Afro-American Religion

Afro-American religion (also known as African diasporic religions) are a number of related religions that developed in the Americas in various nations of Latin America, the Caribbean, and the southern United States. They derive from traditional African religions with some influence from other religious traditions, notably Christianity.

Characteristics

Afro-American religions involve veneration of the dead, and include a creator deity along with a pantheon of divine spirits such as the Orisha, Loa, Nkisi, and Alusi, among others. In addition to the religious syncretism of these various African traditions, many also incorporate elements of Folk Catholicism, Native American religion, Spiritism, Spiritualism, and European folklore.

Example of Louisiana Voodoo altar inside a temple in New Orleans.

List of religions and spiritual traditions

Other closely related regional faiths

Spirits

• Espiritismo (mixture of Indigenous American, African, European, and Asian beliefs, Puerto Rico)
• Hoodoo (mixture of West/Central African, Indigenous American, and European traditions, Mississippi Delta)
• Kélé (derived from Yoruba religion, St. Lucia)
• Puerto Rican Vudú or Sanse (Dahomean religion, Puerto Rico)
• Rastafarianism, Jamaica
• Santo Daime (folk Catholicism and Spiritism, Brazil)
• Tambor de Mina (mixture of Dahomean religion, Yoruba Religion, Indigenous American, and European traditions, Maranhão, Brazil)
• Quimbois (African folk beliefs mixed with Christianity, from Martinique).
• Xangô de Recife (Yoruba religion, Brazil)
• Xangô do Nordeste (Yoruba religion, Brazil)

See also

• Black theology
• Ring shout

Adapted from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia