Religion is one of the most scared aspects a person has in his or her life; for many practitioners
their world, their universe revolves around it. Santeria is a religion in which many people do not
know of and if they do it is often misunderstood to be some sort of cult. To those who practice it
is a unique way of life with rich cultural and spiritual roots. The word Santeria is a syncretistic
religion which combines the fundamentals of roman Catholicism, Animism , Voodoo and
African religions. The word Santeria means “way of the saints”. Today it's practiced worldwide
by people of all races.
“Santeria promotes a connection between the divine, the human, and the natural world by
teaching individuals how to live in harmony”. (Duncan 2010)
Santeria religion originated with the Yoruba and Lukim indigenous people’s from West Africa.
The Yoruba and Lukim people were enslaved, shipped to the New World and forced by Spanish
to worship as Catholics. The enslaved people eventually accept the same Catholic saints because
they were able to identify characteristics in them reminiscent of their own African gods.
However, in Spanish ruled Cuba and Puerto Rico, the evangelical purpose of the Catholic
Church, obligated the conversion of African slaves to Catholicism to “save” them from
worshipping to “false” gods. The saving of enslaved people from damnation was not, however,
the only motive at work; the Spanish saw the continuing practice of African rooted religions as a
risk of cultural identification between people and possibly revolt against the owners of the
slaves. In an effort to control the enslaved Africans , the Spanish banned the practice of African
religi...
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...as “all of life/health and prosperity will move forward, for healing”.
In conclusion, for many the Santeria religion has brought them closer to their connection to the
divine and living their lives in a more productive manner. However, the challenge remains for
western culture and society to accept that a person’s connection to live in harmony and balance
may come from a personal choice to practice nontraditional religion such as Santeria.
Work Cited:
Sandoval, Mercedes Cros. Worldview, the Orichas, and Santería: Africa to Cuba and beyond.
Gainesville: U of Florida, 2006. Print.
Duncan, Cynthia. Unraveling the Real: The Fantastic in Spanish-American Ficciones.
Philadelphia: Temple UP, 2010. Print.
Dalmau, Felipe, Obatalá, Changó y Ochún: Elementos Espirituales de la Santería (New York,
NY: Colección Destino, 1978). Print
were losing their rights, and were forced to do other work that was similar to slavery. African
plantation owners of the newly settled colonies. As a means to quell the religious unity, the plantation owners forbid the practice of religion and punished slaves who attempted to pursue voodoo. Catholicism was presented as an alternative to the African-based but now independent
The Yoruba people, who were brought over from Nigeria as slaves, came to the Caribbean in the 1500’s with their own religion, which was seen as unfit by the white slave owners. Most plantation owners in the Caribbean were members of the Roman Catholic Church, so they forced their slaves to disregard their native religions and become Catholic. Soon, the slaves realized that they could still practice their West African religion as long as it was disguised as Catholicism, and Santería was born. Now it’s practiced in the United States, Cuba, the Caribbean, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Nicaragua, Argentina, Colombia, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Great Britain, Canada, Venezuela, and Panama.
...sold into slavery in the West Indies, while others faced disease, cultural disruption, and the loss of their lands.
Although an imperfect label, "NRM" continues to be the most helpful one available, and it has achieved a level of acceptance in general discourse about religion that other labels have not (Ashcraft, 2005). Santeria and Catholic are two similar yet, different type of religions but have the same solid belief in a heavenly father. With many different rituals and causes, by having unbalanced elements to what this new religion is, for one - Santeria to me is used as protection among evil worships but, Santeria can create good luck and bad luck to harm others with their voodoo dolls or spells. Santeria also is like a rite of passage - it's not something you get baptized in to when you’re a child, you must perform a ritual to get in and learn the way of becoming a Orisha. From generation to generation, aside from god - there are many higher beings for every type of problem one can have, you pray to that image and bring it an offering. Santeria has no holy place like a church so, this practice is commonly done in a house or a botanica (spiritual Hispanic store). Sacrifices are made, such as slaughtering animals for their blood - to offer it to an image in return for something positive or wishing misfortune upon
Europeans, for they were their main labor source. So in a desperate attempt they turned to the next best thing, african slaves.
