Catholicism and Indigenous Religions

Catholicism and Indigenous Religions

In class today a discussion question sparked an interesting analysis on how why Catholicism is so intertwined in most indigenous religions. I thought about this discussion question for quite a while and found it to be a bit perplexing. One factor that could possible answer this baffling question could be the way in which Catholicism spread and how it was forced on most indigenous cultures. Because these indigenous people had to convert and learn more about the Catholic religion, it is easy to infer that they instead combined several Catholic ideals with their own original culture and religion.

Another guess is the presence of saints in the Catholic religion. Most indigenous religions don't always pray directly to the highest of Gods, but rather to saints who depict the essence of God. When I researched this further, I discovered that many other people have asked this very question about the connection pertaining to Catholicism and Voodoo. According to Timothy M. Youngblood in the article "Voodoo and the Catholic Church," saints are one of the connecting forces of the two religions. He states "Voodoo, religion of Haiti, also practiced in Cuba, Trinidad, Brazil, and the southern United States, especially Louisiana. Voodoo combines elements of Roman Catholicism and tribal religions of western Africa, particularly Benin. Voodoo cults worship a high god, Bon Dieu; ancestors or, more generally, the dead; twins; and spirits called Ioa. The Ioa, which may vary from cult to cult, are African tribal gods that are usually identified with Roman Catholic saints."

In a picture depicting Haitian Voodoo, a table is set up with statues of tribal gods which are very similar to statues one may see at a Catholic church. 

Citation:
http://www.masters-table.org/warning/voodoo.htm