Vodou
Vodou is a spiritual tradition which originated in Haiti during the period of
French colonial slavery. Africans of many ethnic lineages were transported
by force to Haiti, primarily to serve as agricultural slaves. The original
Taino and Carib peoples of Haiti were exterminated in the invasion by the
Spanish. During this historical period, Europeans from France and other
countries, including pro-Stuart deportees from Scotland, settled in Haiti.
Because so many lineages were represented, no one particular African
service could satisfy all participants, especially since reverence for ancestral
lines was so important. Therefore, each "nation" would take it's turn at a
gathering. This "take turns" approach eventually evolved into the of the
Vodou liturgy. During this formative period, European pre-Christian
entities such as Brigid, or Maman Brigitte in the Vodou tradition; and
influences from the native Taino and Carib populations were also absorbed.
There are denominations in Vodou, just as in many other religions. The
first, and most widely known, is the orthodox Vodou. In this denomination,
the Dahomean rite is given a position of primacy, and initiations are
conducted based mainly on the Dahomean model. A priest or priestess
receives the asson, a ceremonial rattle, as an emblem of priesthood. In this
rite, a priest is known as a Houngan or sometimes Gangan, a priestess is
known as a Mambo.
People of many different faiths construct altars. Even people who do not
belong to any particular faith may set aside a corner of a room where they
sit and think, meditate and pray, do yoga or play an African drum. Many
times they create impromptu altars whic...
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...lized hierarchy paying salaries to Houngans and Mambos,
and because a peristyle is private property, it is considered normal for
uninitiated participants to make a small cash gift. This money is used to
defray the cost of the drummers, food which is offered to the participants,
and the general upkeep of the peristyle and of the Houngan or Mambo in
charge. This is often hard to understand for people raised in the
Judeo-Christian tradition, where priests, ministers, and rabbis are salaried
professionals.
Individuals who have an initiatory grade may participate in private
ceremonies pertaining to other individuals of their own grade or lower. A
person with a lower grade may not participate in a ceremony conferring a
higher grade of initiation, because the knowledge imparted is secret and
because they are not competent to do so.
Finding a way in life can be difficult. Following that way can be even more difficult, especially when it goes against someone's origin. In Acts of Faith, Eboo Patel tells his story of what it was like to struggle through finding himself. Patel asks the question of "How can I create a society of religious pluralism?" throughout the book, and raises implications about what our children are being taught in different societies throughout the world.
The Yanomamo are a tribe of twenty thousand who live in about two hundred and fifty widely dispersed villages in Brazil and Venezuela. It was first thought that the Yanomamo were a group of hunter-gatherers, but contrary to that thought they actually cultivate their own crops for food. They also hunt and forage, but only as needed.
Viola Liuzzo, a young housewife and mother, devoted her time and her life to the Civil Rights Movement. Ku Klux Klan murderers ended her membership as a Freedom Rider volunteer during the Selma March and her life. My report will reflect the cause of her murder and how did her death and the mock trials of her killers cause a ripple effect across the civil rights community, judicial system, FBI and the White House. It will be discussed how her life would lead to the change of policies regarding the Voting Rights of the African Americans and why she is considered an important figure of the Civil Rights Movement.
Nancy Ammerman writes Sacred Stories, Spiritual Tribes: Finding Religion in Everyday Life to convey her findings of studying spirituality and religion in the ordinary life of her sample population. The inspiration for this book came from previous data about Christians and the “Golden Rule,” the concept of treating everyone how you would like to be treated (3). In order to understand this concept better, Ammerman decided to study religion and spirituality in everyday life. Her population included 95 people from the Boston and Atlanta areas. These participants came from “Catholic, liberal Protestant, conservative Protestant, African American Protestant, Jewish”, Mormon, Wicca and Neopaganism as well as an internet chat group (11). Unaffiliated participants were also
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McCutcheon, R. T. (2010). Will Your Cognitive Anchor Hold in the Storms of Culture? Journal of the American Academy of Religion, 78(4), 1182-1193.
The price for Grey Goose is normally around 30 dollars depending on the retailer. The product’s appeal is higher than their competition; therefore, Grey Goose is sold at a relatively high price. For instance, at CVS the price for Grey Goose is $34.00, which to most consumers is considered expensive but for Grey Goose they are willing to pay. They think that if the price is expensive, then the quality of the Vodka must be better. Meaning that the organization uses high-quality materials when producing Grey Goose Vodka. CVS as the intermediaries are the ones that take the titles of Grey Goose and are able to make the decision on the price for $34.00 per bottle. On the other hand, if consumers decide to shop around, they can find a better deal
In Wilfred Cantwell Smith’s book The Faith of Other Men he starts by describing his challenge as a teacher in Lahore. He mentions that his colleagues were, like the great majority of the students, a mix of Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhns. As a Christian he and the rest of the community had to work toward the construction and maintenance of a religiously diverse community. The missionary college emphasized the message that faith was a serious and fundamental matter, that could neither be taken for granted nor dismissed. That message for Smith’s can be echoed in the oversimplified religious society of today. The religious life of humanity according to Smith is one that religiously plural, and this is true for all of us. Muslims, Hindus, Confucians, and Buddhists there no longer these far away peoples but rather they have become our neigh...
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America is a melting pot of culture and race. Thus, bringing many different types of religious faiths to today’s society. Whether the beliefs are ancient, new, reconstructed or if people have no faith at all, it is all in America. It is difficult to scrutinize one religion without it concerning another. All religions have diverse beliefs ranging from; the belief of...
can become as restricted by unquestioned tradition as we can by the walls we build and blindly
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A response to the interpretation of Acts 4:32–36 as an endorsement of a type of communal living as being normative for the Christian church.