believes In Christianity and
indigenous American traditions. This religion is mainly found in the Americas. In 2001, 22,000 people in
the US alone practice Santeria.

Beliefs: They believe in the Yoruba Gods. They are known as the Orishas which are like the
Greek Gods. They believe in Witch craft like spells, curses and other ritual works. These gods are strictly
worshiped and to worship isnt easy. They demand strict obedience and total surrender.
Deaths from the Religion: Animal sacrifices are the only known deaths brought by the
belief. There has been reported violence with animals in America multiple times. There has been many
cases and chargers that were against some of the practitioners of the religion. This religion is known for
no type of animal cruelty laws and that pushes everyone away from the religion.

RastafarianismRole:

Rastafarianism is an Africa- centered belief which developed in Jamaica in the 1930s.

This religion does not have any formal creed and it kind of gets in morals and other things that a religion
should have from the surrounding groups. Bob Marley and Marcus Garvey were believers of this faith.

Beliefs: They believe in Haile Selassie is the god and that he will return to Africa members who
are living in exile because of the slave trade and the colonization. They believe that the white people are
afraid of the blacks. They believe that Jamaica is hell and Ethiopia is heaven. They also believe that one
day blacks will have total control of the world. Their faith is basically formed around hating white people
because of slavery. They believe that they were reincarnated slaves that died in exile. They also worship
marijuana, dreadlocks and have specific food laws that they have to go by. For example, they dont eat
pork, meant scavengers or shellfish.

Deaths from the religion: The only impact, death related, is that they dont get along
with the Jamaican civil authorities. They were apart of many black movements which lead to members
of this faith to be injured or killed but they do not kill for their faith or God.

Voodoo:
Role: Haitian voodoo is the most common practice. People who practice it are called
voodooists. (Servants or spirits.) Voodoo originated in the Caribbean and developed in the French
Empire in the 18th century. Multiple myths and stories have been told about Voodoo like the voodoo doll
but none of that is true. Voodoo will always have stories told about the faith but nothing will ever be
close to the truth unless its a real and true voodooist telling the story.

Beliefs: They believe in a distant and unknowable creator god. Bondye is his name. In order to
worship him they participate in personal altars, devotional objects, and elaborate music, dancing and
spirit possessions. A Loa is basically a replacement of the Bondye because he is unreachable. They are
very big on morality. They also believe in an afterlife.

Comparisons:
Most of these religions are similar but very different. The most similar
religions are Voodoo and Santeria. They both believe in an extreme higher
power. They both believe in witch craft which is the most similar thing. Although
voodoo isnt as strict and totally devoted to the religion. Santeria and
Rastafarianism are also similar. They both fight for what they believe in no
matter what happens. With Rastafarianism they fight for the equality between
whites and blacks. Throughout the years, the beliefs and rules of Rastafarianism
has changed into something more realistic in the 21st century. These religions
have a lot of thing that bring them close to similar but so far apart that theyre
nothing alike. Each faith has their own beliefs and their own ways of showing
them. All three religions have definitely impacted many people throughout Latin
America.