Santeria             

                                              

The growth of Santeria

Santeria is essentially an African way of worship drawn into a symbiotic relationship with Catholicism.

The Encyclopedia of Religion, ed. Marcea Eliade

Santería is an amorphous, practical, and oral tradition which promises wisdom and power in dealing with life's hardships.

Hector Avalos, Introduction to the U.S. Latina and Latino Religious Experience, 2004

Santeria (The way of the Saints) is an Afro-Caribbean religion based on Yoruba beliefs and traditions, with some Roman Catholic elements added. The religion is also known as La Regla Lucumi and the Rule of Osha.

Santeria incorporates elements of several faiths and so is what's called a 'syncretic' religion. It has grown beyond its Yoruba and Catholic origins to become a religion in its own right, and a powerful symbol of the religious creativity of Afro-Cuban culture.

The centre of the religion is Cuba, but it has spread to the USA and other nearby countries, particularly after the Cuban revolution in 1959.

For a long time Santeria was a secretive underground religion, but it's becoming increasingly visible in the Americas:

Once dismissed as a ghetto religion practiced only by the Caribbean poor and uneducated, Santeria has a growing following among middle-class professionals, including white, black and Asian Americans.

There are police officers in New York who pray to Obatala, the father of all deities, or orishas, before they slip on their gun belts.

There are lawyers and professors, civil servants and musicians whose homes are filled with altars laden with flowers, rum, cake and cigars to keep the gods happy and helpful. Many dress in white to symbolize purity.

Lizette Alvarez, After Years of Secrecy, Santeria Is Suddenly Much More Popular. And Public, New York Times 27/01/1997

Revolutionary Cuba clamped-down on Santeria at first, but over the last 15 years or so the government tolerated it more and more and now allows it to flourish. Cynics say that this is because Santeria brings considerable hard currency to the island.

It's difficult to know how many people follow Santeria, as there's no central organisation, and the religion is often practised in private. Some estimates go as high as a hundred million Santeria believers worldwide.