History of Religion in Haiti

The first inhabitants of Haiti (The Tainos) worshipped deities known as Zemis, which are objects believed to be the dwelling of spirit and to possess magic potency. The religion of the Tainos was reported by the first missionary who came to the island, Father Ramon Pané. This later was commissioned by Columbus to study the religious beliefs of the indigenous people of Hispaniola and Puerto Rico. (Rouse, 1992, p.13)

The Spanish introduced Christianity to the Island on December 5, 1492. The following years witnessed the evangelic effort of Catholicism towards the natives and the extermination of this population through disease and slavery. African slaves, brought to work in their place, were introduced to Christianity, too. Catholic missionaries were responsible for preaching to the Island inhabitants. (Rouse, 1992; Louis, 2007; Farmer, 2011; Heinl & Heinl, 2005)

When the African slaves were brought to Americas to work on plantations, they brought Vodou with them. Under French dominance, Catholic priests were sent to the colony to civilize the slaves

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and convert them into Christianity. However, these attempts were unsuccessful because the system dehumanized the African slaves and these later continued to practice Vodou clandestinely. Even though, the code noir of 1685 prohibited the practice of other religious beliefs in the colony. The

‘Cérémonie du Bois-Caïman’ of 1791 is a result of the practice of Vodou during the colonial era.

(Rigaud, 1969; Dayan, 1996; Debien, 1967; Heinl & Heinl, 2005; Louis, 2007; Murrell, 2010; Rey, 2005; Schneider, 2012) It is said that they were Protestants in the colony but they were not allowed to evangelize because the general concordat signed between Roman Catholic and the European colonizers had been reinforced by the decree.

After Haiti declared its independence in 1804, the Vatican withdrew its (European) priests and refused to recognize the world’s first Black republic. After the overthrow of the father of the nation, Jean Jacques Dessalines, in 1806 some missionaries returned. The Catholic Church and the Haitian government finally signed a concordat on March 28, 1860 after years of negotiations. The concordat provided that the Catholic Church would have the special protection. (Heinl & Heinl, 2005; Louis, 2007)

When the Vatican decided to acknowledge Haiti, it tried to impose what some saw as a third-class Concordat. It finally established relations through this 1860 concordat (Pius IX was determined to put Haiti under an Apostolic Prefect). A humiliating treatment of Vatican regarding Haiti: After being snubbed for half a century Haiti was now to be treated as a mission territory rather than a normal country with dioceses.

General Fabre-Nicolas Geffrard, a member of the mulatto elite, was president of Haiti from 1859 to 1867. As he was eager to replace Vodou, signed the country’s first concordat, which made

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Catholicism the official religion. An amendment to this concordat in 1862 granted the Church “an important role in secular education” (Haggerty, 1989). Meanwhile, Haiti held fast and finally got its dioceses, but at a price. The main text of the concordat stipulates that the Government shall give the Haitian dioceses “a suitable annual allowance in excess of the usual state treasury funds”.

(Concordat Watch). Two other concordats have followed since 1860: Papa Doc’s Concordat of 1966 (which allowed Dr. François Duvalier [Papa Doc] to nominate his own men as bishops and archbishops), and Baby Doc’s concordat of 1984.

In 1866, another amendment effectively suspended Articles 4 and 5 of this concordat. Thus, the second concordat let Dr. François Duvalier [Papa Doc] nominate seven key clerics, thus ensuring their personal loyalty to him. It also stipulates that future appointments should be “preferentially to members of the indigenous clergy”. Both these measures helped bring the Haitian church under Papa Doc’s control. However, the third concordat revokes the privilege granted to the father of Jean-Claude [Baby Doc] Duvalier of nominating senior clerics. It restores articles 4 and 5 of the country’s first concordat and thereby returns the appointment of archbishops and bishops to the Vatican.(Concordat Watch).

After the American Occupation ended in 1934, there was a constant struggle for power between the Catholic Church and the followers of Vodou. The small number of priests and members of religious institutes in 1930s ministered mainly to the urban elite. Until the mid-20^th century, the majority of priests were francophone Europeans, particularly distant from their rural parishioners.

Roman Catholic clergy were generally hostile toward Vodou, and they led two major campaigns against Vodou religion in 1896 and 1941. During these campaigns, the government outlawed

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Vodou services, and Catholics destroyed Vodou religions objects. Later on, Nationalists and others began to resent the Roman Catholic Church because of its alliance with the mulatto elites. François Duvalier opposed the Catholic Church and expelled the archbishop of Port-au-Prince, the Jesuit order and numerous priests between 1959 and 1961. (Farmer, 2011; Haggerty, 1989; Heinl & Heinl, 2005)

As for Protestantism, its first settlement was established in Tortuga Island under the agreement of Le Vasseur and De Poincy in 1661. The protestant lived for 12 years in the colony. Later on Protestantism was completely excluded. Protestant faith was reinstalled until after the independence of Haiti, particularly under the presidency of Alexandre Pétion in 1816 with the visit of Stephen de Grellet and John Hancock, two Quaker evangelists. Later on, the Wesleyan society came to Haiti because they thought there was a great need for the Gospel of God in Haiti. These missionaries were well received by Pétion, Christophe and Boyer. After the death of Pétion in March 1818, a sudden fury of persecution burst forth against the Methodist Christians and the congregation was dispersed. President Boyer expelled the Wesleyan missionaries from the country.

(Louis, 2007)

In 1890, Louis Joseph Janvier tried to promote protestant vision for Haiti. However, it was under the François Duvalier regime that protestant enjoyed peace and growth. Later on, the constitution of March 29, 1987 restores the peace and guarantees religious freedom to citizens (Article 30 of the Haitian Constitution). Today, both Catholicism and Protestantism, and other religious minorities enjoy freedom within the Haitian society. Though Vodou has gained greater respect and is widely appreciated as a source of Haitian pride and identity and driving force behind Haiti’s rich

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artistic culture (Melton & Baumann, 2010); however, both Catholicism and Protestantism are campaigning for the eradication of Vodou in Haiti.

This table below provides a brief religious history of Haiti from Columbus discovery of Haiti to contemporary Haiti.

Table 2.1.1

Brief Religious History of Haiti

1492 Columbus lands in Haiti with Catholicism

1511 Vodou religion entered Haiti with the African slaves

1685 Code Noir recognized Roman Catholic and Apostolic as unique religion of the colony 1791 Ceremony of Bois Caiman - a Vodou ceremony against slavery

1804 Haiti became Independent thank to the Vodou religion

1807 First Protestant group to enter Haiti - The English Wesleyan Mission 1816 President Pétion welcomed the two Quaker evangelists

1818 Persecution of the English Wesleyan Mission, President Broyer encouraged their departure. They came back 18 years later.

1860 Haiti and the Vatican sign a Concordat

1890 Promotion of Protestant vision for Haiti by Haitian intellectuals and nationalists 1904-1960 Separation Era (i.e. between Haitian government and Catholic)

1915-1934 US Protestant missionaries enter Haiti under the US Occupation 1930 Haitian intellectuals started to defend Vodou as a national religion 1935 Decree-law against the Vodou rituals

1959-1971 Protestant enjoyed peace and growth 1987 Decree-law for religious freedom

1997 Creation of KOSANBA - a scholarly association for the study of Vodou 2003 Haitian Vodou has been recognized as an official religion

2010 Earthquake, attack on Haitian Vodou, emergence of the Islam religion, creation of Religion for Peace

2014 Chibly Langlois nominated Cardinal of Haiti by Pope Francis

Adopted fromRethinking the Issues of Religious Education in Haiti from a Post-Colonial Perspective (Marc, 2019)