Sightings

4/21/2011

— Jonathan C. Bergman

Haiti subscribes to two major religions ¢â‚¬”Voodoo and Catholicism ¢â‚¬”with born
again Christians making great inroads in the past decade. The success of
Haitian religious leaders in this time frame has spurred a series of
 ¢â‚¬Å“crusades ¢â‚¬  to aggressively minister and convert both non-believers and
former Voodoo practitioners, especially after the 2010 Haiti earthquake.
American and international religious groups working with their Haitian
counterparts have watched a population attempting to reconnect with its
spirituality. The *Baptist Press* reports 18,000 conversions to Christianity
and 60,000 professions of faith in the past year alone.

Conversions, crusades, and outreach extend beyond Christianity with Voodoo
experiencing a marked resurgence as well. Immediately after the earthquake
struck,  ¢â‚¬Å“1,000 members of the National Convention of Voodoo Priests ¢â‚¬  held a
special meeting to determine a strategy for Haiti ¢â‚¬â„¢s practical relief and
psychic restoration. While some cast off Voodoo, others reflexively went
back to Haiti ¢â‚¬â„¢s  ¢â‚¬Å“original ¢â‚¬  faith seeking a cure for the harm brought about
by the disaster. Voodoo also has great allure since it is linked to Haitian
nationalism and the peculiar cultural forms of the island nation.

The disaster has the unfortunate effect of exposing fissures in Haiti ¢â‚¬â„¢s
religious landscape. Even as religion has served to heal the psychic and
spiritual harm in the wake of disaster a contest has emerged between
Christianity and a m ƒ ©lange of Voodoo and animistic beliefs. This contest is
bound up in the very formation of Haiti itself ¢â‚¬”the only successful slave
rebellion in colonial history. Some argue that the price of nationhood via
the Revolution of 1791-1804 was purchased with a  ¢â‚¬Å“devil ¢â‚¬â„¢s pact ¢â‚¬  binding
Haiti in misery and the falsity of the Voodoo religion. According to this
perspective, then, the earthquake was not a natural occurrence but divine
retribution. This view embodies earlier and more superstitious explanations
of disaster when extreme physical events were looked at as  ¢â‚¬Å“harbingers of
doom ¢â‚¬  of  ¢â‚¬Å“bad stars ¢â‚¬  (the literal translation of the Latin dis | astrum).

The earthquake is only one in a series of ills which have befallen the
nation since independence with endemic poverty, repressive regimes, and
rampant crime all too common. This has led to protests against Voodoo,
further complicating the post-disaster environment. Christianity is
therefore seen as more than a spiritual alternative but a way to shake off
the presumed curse. The danger exists with the most vulnerable of Haiti ¢â‚¬â„¢s
population pinning their hopes to guaranteed recovery via religion. What
happens if and when their fortunes do not turn around in the fold of
Christianity?

None of this is to suggest that Haiti is doomed to conflict and a failed
period of renewal, though it is an indication of the problems and
possibilities which exist in the meeting ground between religion and
disaster. Given the efforts of Haitian nationals and international religious
groups, the prospects for success seem promising. And with the majority of
rebuilding still ahead, the practical and spiritual dimensions of disaster
continue to unfold.

*References*

Barbara Denman,  ¢â‚¬Å“In Haiti, Faith and Churches Continue to
Sprout<http://www.christianity.com/Christian%20Foundations/Christianity%20Main/11627961>, ¢â‚¬ 
*Baptist Press*, March 25, 2010.

Michael Martin,  ¢â‚¬Å“In Earthquake Aftermath, Haitians Cling to Voodoo,
Faith<http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122851808>, ¢â‚¬ 
*National Public Radio (NPR)*, January 22, 2010.

Guy Nicholson,  ¢â‚¬Å“Haiti: Suffering and
Spirituality<http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/discussions/haiti-suffering-and-spirituality/article1864763>, ¢â‚¬ 
*The Globe and Mail*, January 10, 2011.

Garry Pierre-Pierre,  ¢â‚¬Å“Haitian earthquake unleashes animosity against
Voodoo<http://www.thegrio.com/specials/thegrio-on-the-ground-in-haiti/haitian-earthquake-unleashed-animosity-against-voodooists.php>, ¢â‚¬ 
*The Haitian Times*,* *March 3, 2010.

Kim Sengupta,  ¢â‚¬Å“Voodoo: The Old Religion Rises from the Rubble in
Haiti<http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/voodoo-the-old-religion-rises-from-the-rubble-in-haiti-1885176.html>, ¢â‚¬ 
*The Independent*, February 1, 2010.

* *

*Jonathan C. Bergman* is Assistant Professor of History at Texas A&M
University ¢â‚¬“Commerce. He holds a J.D. in Criminal Law from Touro Law School
and a Ph.D. in twentieth-century American Political History from the
University at Buffalo. His research interests include disaster and the
relief process and the meeting ground between culture and calamity.

———-

*Editor ¢â‚¬â„¢s Note:* Jack Fitzmier, Executive Director of the American Academy
of Religion, responds to Debra Erickson ¢â‚¬â„¢s April 7 *Sightings* entitled
“Standing
by the Working Man<http://divinity.uchicago.edu/martycenter/publications/sightings/archive_2011/0407.shtml>.”
Read his response
here<http://divinity.uchicago.edu/martycenter/publications/sightings/archive_2011/0420.shtml>
.

———-

In his famous work, *The Golden Bough*, James Frazer (1854-1941) noted, “The
custom of physically marrying men and women to trees is still practiced in
India and other parts of the East. Why should it not have obtained in
ancient Latium?” Drawing in part upon her own experiences as a field
researcher in Nepal, Anne Mocko (University of Chicago) discusses the
interpretive problems of Frazer’s approach to the rituals of others in this
month ¢â‚¬â„¢s Religion and Culture Web
Forum<http://divinity.uchicago.edu/martycenter/publications/webforum/>;
she also analyzes several rituals involving the fact that Frazer got
correct: that, “in India and Nepal, men and women do physically marry
themselves to trees–or to plants, fruits, statues, and animals.” With
invited responses by Wendy Doniger (University of Chicago), Reid Locklin
(University of Toronto), and Benjamin Schonthal (University of Chicago).

———-

*Sightings* comes from the Martin Marty
Center<http://divinity.uchicago.edu/martycenter/>at the University of
Chicago Divinity School.

Submissions policy

*Sightings* welcomes submissions of 500 to 750 words in length that seek to
illuminate and interpret the intersections of religion and politics, art,
science, business and education. Previous
columns<http://divinity.uchicago.edu/martycenter/publications/sightings/>give
a good indication of the topical range and tone for acceptable essays.
The editor also encourages new approaches to current issues and events.

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Columns may be quoted or republished in full, with attribution to the author
of the column, *Sightings*, and the Martin Marty Center at the University of
Chicago Divinity School.