Religion in Haiti

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A phrase commonly seen is that Haiti is 80% Catholic, 20% Protestant and 100% Voodoo.

To truly understand the complexity of the Haitian religious community, one must consider that Voodoo permeates the entire society. Thus it is important to understand what Voodoo is and how its syncretism embraces the various religions.

Roman Catholicism in Haiti

The most professed by far is Roman Catholicism. Catholicism is enshrined in the Haitian constitution as the official state religion, and between 80 and 85% of Haitians are Catholics. Pope John Paul II visited Haiti in 1983. In a speech in the capital of Port-au-Prince, he criticized the government of Jean-Claude Duvalier. It is believed that the impact of this speech on the Catholic bureaucracy in Haiti contributed to his removal in 1986.

According to the Catholic Church in Haiti, the ten dioceses of the two ecclesiastical provinces of Haiti number up to 251 parishes and about 1500 Christian rural communities. The local clergy has 400 diocesan priests and 300 seminarians. There are also 1300 religious missionary priests belonging to more than 70 religious orders and fraternities.

Protestantism in Haiti

The Protestant population is 16%. This includes Baptist 10%, Pentecostal 4%, Adventist 1%. There are other denominations as well.

The Episcopal Diocese of Haiti is the Anglican Communion diocese consisting of the entire territory of Haiti. It is part of Province 2 of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America of the Episcopal Church (United States). Its cathedral, Holy Trinity (French: Cathédrale Sainte Trinité) located in the corner of Avenue Mgr. Guilloux and Rue Pavée in downtown Port-au-Prince, has been destroyed six times, including in the 2010 Haiti earthquake. It is the largest diocese in the Episcopal Church (United States), with 83,698 members reported in 2008.

Voodoo - The Religion of Haiti

These articles have been submitted by various members. We invite you to include other articles here.

• Course in Haitian Voodoo Religion: Fall 2001
• Selected Voodoo Terms
  
• Notes on Cental Loa
  
• Descriptions of Various Loa of Voodoo
  
• The Spelling of Voodoo
  
• Some Brief Notes on Voodoo's Historical Development
  
• A Very Short List of the Loa
  
• Defense from Three Common Criticisms
  
• Matches of Lwa with Catholic Saints
  
• African Religion Syncretism
  
• Bibliography of Voodoo in U.S. Culture
  
• Hugh Cave on Voodoo
  
• Reflections on Davis' Book: How are Zombies Made?
  
• THE STORY OF ZOMBI IN HAITI. By Louis Mars
  
• Marcelin on Seabrook and Voodoo
  
• Notes Genealogy of on Mama Lola
  
• Serpent and Rainbow Notes
  
• Muslim influences on Haitian Voodoo
  
• Sorcery in Jacmel
  
• A Student's Paper on Haitian Voodoo
  
• Tallant Book,  Voodoo in New Orleans
  
• Vodun and Politics
  
• MORALITY, POWER, AND THE VODOU TRADITION IN HAITI   An essay by Mambo Racine Sans Bout (Kathy S. Grey)
  
• Zombie Movie List
• Links to other Voodoo or Voodoo-related pages

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Articles on Voodoo by Bob Corbett (Archive)

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Sources:

• http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2007/90257.htm
• http://ecdha.org/content/view/17/30/ Site Web Officiel de l'Eglise de Haïti - L'épiscopat
• https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ha.html
• http://www.egliseepiscopaledhaiti.org/ Eglise Episcopale D'Haiti