Despite Widespread Practice, Santeria Remains a Stigmatized Religion

March 17, 2004

Source: New York Newsday

http://www.nynewsday.com/news/local/queens/nyc-cov0314,0,1424524.story?coll=nyc-manheadlines-queens

On March 17, 2004 New York Newsday reported, "People who practice Santeria are not always open about it because of the stigma that still surrounds the religion. For that reason, Marta Moreno Vega, a professor of religion at Hunter College and founder of the Caribbean Cultural Center in Manhattan, did not want to estimate how many people observe Santeria. It began when African slaves were brought to the Americas. The West Africans' tribal rituals and beliefs — such as reincarnation — were discouraged by Spanish overlords who tried to convert the captives to Catholicism. Instead, the Africans dressed statues of Catholic saints in beads or clothes that symbolized their own deities and sang Christian prayers to their own gods or orishas. Once camouflaged sufficiently with their masters' traditions, the Africans' religion became known as Santeria, Spanish for 'the praise of the saints' — and its beliefs, customs and sounds have become widespread in the Americas."