Background
Religious Syncretism is when two or more religions combine ideas. Voodoo is the result of Catholicism, and Voudou along with Yoruba influences. Voudou was a religion that originated in Haiti based on the belief of spirits. The diaspora of Haitian and African slaves led to the Voudou culture spreading heavily to Louisiana and therefore assimilating with Catholicism, as slaves were forced to follow the religion of their masters.
Yoruba: an ethnic group, specifically from nigeria, benin, Ghana, togo, ivory coast, sierra leone, liberia, senegal, the gambia, and brazil state.
Haitian Revolution
The Haitian Revolution was a slave rebellion against the French. Herard Dumsele, a Haitian writer that came out of the revolution advocated for the abandonment of catholic god's who "thirst for our tears" and praised the voodoo gods who wanted vengeance for their people. This was misinterpreted as a threat of violence towards the whites and the catholic church, when in reality it was a prayer for freedom and hardship. The Haitian Revolution made American slave owners fear insurrections within their own plantations, and when Voodoo became accepted within the slave community the slave owners feared even more. To the Louisiana slaves, Voodoo was a sign of hope and freedom and they wanted to follow Haiti's example.
(Dumesle, Herard. "Hérard Dumesle - Alchetron)
Voodoo and Catholicism
(Calvin Hennick, for WBUR Boston, "Haitian Vodou altar created during a festival for the Guede spirits, Boston, MA. Top right area is offerings to Rada spirits; top left to Petwo spirits; bottom to Gede")
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The catholic church thought those who practiced Voodoo were witches. Since Catholics believe in perfect dualism,(ie. good and evil, god & Satan) any practices outside of catholic ones no matter if they were doing harm or not or if they believed in god, were appealing to Satan. They were considered "Idol worshippers". The relations were made even worse when Marie Laveau, Voodoo queen of New Orleans, and the catholic Rector, Pere Antoine, made an agreement. Antoine would allow for Voodoo to coexist with the catholic church, as long as Laveau got the Voodoo community to join on feast days and help with things the church cannot be involved in, such as interracial marriages. Although many loved Antoine, he had many catholics who disapproved of him due to his lenience and believed that his friendship with Marie was perverting the catholic church. Some voodoo practitioners would disguise their practice under catholic saints in order to keep their religion a secret from their slave masters, and the distrust of the rector added to thier fears.
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hope
BEFORE THE CIVIL WAR, THERE WERE 331,726 ENSLAVED PEOPLE IN LOUISIANA, SPEAKING VARIOUS DIALECTS OF CREOLE.
Voodoo was a very racialized religion, with very few white people supporting it. It was a religion that the oppressed could rely on, because for those around them Voodoo was a symbol ignorance and pure superstition. It was so heavily depended on because it was a way for the slaves, who came from various different parts of the Caribbean and Africa, to have something to bring them unity in times of trouble.