Slaves had an expanding economic force for the Europeans. “Trade between the Europeans and Africans created the first route of the triangular slave trade”. African citizens were “forcibly removed from their homes to never return”. Sales of Africans were classified as having the full cooperation of the “African kings” in return for various trade and goods. Africans who were exchanged were forced to walk chained to the coast of the Indian Ocean. Once at the coast they were stripped of all their clothes, men, women and children all alike with just a loincloth, or strips of blue tap for women to cover their chest area. Once the Africans boarded the ship they were divided by sex, males in the bowel of the ship and the women on the upper deck. The men would be chained side by side by their necks with barely enough room to move. African women were forced to do the “unmentionable acts”. Neither were fed or watered well, and the men would be forced to sit in their own “excrement, and vomit”. Once in awhile the men would be brought to the deck and rinsed off with cold water. While on deck they would be forced to dance to “entertain the ships crew”. Many Africans would try to “revolt” or commit “suicide”, when revolting against their captors many Africans would die. For as much as “3- 6 months” the Africans would endure these torments. Once the ship ported in the America’s shore, all the Africans would be “cleaned up and stripped naked to be sold”. Once the Africans were sold they were no longer Africans to the Merchants, they were product, and, no longer having rights as humans; they were caught into what is called chattel slavery. For approximately “246 years” African Americans would endure such bondage.
Sixty years ago, a man named Lafayette Ronald Hubbard formed a religion that, to this day, has caused a rather large amount of controversy. With 500,000 members in 8,000 churches scattered throughout 164 countries, the church has been growing slowly but surely since formation. (Scientology.) The religion is based on a novel by Hubbard called Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health. They believe that about 75 million years ago, an evil alien Warlord named Xenu banished 13.5 trillion aliens to Earth and those aliens’ souls have been latching on to humans ever since. (Rowley) Although this may seem rather ridiculous, there is a decent number of people who are members of the church and wholeheartedly believe every word they are told.
What is religion? Each person’s definition of religion is different. Each person’s faith is different. This is a question that has been asked for centuries, and regardless of the answer given there is no right or wrong answer. Religion can be defined as a group of people who have shared beliefs who feel their life has purpose or meaning. This feeling or belief that their life has meaning can come from outside of themselves, as well as within. Taking this one step further, these shared beliefs put into action in the form of worship, can be easily identified because they happen regularly. It can be said the Primal religions were in fact not religions. Some may argue Confucianism is not a religion. Others may say Taoism is not a religion. However, one argument can be made. All three of these “religions” share “features.” Huston Smith, author of World’s Religions, says “six features of religion appear so regularly as to suggest that their seeds are in the human makeup.” These six features discussed in World’s Religions are as follows: authority, ritual, explanation, tradition, grace, and mystery (World’s, Page 67). First is authority, Smith argues religion is so complex that people will need assistance or guidance from those held in a higher light, or of a higher authority. Next is ritual, which can be happy (a wedding) or sad (a funeral), rituals are shared between people of the same religion in many forms as a sign of common beliefs. Following rituals, some explanation is required. Many of a religion’s followers ask for explanations, some ask, “What is my purpose in life?” Others may ask, “Who is God?” Depending on one’s religion, the questions or
The Spanish expansion and brutalization of the lands was not well known in Europe at the time. Even without complete knowledge, the government demanded that the native people be given a chance to convert to christianity, made aware that they fell under Spanish rule and be made aware of the laws of Spain. The Spaniards in the Americas, however, paid little but lip service to this
Shamanism due to its many definitions could be just about any being that can be observed practicing. Shamanism is not a single, unified religion but a cross-cultural form of religious sensibility and practice. It is a complex set of practices, beliefs, values and behaviors that enable the practitioner to elect a shift from ordinary consciousness into a trance state with a specific goal in mind. Such as healing, obtaining information, power, vision, divination, contacting the spirit of the deceased, soul retrieval or guidance for right action.
The first Catholic priests came to South America with the conquistadors and through social and political force superimposed 16th century Catholicism upon conquered peoples and in subsequent generations upon slaves arriving in the New World. Catholicism has, likewise, frequently absorbed, rather than confronted, popular folk religious beliefs. The resulting religion is often overtly Catholic but covertly pagan. Behind the Catholic facade, the foundations and building structure reflect varying folk religious traditions. (2)
People are so deeply immersed into faith and religion that when difficult situations tend to come their way, religion and faith is the first place they turn in order to overcome the challenges that lie ahead. People turn to religion...
There is controversy over it is a cult or spiritual folkway and not a real religion. Their rituals increased dehumanization during the Atlantic slave trade. Most people from Haiti were this religion and when they gained their independence and they considered one of their gods to have liberated. Many prayers involve communicating with dead humans and animals and many gods for inspiration or protection. Doing this involves animal sacrifice, creating veves (symbols), and making dolls.
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